Virgin air stewards threaten Easter strike

Richard Branson is planning to cut air stewards' pay below the minimum wage, whistle-blowers claim, as they threaten strike action over Easter. In cuts branded "unfair" by staff, Virgin Atlantic air stewards' base salaries will increase marginally while allowance benefits, which make up a third of their pay, will be halved. Angry staff say that under the regime they would have to dip into their own pockets to pay for basic food and drinks at the "plush" hotels booked by the company. The deal currently being offered, the airline crews claim, means that they will be earning below the minimum wage and that their annual allowances of around GBP7,500 will be cut in half. Virgin Atlantic has denied the claims and insisted that no one would end up being paid less than the minimum wage. <br/>