Virgin Atlantic redundancies a symptom of problems in the wider industry say Unite

08/04/2008

Unite, the UK's largest trade union that represents more than 4,300 cabin crew at Virgin Atlantic today said that the decision to put more than 320 Virgin Atlantic staff ‘at risk’ of redundancy, was a sign of the increasing competition within the airline business.

The Virgin Atlantic staff under threat of redundancy are in-flight Beauty Therapists and Unite is calling on Virgin to ensure that they are offered re-training opportunities to take up other positions in the company and not face compulsory redundancy.

Brian Boyd, Unite National Officer for Civil Aviation, said:"The so-called ‘Open Skies’ Agreement, consolidation within the sector, competition from low cost carriers and increasing fuel costs are just some of the factors which are now putting aviation jobs at risk.

"The announcement by Virgin Atlantic is becoming all too familiar within the industry. We will now be seeking assurances from Virgin Atlantic that there will be no compulsory redundancies and that they will work with us to ensure that all Unite members whose jobs are under threat are redeployed within the business.

"We are also concerned that the Government's flawed plans to replace Air Passenger Duty with the Plane Tax will increase pressure on the UK Aviation sector as a whole, and ultimately lead to more job loses. Unite will be raising its’ concerns with government in our forthcoming submission on the Governments proposals."

Unite has recently been involved in Redundancy Consultations at XL Airways, Flyglobespan, and First Choice, which is a clear indication that the problems facing the industry are similar and widespread.

The government’s proposal for a new plane tax will mean that passengers will be charged every time they step on a plane in the UK. Currently the Air Passenger Duty is applied as a one off tax for the complete journey regardless of the number of times you have to change planes. Unite say that this will put further pressure on UK operators.

Unite has more than 70,000 members spread across the UK Civil Aviation Sector, which includes some 24,00