BA cabin crew pay slashed under grim new contract

BA cabin staff face a potential whopping 55% cut to their salaries as coronavirus brings the airline industry to its knees. A letter received by staff yesterday outlines plans to slash cabin crew salaries to GBP24,000, while senior crew would have to downgrade to basic level pay. Most senior crew – customer service managers – are currently on around GBP35,000, while some crew leaders – customer service directors – can earn up to GBP80,000 per year. Unions are said to have threatened legal action and staff are planning on striking. Unite's assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: “British Airways are cynically and opportunistically using the coronavirus pandemic to make swathes of workers redundant while simultaneously slashing the terms and conditions of the staff who remain. The cuts in pay are between 55% and 75% for thousands of crew. We believe that this is not only potentially unlawful, but a complete abuse of the government job retention scheme which was put in place to protect employees. This is a complete betrayal of workers who have dedicated their lives to making the company the success it is today, who have helped build the huge cash reserves that enable BA to weather the current aviation crisis caused by COVID-19.” Under the terms of the new offer, workers will receive commission from inflight sales and performance levels. They will also get a 5% “flew allowance” and benefits including dental, private health care, and up to 11% of company pension contributions.<br/>