British Airways has been called a “national disgrace” by lawmakers for its treatment of employees on Saturday, adding to the pressure on the airline, which is juggling job cuts and new quarantine rules.
The UK transport committee said BA and its parent company IAG are trying to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to cut 12,000 jobs and lower the terms and conditions of other employees.
“It is unacceptable for a company to seek to drive this level of change under the guise of a pandemic,” said Conservative MP Huw Merriman, chair of the committee, in a report released on Saturday.
In response, an airline spokesperson said, “We will do everything in our power to ensure that British Airways can survive and maintain the maximum number of jobs compatible with the new reality of a transportation industry. airline industry in a severely weakened global economy. “
BA is engaged in a battle with the unions and in legal action against the government over its quarantine policy, which forces all international arrivals to isolate themselves for 14 days.
Lawmakers said in the report that quarantine would hurt the economy and called on the government to replace it with more targeted measures, such as corridors between low-risk countries.
“It is imperative that the British government find a way to get aviation back on its feet,” said Merriman.
BA, along with competing airlines easyJet and Ryanair, took legal action Friday to try to overturn the quarantine policy.
All three have announced layoffs, but so far only BA has been chosen for its tactics.
BA, which consumes 20 million pounds ($ 25.2 million) a day and has no income, is preparing for what most airlines and travel experts expect to become a smaller market. trip after the coronavirus pandemic.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
