Scottish MP submits bill to block BA’s ‘fire and rehire’ plans
SNP MP Gavin Newlands has submitted an emergency bill to the House of Commons which would prevent firms using controversial “fire and rehire” tactics on their employees.
The decision to bring forward the bill comes after it was claimed that British Airways (BA) was planning on making all 42,000 of its staff redundant and then re-employing 30,000 of them on worse contracts.
Writing on Twitter, Newlands said: “The behaviour of companies like British Airways who threaten mass redundancies to force workers onto vastly reduced terms and conditions should be illegal.
“I’ve therefore laid a bill with cross party support to make it illegal”.
Pilots union Balpa backed the bill, describing the “fire and rehire” process as an “appalling industrial relations practice”.
General secretary Brian Strutton said: “It is absolutely right that this practice of essentially legalised blackmail should be outlawed in the UK and we welcome Gavin Newlands’ work on this.
“We’ve heard warm words from government ministers and even the Prime Minister on the situation in BA – here is some action they could take.”
Last week, BA’s use of the government’s job retention scheme was the focus on an impassioned emergency debate in parliament featuring members from across the house.
Transport select committee chair Huw Merriman described the plan as “ethically outrageous” and called on transport secretary Grant Shapps to launch a review into the allocation of prize landing slots at Heathrow.
However, speaking to Sky News, BA-owner IAG’s chief executive Willie Walsh said that the airline had acted in compliance with the law in setting out proposals for unions to consult on.
Other sector members have been more sympathetic to BA, with Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye suggesting that the airline’s options were severely limited.
Speaking to City A.M., he said: “In the absence of any revenue, the only thing they can do to buy themselves time is to cut costs. And as I said earlier, no company wants to have to do that. But they’ve got to take the best judgement they can.
“I think we have to recognise that those companies in the aviation sector and in many other businesses in the UK are really in survival mode and having to make unpalatable decisions”
Newlands said he was “realistic” about the bill’s chances of passing, but insisted that there was “a way to manage that change to minimise the impact on workers and their families across the country”.
He added: “It’s very clear that Willie Walsh and BA haven’t given that a single minute’s thought, and are instead hell-bent on tearing up livelihoods and working standards”.
A BA spokesperson said: “We are acting now to protect as many jobs possible. The airline industry is facing the deepest structural change in its history, as well as facing a severely weakened global economy.
“We call on Unite and GMB to consult with us on our proposals as our pilot union, Balpa, is doing. Working together we can protect more jobs as we prepare for a new future.”