Section:GDN 1N PaGe:11 Edition Date:190724 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 23/7/2019 20:01 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Wednesday 24 July 2019 The Guardian •
National^11
BA fails to block planned
pilots’ strike during summer
Gwyn Topham
Transport correspondent
British Airways has lost its legal
attempt to block planned strikes by
pilots , which could take place next
month and disrupt the travel plans of
hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The pilots union, Balpa , can now
call strike dates with two weeks’
notice. However , it has said it will not
set dates until after further talks with
the airline, which intends to take its
case to the court of appeal.
Yesterday, t he high court dismissed
BA’s argument that the strike ballot,
whose result was announced on Mon-
day, was invalid. Some 93% of BA’s
4,000 pilots voted to take industrial
action after rejecting a three-year pay
deal.
Balpa’s general secretary, Brian
Strutton , said: “Although legally clear
to do so, we have still not set any strike
dates to give BA one last chance tocommit to negotiating on pilots pay
and rewards with us at Acas later this
week.
“The company itself has admit-
ted that even one day of strike action
would cost more than what our pilots
are asking for, so the ball really is in
their court here, to look after their
pilots and ensure the hardworking
public get to continue their holidays
as planned.”
A BA spokesman said the airline
remained open to talks, adding: “We
are very disappointed with today’s
decision. We will continue to pursue
every avenue to protect the holidays
of thousands of our customers this
summer.”
Pilots had sought an above-infl ation
pay settlement that would also includea profi t share scheme, refl ecting their
argument that they took pay cuts when
BA was struggling in the wake of the
fi nancial crisis and that they should
share in the benefi t now that the busi-
ness has recovered. BA provided the
largest share of parent company IAG’s
€2.9bn (£2.6bn) pretax profi t in 2018.
BA, which carries up to 145,000 pas-
sengers a day, said that it had madean off er of 11.5% over three years – a
fi gure that Balpa disputes. The airline
said that a similar pay off er made to
other BA staff had been already recom-
mended by the Unite and GMB trade
unions to its members.
Planned strikes by thousands of
airport workers could also aff ect hol-
iday fl ights and bring disruption to
Heathrow airport, BA’s main base,
this summer, with a series of walk-
outs starting on Friday.
The airport’s chief executive, John
Holland-Kaye , accused the Unite
union yesterday of calling the strikes
to “fl ex its muscles”. He added that
Unite had deliberately targeted the
fi rst weekend after most state schools
have broken up, which is Heathrow’s
busiest period.‘The ball really is in
[BA’s] court here, to
look after their pilots’Brian Strutton
Balpa’s general secretaryUK bakes in searing
temperatures with
record-breaking
highs predicted
Nadeem Badshah
Record-breaking temperatures could
hit parts of Britain for the rest of the
week as the school holidays get under
way in much of the country.
Temperatures will increase as the
week progresses, according to fore-
casters, reaching highs of 34C today
and rising up to 37C (98.6F) before
the end of the week, which would be
a July record.
The mercury needs to reach at least
25C for three consecutive days in the
majority of Britain to be classifi ed as
a heatwave.
Although the main concentration
of the hot weather will be in central
and south-eastern England, parts of
Scotland, where most schools broke
up earlier in the month, could reach
the high 20s.
Scattered patches of lightning, hail
and winds were predicted to push up
from south-west England and move
north last night, according to the MetOffi ce. A yellow severe weather warn-
ing covering most of England, Wales,
and Scotland will run until 9am this
morning.
Public Health England has renewed
warnings about the heat, urging people
to keep hydrated, fi nd shade and take
protection against the sun.
Marco Petagna , a Met Offi ce fore-
caster, said there was the potentialfor record-breaking temperatures by
tomorrow evening.
He said there was a 60% chance
tomorrow’s weather might surpass the
July record of 36.7C set at Heathrow
in 2015 and a 30% chance of beating
the all-time UK temperature record of
38.5C , recorded in Faversham , Kent, in
August 2003.
Petagna said: “On Thursday we’ll
see an east and west split with showers
in the western parts of England but the
eastern parts will look very hot with
36 to 37C .” He also said “anywhere
across England could see some thun-
dery showers”.
The forecaster said the coolest areas
would be in western England where
temperatures will remain in the 20s.
Ruth May , the chief nursing offi cer
for England, has urged people to
check on their neighbours during the
warm weather. She said people should
take care as temperatures rise, while
Asthma UK urged suff erers to keep up
their medication.
May said: “The NHS will be there
always for anyone who needs it, but
everyone can help by checking in on
vulnerable friends and neighbours,
while making use of the free, con-
venient and helpful phone [dial 111]
and online NHS services for minor ill-
nesses, to help frontline staff provide
care for those in emergency and seri-
ous need.”
Meanwhile, a dog welfare charity
has advised owners to not leave pets
alone in a hot car even for a few min-
utes. Dogs Trust says on a day when
the temperature is 22C, inside a car
it could rise by 11C in 10 minutes and
dogs cannot cool down the same way
as humans.
Paula Boyden , Dogs Trust’s veteri-
nary director, said: “There are so many
things we can do to make sure our dogs
stay happy and healthy in hot weather,
but it is crucial we keep a close eye on
them, even if we are playing indoors.
“If we all do this, then hopefully we
and our dogs will be able to enjoy a long
hot summer.”▲ Commuters
cross London
Bridge in the hot
weather. Three
consecutive days
of at least 25C in
most of the UK is
the threshold for
a heatwave
PHOTOGRAPH:
ADAM GRAY/SWNS▼ Visitors fl ock
to the seaside
resort of Lyme
Regis in Dorset
to soak up the
scorching hot
sunshine
PHOTOGRAPH: CELIA
MCMAHON/ALAMY▼ Holidaymakers enjoy the sunshine
on Blackpool beach as temperatures
in Lancashire reached 28C
CHRISTOPHER THOMOND/THE GUARDIAN37C
Predicted temperature tomorrow,
which would surpass the July record
of 36.7C set at Heathrow in 2015РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS