DESPITE the pouring rain, striking BA cabin crew maintained three lively picket lines at Heathrow Airport yesterday.
They chanted: ‘Don’t blame it on the ash cloud, don’t blame it on the share price, don’t blame it on the cabin crew, blame it on the Willie!’
A sacked British Airways cabin crew union rep said at Hatton Cross picket line yesterday: ‘There will be another ballot in a couple of weeks’ time over loss of travel, the disciplinaries in relation to the dispute and other breaches of agreements related to the dispute.
‘The cabin crew in Manchester are lobbying the Unite conference today to raise their strike pay and to arrange interest-free loans to pay mortgages.
‘We have had a lot of donations from different unions, including the NUT and PCS.
‘The most generous donation has been from the steelworkers in the USA, who have donated $100,000.
‘A lot of American pilots have been visiting our strike HQ at Bedfont football club.
Margaret, also at Hatton Cross picket line, said: ‘It would be nice if the whole airport came out to win our strike.
‘It is important to get both sides of the story.
‘We only get British Airways’ side in the media.
‘We are suffering terrible hardship, but there will be more hardship if we lose this dispute.
‘This is my life I am fighting for.
‘The way Willie Walsh is gagging us is like we are in a Third World country.
‘It is so petty what people have been suspended for.
‘What the flight crew have written about us is very rude and absolutely shocking, but nothing has happened to them.
‘We are getting sacked for just saying one word they disagree with.
‘We have been backed into a corner and we have no choice but to strike.
‘None of us are militants. Our only hope is what we are doing here, picketing, demonstrating and striking at the airport.
‘We can stand our ground longer than Willie Walsh.
‘He sent out a New York jumbo with three passengers on it. What a terrible waste of money.
‘All Walsh cares about is that he got it away.’
At the police station picket line on the airport, Julie said: ‘We would suspend the strike if he gave us our staff travel back and allow ACAS to mediate over my 60 sacked colleagues.
‘Staff travel is not free. We pay 10 per cent of the British Airways ticket and we only get it if there is an empty seat.
‘So they make millions out of cabin crew.
‘We need the whole airport out to win this.’
