BA woes continue with AGM protest

British Airways is under pressure from all sides, as workers prepare to conduct protests at the company's annual general meeting in London today. Unions are angry at the airline's plans to reduce its cabin crew by as many as 2,000 and other staff by 1,000.

The demonstrations are expected to include lemmings in cages outside the building where the meeting will take place, with placards reading "British Airways deserves better than to be led by lemmings" and "Willie, time to head to the departure gate?"

Yesterday BA's pilots voted in favour of a pay cut of 2.6 per cent , with shares in the airline offered as compensation. The agreement comes hot on the heels of an agreement with cabin crew last week over a similar 2.6 per cent reduction in pay, with no increase in salary to be received until 2011 at the earliest.

The cuts come as a result of BA’s announcement of a £401m yearly loss in May, with chief executive Willie Walsh hitting the headlines after he agreed to work for free in July. As a result some employees agreed to follow his example in forfeiting pay. The airline is said by management to be fighting for its very survival, a claim which is disputed by union leaders who claim that is merely talk designed to help save £26m a year in running costs.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent on BBC.co.uk: "The unions are prepared to make some cuts but not prepared to surrender the rights they have had for decades. The big problem for BA is the cost of crewing. A transatlantic BA flight costs twice as much as Virgin Atlantic and lots more than Asian carriers."

Rachel Cooper, the Daily Telegraph: "As British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, buckles in for the airline's annual general meeting tomorrow, he should be expecting a turbulent few hours. With BA currently locked in a stand-off with the unions over pay cuts and changes to working practices after Mr Walsh asked staff to go a month without pay, the AGM is unlikely to be a smooth ride."

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