Louise Nousratpour
Tuesday March 15, 2011
The Morning Star
The Unite union is seeking legal advice on whether British Airways is breaching sex discrimination laws after the airline forced a pregnant cabin crew to take unpaid leave.
The union revealed on Monday that BA bosses had put one of its members on unpaid leave because she lived too far to travel to London's Heathrow or Gatwick airports to perform ground duties.
It claimed that management had scrapped a long-standing agreement which offered some protection to pregnant women employees who had to be grounded from flying duties to reduce the risk of miscarriage and complications.
Cabin crew members are banned from flying as soon as they fall pregnant. Those living within 50 miles of Heathrow or Gatwick are expected to work at check-in desks or as admin staff.
Unite national officer Brendan Gold explained that over the years BA had recruited staff from all parts of Britain and Europe while closing its regional bases, forcing workers to travel hundreds of miles to their place of work.
"Yet it now intends to stop payment to pregnant crew staff members who are unable to commute to BA's last two hubs, Heathrow and Gatwick," he said.
"This is a shameful attack on pregnant women and a further example of a macho-management culture which is out of date and now seriously out of line."
The majority of BA cabin crew are women and will receive around £25,000 per year.
The loss of pay throughout a pregnancy will make having a child at BA prohibitively expensive for many women.
"Unite is taking legal advice on whether BA is breaking sex discrimination laws," Mr Gold added.
A BA spokesman insisted: "The company's policy for pregnant cabin crew fully complies with UK law."
1 comment:
This is totally unfair. They should allow them to work at airports. It is logical not to let them fly, but what is the problem with airports?
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