BA cabin crew, that become pregnant and live too far to travel to Heathrow or Gatwick to perform ground duties, will now be forced to take unpaid leave by the airline.
A move by management in recent days will see one of the country's major employers discriminate against pregnant women.
The cabin crew's union, Unite, said it feared this would further wound the already badly damaged relationship BA has with its cabin crew staff - and undermine attempts by the airline's new CEO, Keith Williams to seek peace with the crew.
Last week BA changed - without prior negotiation - a long standing agreement that offered protection to pregnant cabin crew members who are required to be grounded from flying duties as soon as they are pregnant. This agreement was put in place to protect women and to reduce the risk of miscarriage and pregnancy-related complications.
Brendan Gold, Unite national officer, said: “This is a shameful attack on pregnant women and a further example of a macho management culture at BA which is out of date and now seriously out of line.
"BA is turning back the clock on its maternity agreement and on how it treats its majority female cabin crew. This retrograde move will make starting a family, while working at BA, a very difficult choice for many women. This is an outrageous way to treat women in an iconic British company like BA.
“Instead of rebuilding the battered relationship BA has with its cabin crew following the current two year dispute, BA is continuing to provoke anger and resentment from its crew members.
"Over the years BA has recruited its cabin crew staff from all parts of the UK as well as from continental Europe. BA has closed its regional bases forcing workers to travel hundreds of miles to their place of work, yet it now intends to stop payment to any pregnant crew staff member who is unable to commute to BA’s last two hubs, Heathrow and Gatwick.
"Unite will challenge this decision and is taking legal advice on whether BA is breaking sex discrimination laws."
The majority of BA’s cabin crew are women and will receive around £25,000 per year, including flying expenses. The loss of pay throughout a pregnancy will make having a child at BA prohibitively expensive for many women.
Source: Unite
