UK: injunction against BA strikes overturned

A court of appeals overturned an injunction against strikes planned by British Airways’ cabin crew, and walkouts will occur unless the two sides reach an agreement. A first block of strike dates (May 18 to 22) was stopped by the injunction, but a walkout is likely to happen during the second block (May 24 to 28).

BA advises customers to check its website "on a regular basis" to see if their flight is still operating. If their flight has been canceled, customers should not come to the airport but contact British Airways or their travel agent, said the airline.

Source: Travel Weekly; find article here>>.

UK: High Court blocks British Airways strike

The UK High Court has blocked a 12-day Christmas walkout by British Airways cabin crew after ruling that the strike ballot was illegal. The high court granted BA's request for an injunction against the strike after around 900 cabin crew were balloted despite taking voluntary redundancy. Mrs Justice Cox ruled that the balloting error breached the 1992 Trade Union Act.

The decision means nearly a million BA passengers can complete their journeys as planned over Christmas unless there are wildcat walkouts by the 12,700 cabin crew who supported industrial action.

Source: eTurboNews; find article here>>.

USA: Lawsuit against pilots dismissed

Continental Airlines alleged that nine pilots obtained "sham" divorces from their spouses for the purpose of withdrawing pension funds early. However, US District Judge Gray H. Miller held that ERISA, the federal statute governing pensions, does not authorize corporate human resources departments to second-guess the validity of a lawful family court divorce judgments. The pilots have countersued for allegedly illegal invasions of privacy, including humiliating and intrusive questioning about their domestic arrangements, medical conditions, intimate relationships, and financial circumstances.

Source: eTurboNews; find article here>>.

USA: airline pornography suit settled

An attorney for a former United Airlines pilot says her client's lawsuit against the U.S. airline over pornographic items found on flights has been settled, preventing it from going to U.S. District Court. Due to a related nondisclosure agreement no specifics were given.

The lawsuit alleged the former United Airlines pilot routinely found pornographic photographs in airplane cockpits during domestic airline flights. She sued the airline for not taking appropriate measures to catch the individuals leaving the photographs behind.

Source: UPI.com; find article here>>.

USA: seven airlines sue FAA over Crew Rest Rules

Seven major U. S. carriers, including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue and two smaller carriers, have joined in a lawsuit to protest stronger federal rules governing crew rest on longer international flights. The airlines alledge the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had bypassed the usual rule-making process and the new rule would subject the airlines to “substantial burdens and costs".

The FAA rules would require that pilots on the longest international flights get more rest before flying again. The extra rest would be required even when only 10 percent of flights on a particular route exceed 16 hours. The rules are intended to cover pilot fatigue, an issue that some say is a growing concern.

Source: travelpulse.com; find article here>>.

USA: airline sues pilots and union over campaign

The lawsuit, filed by United Airlines in Chicago last Wednesday, seeks a preliminary injunction against the Air Line Pilots Association and four pilots claiming they had organized an effort to encourage pilots to call in sick. The airline accuses the union of conducting a "public campaign of intimidation" meant to discourage pilots from filling in for the pilots who used their sick time, "effectively engaging in a slowdown." United Airline claims such slowdowns had led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Source: Intl. Herald Tribune; find article here>>.

Hawaii: Aloha Pilots Seek Court Injunction

The Aloha Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l, (ALPA), filed a complaint in U.S. Bankruptcy Court today seeking injunctive relief against the airline. ALPA asserts that Aloha Airlines management's total disregard for pilots' collective bargaining agreement during the past few weeks has triggered a "major dispute" under the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline contract negotiations. ALPA seeks an order from the Court to force Aloha Airlines to comply with its contract.

ALPA will continue efforts to resolve the major dispute with management, but if no agreement is reached by 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2008, ALPA and the Aloha pilots may, after following all of ALPA's internal preliminary procedures, strike any or all of Aloha's operations.

Source: eTurboNews; read full article here>>.

China: Turnabout pilots lead to big fine

A Chinese airline has been stripped of routes and given a large fine after some of its pilots turned back flights amid suspected industrial unrest. China Eastern Airlines was punished by the country's civil aviation authority after the incidents earlier this month.
The carrier had claimed that the flights had returned to Kunming airport after take-off due to bad weather but later admitted a "human element". Pilots had been demanding better pay, hours and working conditions.
Fining China Eastern 1.5 million yuan ($215,000; £108,000) and giving some of its routes within Yunnan province to rival airlines, the carrier was told to punish those responsible and uphold safety.

Source: BBC; Fina full article here>>.

India court in moustache notice

India's Supreme Court has issued a notice to a state-run airline asking it to explain why an air steward was sacked for wearing a big moustache.

Victor Joynath De was grounded by Indian - formerly called Indian Airlines- in 2001 for refusing to shave off his handlebar moustache. He had earlier lost a case in a lower court which ruled that the airline was within its rights to sack him.
According to Indian rules, all crew members should be clean shaven. A moustache, if worn, should not extend beyond the upper lip, says the rule book. The guidelines do not apply to Sikh employees who are allowed to keep moustaches.
"How can somebody be removed from a job because of the size of his moustache?" the Supreme Court bench comprising Justice HK Sema and Justice Markanday Katju asked on Monday. The airline has been given four weeks to respond.

Source: bbc.co.uk; read full article here.

USA: SkyWest Pilots fighting for their federal right to organize

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction upholding SkyWest Airlines pilots’ federal rights to discuss and learn more about the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) and the benefits of union representation, and finding that the company had unlawfully interfered with those rights. The SkyWest Pilots ALPA Organizing Committee is working with ALPA to gain union representation for SkyWest pilots.
The preliminary injunction allows SkyWest pilots to continue to wear ALPA lanyards, talk about ALPA openly, and distribute ALPA-related materials on non-work time in non-work areas such as the crew lounge and bulletin boards—all rights which the company has sought throughout this process to deny.
The Court concluded that the Organizing Committee had made a strong showing that SkyWest management has unlawfully interfered with the federal right of SkyWest pilots to organize. In its opinion, the Court also addressed SkyWest’s funding of its in-house pilot organization. Although the Court declined to order SkyWest to cease funding immediately, it did indicate that management’s 100 percent funding of the organization almost certainly violates the Railway Labor Act.
Formed in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilots union, representing more than 60,000 pilots and crewmembers at 41 airlines in the U.S. and Canada.

Source: ALPA press release #07.036

"Out of shape" hostesses to fight Indian airline

Indian air hostesses embroiled in a legal battle with their employer after they were grounded for being out of shape said the move was unconstitutional and have vowed to win back lost wages. Eleven women say they have suffered from low self-esteem after being grounded by state-run Indian airline for being between a few hundred grams and 3 kg over the firm's specified weight limit. Lawyers for the company, known as Indian Airlines until last year, say the women are contractually obliged to meet weight guidelines for health reasons. The restrictions also apply to the 200 male stewards working for the airline, 20 of whom were also barred from work. The women will take their case to Delhi's High Court in March, demanding the company pay their salaries for the time they were grounded.
Source: http://www.travelindustryreview.com/news/3682

(Originally posted by Michael Wukoschitz)

U.S. District Court Blocks Job Actions by Flight Attendants

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York overturned a bankruptcy court decision and granted Northwest Airlines' request for a preliminary injunction to prevent a threatened strike or work action by the company's flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants.
For details see http://www.travelindustrydeals.com/news/875

(Originally posted by Michael Wukoschitz)

Union workers threaten with airport strike

Union workers are threatening with strike action at the country's national airport on 14th July, demanding airport management offer more overtime pay and better working schedules in new contract talks.

(Originally posted by Michael Wukoschitz)

Working Time Directive Extended to Transport Workers

Agreement has been reached to extend the Working Time Directive to a further 5 million workers in the EU. The decision was taken on April 3 and will now cover rail workers and those involved in air, road and inland waterway transport. They will have a right to rest periods, a limit on working hours per week and a minimum of 4 weeks' annual leave.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Potential Growth in EU Tourism Employment

A Commission Communication of 28 April reports that 2.2m-3.3m extra jobs could be created in the EU by 2010, if a positive climate for investment is encouraged. The Commission proposes a three stranded strategy - better use of information, easier information facilities, and structured consultation with relevant bodies. 9m jobs in the EU are in the tourism industry, in 2m businesses. It generates 5.5% of overall GDP, 6% of employment and 30% of external trade in services. [IP/99/267]

(Originally posted by Jason Campbell)

Working Time Directive

The Commission announced proposals to extend the provisions of the Directive to more EU workers in the road, rail, sea, air and inland waterways transport industries. The Directive provides protection against adverse health and safety effects of long hours, inadequate rests and disruptive working patterns. (IP/98/1004).

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Potential for Jobs in Tourism in Europe

The High-Level Group on Tourism and Employment reported to the Commission last week that tourism could create between 2.2m and 3.3m new jobs in the EU by 2010, expecting growth faster than the economy as a whole. It proposes five main areas for action in order to promote job creation: 1) greater business expertise to take account of guests' needs; 2) improving the business environment; 3) modernisation of transport infrastructures by EU and MSs; 4) upgrading of human resources; and 5) integration of sustainable development principles. More information [From "Week in Europe"]

(Originally posted by Jason Campbell)

Working Time Directive

The International Transport Federation held a day of action to protest about the application of this Directive. This is the largest sector not covered by the Directive. Approximately 3.5m transport workers are employed in the sector. The European Commission threatened to propose legislation for the sector if no agreement was reached between employers and unions by 30 September. Agreement was finally reached between the employers' organisations and trade unions in the railway and maritime sectors. However, no agreement was reached in the road transport sector. The Commission will now put forward legilsative proposals based on the agreement and a White Paper that they had produced in July 1998. [IP/98/792]

(Originally posted by John Downes)