British Airways cabin crew are set to be balloted for fresh industrial action in their bitter row with the airline which could cause disruption to flights throughout the summer.
Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, said a new ballot for strikes could be only a week or so away, as union members continued with the current five-day walkout.
Mr Woodley told Unite's annual conference in Manchester that the ''hard man'' stance of BA chief executive Willie Walsh will plunge the airline into a prolonged and ''totally needless'' summer of disruption.
A fresh ballot will be needed because the 12-week protective legal period for taking industrial action ends in early June.
Mr Woodley said if crew were forced to seek a new mandate for industrial action the blame for this will lie ''firmly'' with Mr Walsh and his ''persistent refusal'' to permit a peaceful settlement.
Unite said it believed a deal on cabin crew costs had already been agreed between both parties, adding that the airline could be restored to full operation in time for the peak summer season if the outstanding row over travel concessions was resolved.
The cabin crew launched their 14th day of action today in a dispute which Unite said had now cost BA over £90 million, with each day of action adding £7 million.
Mr Woodley told the 700 delegates that the dispute could be summed up in one word - bullying, continuing: ''Bullying that imposes radical changes on our members without agreement, that has seen other BA employees incited against cabin crew with, to their lasting shame, the collusion of scab pilots, that has meant more than 50 of our brothers and sisters suspended or sacked for the crime of sending a text or posting a remark on Facebook, that forbids them from talking about their own dispute in public and that victimises trade unionists by branding them second-class employees for life.
''Well, there is only one thing to do with bullies - that is stand up to them until they learn some manners.
''We all know there is a deal to be struck, one that recognises the real commercial needs and problems of the company as well as our members' legitimate interests.
''But we are not and never will be prepared to see our members and our union humiliated, victimised and reduced to ruins, as Willie Walsh seems to say.''
Striking cabin crew were at the conference and will attend a fringe meeting on the BA dispute later today.
BA said it had operated more services than planned yesterday, including the reintroduction of all of its services from Heathrow to New York's JFK airport, adding that it would continue to add to its schedule where possible.
''Our global operations went very well throughout the first week of Unite's strike action and got off to another good start today at the beginning of the second series of strikes.
''We have announced a larger schedule at Heathrow for this round of strikes, because of the numbers of crew reporting for work.
''We will continue to operate 100% of our schedule at Gatwick and London City airports. At Heathrow, we will operate more than 70% of long-haul flights (up from more than 60% last week) and more than 55% of short-haul flights (up from more than 50% this week),'' the airline said in a statement.
Unite is planning a further five-day strike next week unless the deadlock is broken.
Any further strikes are likely to be in July as it will take Unite four to five weeks to organise a new ballot.
Source telegraph
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