EXASPERATED workers at British Airways (BA) were joined by union representatives from Unite in Usk today to ask Monmouth MP David Davies to support them amid growing concerns for their livelihoods.

Around 20 people knocked on the door of Mr Davies' office on Maryport Street to ask him to sign a pledge to back their campaign to save as many jobs as possible, but the MP was not there.

The airline has proposed 12,000 redundancies and plans to “fire and re-hire” many others on “inferior contracts”, according to Unite.

Many politicians across Gwent and Wales have put pen to paper in an attempt to ramp up pressure on BA to reconsider the plans, but Mr Davies has not signed the document.

BA's financial results, published on July 31, showed a swing from profit to a loss of £711m for the second quarter of the year.

A source at BA's Blackwood site has said 50 people have been made redundant, but BA said no redundancies have been finalised.

The document calls on the UK Government to strip BA of "preferential treatment" on landing and take-off slots if the redundancies are to go ahead.

South Wales Argus:

Of the landing slots allocated at Heathrow over the past seven seasons, 95 per cent of them have gone to foreign airlines.

Unite's Leigh Williams said: “We’ve had a lot of Conservative MPs support us in our campaign. In Wales we’ve had Alun Cairns (Secretary of State for Wales) and James Davies (MP for Vale of Clwyd) sign, so it has received cross party support. It's important Mr Davies does the same.

South Wales Argus:

“BA is not listening. It’s a worrying time for a lot of our BA workers. Some are being made redundant and being asked to come back on ‘terms and conditions’.

"One of our members, who works for BA, says he’s been told he’ll be on 45 per cent less money than he was on before lockdown.

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“BA is a very profitable company and can weather this storm by selling landing slots, but they are not prioritising their workforce.”

A worker at the Blackwood site who has been told he will be able to keep his job on reduced pay, said: "They’ve picked the people they want to make redundant and from October 1 we have been told we will lose a chunk of our shift allowance and some holiday pay.

"From next year we’ll be moved down to Cardiff Airport, so commuting costs will also increase massively.

South Wales Argus:

“We all feel we’ve been treated really badly. We’re not on a great deal of money anyway.”

Mr Davies said: “I fully share their concerns about the airline industry. It has been hit incredibly hard by the Covid crisis. It will take years for passenger numbers to return to normal.

“When we see further protests against the airline and car industry, I hope that Unite will stand up for those who work in the industries rather than encouraging people to join with protestors who want to see drastic reductions in flying and driving."

South Wales Argus:

A spokesman for BA said: “This is the biggest challenge the airline and our industry has ever faced. Many airlines have already made thousands of staff redundant.

“We have to adapt to survive, so we will continue with the proper, lawful consultative process and we will keep inviting union representatives to discuss our proposals to the serious challenges we face. It is not too late to find solutions - as we have done with BALPA (British Airline Pilots’ Association) - and to protect jobs.”