British Airways has been dubbed a “national disgrace” by MPs for announcing 12,000 job cuts after the coronavirus struck.
A report accuses the airline of a “calculated attempt to take advantage of the pandemic to cut jobs and weaken the terms and conditions of its remaining employees”.
BA, and parent company IAG, proposes to axe more than one in four workers before re-hiring some on lesser contracts.
Some workers face pay cuts of 75%, it is claimed.
BA blamed the proposed job losses on a coronavirus slump in passenger numbers.
But critics accuse IAG, led by chief executive Willie Walsh, of “exploiting” the crisis.
The Commons Transport Committee report follows a probe into the impact of Covid-19 on the aviation industry.
Tory chair Huw Merriman said: “This wanton destruction of a loyal workforce cannot appear to go without sanction by Government, Parliament or passengers who may choose differently in future. We view it as a national disgrace.”
BA said in a statement: “We find ourselves in the deepest crisis ever faced by the industry. A crisis not of our making but one we must address.”
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “The case the company makes for sacking 12,000 and trashing the wages of those who stay on the workforce is full of holes because it is a transparent effort to generate profits out of a crisis.
“BA is fooling nobody. Never before has the country witnessed such brutal industrial thuggery.”
