British Airways cabin crew await High Court cuts ruling

British Airways cabin crew will learn today whether they have been successful in preventing BA from imposing cost-cutting proposals.

BA wants to reduce cabin crew complements on its Worldwide and Eurofleet flights, but Unite argues that it will be in breach of contract.

The union says the crew complements were fixed by collective agreements with the unions and were "expressly incorporated" into individual staff members' contracts.

Unite has agreed "unwillingly" to work the new schedules pending today's ruling by Sir Christopher Holland at the High Court on 10 test cases - representative of about 5,400 claimants who are among 13,400 cabin crew employed by BA.

It is re-balloting its 12,000 cabin crew members for industrial action, with a result due on Monday.

John Hendy QC, for Unite, has said the changes would "materially and detrimentally affect the health and wellbeing of staff and passengers on board the flights".

BA has maintained that, while there would be an increase in work for cabin crew, there would be no safety or security risk and that an injunction would be a "commercial catastrophe".

It said the new crewing levels brought BA into line with competitors and what it had already introduced - with the union's agreement - at Gatwick.