Daily Mail - 06.09.2019

Page ^ Daily Mail, Friday, September 6, 2019

INSIDE: Puzzles & Prizes 3-6, TV & Radio 56-59,

Offer & Cainer 60, Letters 62 & 63, City 72-

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majority of BA staff,

including cabin crew on a

fraction of the salary

enjoyed by pilots.

Balpa general secretary

Brian Strutton said: ‘Avoid-

ing strike action and agreeing

a deal with their pilots surely

must be the desired outcome

for British Airways.

‘We urge BA to join us to dis-

cuss the new proposal.’

But BA said: ‘We remain

open to constructive talks

with Balpa... but we do not

believe the union is acting in

good faith by making an 11th-

hour inflated proposal which

would cost an additional

£50 million. Balpa has cynically

waited until we have helped

the vast majority of customers

with alternative travel arrange-

ments, and our planning for a

strike has reached a critical

stage. Our customers need the

certainty that Balpa will call

off the strikes for good, not

just for two days next week.’

Tory MP Chris Philp said:

union officials has become

increasingly hostile. The airline

is threatening to strip striking

pilots of key perks, including

discounted flights. Similar tac-

tics were used to punish strik-

ing cabin crew members.

Mr Strutton said: ‘It is abso-

lutely not correct to say

we are seeking more than we

previously did. We have com-

promised. We are seeking

meaningful discussions, not

acceptance by BA.

‘BA has made no proposals

for resolution but Balpa has.’

The union had announced a

return to the negotiating table

hours after the Mail last week

published pictures of Mr Strut-

ton, who embarked on a luxury

cruise the morning after

announcing that BA pilots

would go on strike. Images of

the £141,000-a-year union boss

strolling with his wife in

Sardinia angered passen-

gers whose travel

plans have been

left in disarray.

Although the

affected 450,000 pas-

sengers were offered a

refund or a flight with a differ-

ent airline, many have been

forced to abandon their holi-

days. The disarray was com-

pounded by a gaffe by the air-

line, which emailed many

passengers telling them their

flight had been cancelled and

that ‘it is likely that you will not

be able to travel’. BA was

forced to send a follow-up email

to many passengers telling

them that, in fact, their flight

would go ahead as planned.

But by then holidaymakers

and business travellers had

acted on the first email and

booked another flight.

Adam French, consumer

rights expert at Which?, said:

‘BA must do right by its pas-

sengers and ensure that any-

one whose flight is cancelled is

rerouted – with a rival airline if

necessary – or refunded.’

‘This is further evidence of the

union’s completely unreason-

able behaviour. They seem to

have no interest in settling

this dispute and no regard for

the impact their actions will

have on holidaymakers – many

of whom will have saved up all

year for their break.’

It is understood Balpa’s

statement was issued 45 min-

utes after the airline sent a

memo to staff, saying

it had overhauled the cabin

crew roster in preparation for

the strikes next week. BA,

which has its main bases at

Heathrow and Gatwick, was

scheduled to operate about

700 flights a day on Monday

and Tuesday. But it has been

estimated that as few as ten

will take off on each day.

BA insists the ‘vast majority’

of the passengers due to travel

had been rebooked with rival

airlines. Others have been

forced to accept refunds or fly

at a later date. But there are

fears many BA passengers will

turn up at airports for flights

that have been cancelled.

The dispute between BA and

Clarifications & corrections

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Continued from Page One

Police-chase deaths at 10-year high

gency calls as part of their

duty, but it’s not without risk.’

The Home Office is consider-

ing a legal test for police driv-

ers facing prosecution, mean-

ing that for the first time an

officer’s expert training as a

response driver would be taken

into account if they are taken

to court over a death or injury.

DEATHS from accidents involving

police pursuits have reached the high-

est level in a decade.

The total number of fatal crashes

involving officers is up by 76 per cent in

12 months.

The toll of 30 who lost their lives in

2018/19 is three times higher than in

2013/14, figures released yesterday by the

police watchdog show.

Another 12 were hit while officers

responded to an emergency or in other

road traffic incidents involving police.

Figures from the Independent Office

for Police Conduct (IOPC) showed a total

of 42 people died in road incidents involv-

ing police in England and Wales last year

• the most since 2008/9, when there were
  40 deaths.
  Those killed included newlywed teenag-
  ers Patrick McDonagh, 19, and his preg-
  nant wife Shauna, 18, whom officers
  chased for ten minutes wrongly believing

they had been involved in a burglary. The

couple died in February when their car

veered on to the wrong side of the road

on the A40 dual carriageway in west Lon-

don and collided with a bus.

Initial police reports suggested that the

couple may have been involved in the

burglary, but it later emerged that they

were not present at the raid in Harrow

where a family was held at knifepoint.

Michael Lockwood, of the IOPC, said:

‘Police drivers need to be able to pursue

suspects and respond quickly to emer-

By Rebecca Camber

Chief Crime Correspondent

Cruise: Union boss Brian

Strutton and his wife in

on average among the airline’s 4,300 Sardinia last week

pilots. It added that the total annual

bill would be much higher because it

would have to offer a similar deal to

other staff, including cabin crew,

under an agreement with the GMB

and Unite unions.

Balpa initially offered to return to

the negotiating table last week after

its boss faced a backlash for going

on a luxury cruise while leaving the

travel plans of hundreds of thou-

sands of passengers in disarray.

Yesterday it offered another olive

branch by insisting it was willing to

call off strikes scheduled for Mon-

day and Tuesday – which will hit

290,000 travellers – if BA agreed to

resume talks under certain condi-

tions. A third strike is scheduled for

September 27.

Pilots have already rejected an

inflation-busting pay rise of 11.5 per

cent over three years, plus a 1 per

cent bonus. According to BA chief

executive Alex Cruz, this would push

the total average package for cap-

tains, including allowances and

bonuses, above £200,000.

The 11.5 per cent pay deal has been

accepted by the vast

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MY HOLIDAY’S

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The Mail, August 28