MP condemns British Airways plans
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The MP for Gordon Richard Thomson has joined calls for the bosses of British Airways to step back from their plan for mass redundancies at the airline.
The company has recently come under fire for appearing to utilise the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme while preparing to cut thousands of jobs and subject thousands more staff to a ‘fire and rehire’ process - essentially dismissing and rehiring pilots and cabin crew to place them on contracts with lower pay, fewer benefits and downgraded terms and conditions than applied previously.
Mr Thomson - who is his party's Business and Industry spokesperson at Westminster made his call after fellow MP Gavin Newlands brought forward emergency legislation before Parliament which seeks to prohibit employers dismissing workers and subsequently re-employing them with diminished terms and conditions.
The Employment (Dismissal and Re-employment) Bill, which has cross-party support, comes in response to firms – such as British Airways – that have sought to lay off and then rehire thousands of staff on significantly reduced terms due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The MP warned that the moves were “exploitative” and would push workers into hardship.
Mr Thomson has also signed the Early Day Motions 418 regarding the airline’s plans and 438 noting the planned 12,000 redundancies already announced.
Mr Thomson commented: “Many of my constituents who work for BA have been in contact expressing their worries and asking for the mass redundancies to be called off.
"The fact that BA have been taking advantage of the government's ‘furlough’ scheme while enforcing 12,000 redundancies and using 'fire and rehire' procedures on thousands to retain their services on less favourable terms is frankly deplorable.
“Loyal employees do not deserve to be treated in this way. BA staff and their representatives have my full support in resisting these measures, which are entirely unbecoming of a 'flag carrier' airline."
