JANE WARDELL
AP Business Writer
LONDON – British Airways cabin crew have lost a legal battle to overturn changes to pay and working conditions that sparked an acrimonious dispute between workers and management, culminating in a narrowly averted Christmas strike at the airline.
Britain’s High Court said Friday it had declined to grant a permanent injunction that would have scrapped the cost-cutting changes. The cuts include include a pay freeze this year, a switch to part-time working for some staff and a reduction in cabin crew numbers from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights.
The Unite union, which represents some 13,000 BA cabin crew, had argued that the airline was in breach of its contracts with staff because it did not properly consult with them before imposing the changes the changes in November.