Slowdown-hit British Airways says staff agree to work for free

Struggling British Airways BA on Friday said 800 staff had agreed to work unpaid and thousands more to pay cuts,helping the group save up to 10 million 16.3 million. After diving into a financial loss,the airline last month asked staff to work for free,while promising that chief executive Willie Walsh and BAs finance director Keith Williams would forgo their July salaries. This is a fantastic first response to BAs cost-cutting programme,Walsh said.

I want to thank everyone who has volunteered to help us pull through this difficult period. This response clearly shows the significant difference individuals can make. But one senior union official said staff had been bullied into accepting BAs proposals. Less than 2 per cent of the entire workforce volunteered to work for free, said Steve Turner,a national officer for Britains biggest union. Unite.

While we support means to mitigate redundancy,workers were sent intimidating emails from senior managers which we believe put pressure on staff to volunteer for one of the changes BA proposed,otherwise they would get a meeting with a manager. This bullying and constant harassment of our members is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, he added.