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(Alliance News) - The new boss of British Airways' parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group SA has been told there is still time to "do the right thing" and protect the firm's workforce and brand.
Conservative MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the Transport Select Committee, criticised the treatment of staff by the company as part of its efforts to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
It comes after IAG announced that it will be cutting flights due to coronavirus travel restrictions and quarantine requirements.
Luis Gallego, who previously ran Spanish airline Iberia, took over as chief executive of IAG on Tuesday, succeeding Willie Walsh.
Speaking in the Commons, Merriman said: "There are already 30,00 jobs which have been put at risk directly within our aviation sector. We know that there are 3,500 job losses each with respect to Virgin and Ryanair Holdings PLC, easyJet PLC, 4,500.
"The select committee report made it quite clear that redundancies were inevitable when we see the drop in numbers that we have. But I'm afraid to say, I want to make special mention with regard to British Airways, our national flag carrier, with 42,000 staff, 12,000 staff put at risk.
"Those members of staff across the board were given the option of taking voluntary redundancy, which if they didn't sign a settlement agreement they would lose their staff travel allowance, or effectively reapply for their old job on terms they wouldn't know would be set out.
"So that was a big Russian roulette gamble for them to play and a big risk. If they didn't sign voluntary redundancy they could, it said, be looking at reductions in terms of conditions of over 50%. But to not even know that when being given that choice, in my view is absolutely shoddy treatment.
"And this at a time where British Airways' parent, IAG, is looking to spend a billion euros on a new airliner when 66% of its profits was put in by British Airways staff."
Merriman said that he does not believe Gallego will have the same "scorched-earth" approach to industrial relations as Walsh did.
He said: "I see an opportunity for British Airways here. It's fair to say that the new chief executive, Luis Gallego, is a man who's thoughtful, reasonable and he's two days into his job.
"I don't believe he'll have the same scorched-earth approach to industrial relations as his predecessor. There is still time, because these terms have not yet come out, for British Airways to do the right thing."
The MP concluded: "I would say to (Gallego) – this is not too late, you still have time to do the right thing, protect your workforce, protect your brand."
Conservative former prime minister Theresa May said that the best way to protect jobs would be to get planes flying again.
She told MPs: "I have constituents affected by the British Airways decisions, I have had concerns about those, I've raised those with the company.
"But I also have constituents who will be losing jobs at other airlines and at Heathrow Airport itself and that is an impact of what we have seen in the rapid reduction of the number of people who are actually flying around the world.
"The best way to ensure that those people have jobs, to support those jobs, is to get planes flying again."
Labour's Sam Tarry (Ilford South) said British Airways should be "stripped of the right to have British livery on their planes for good unless they decide to treat their staff in a decent and proper way".
Conservative Greg Smith (Buckingham) added: "British Airways has behaved appallingly throughout this crisis."
Transport minister Robert Courts said he would not comment on individual companies.
source: PA
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