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| BA asks staff to work for nothing | BA asks staff to work for nothing |
| (9 minutes later) | |
| British Airways is asking thousands of staff to work for nothing, for up to one month, to help the airline survive. | British Airways is asking thousands of staff to work for nothing, for up to one month, to help the airline survive. |
| The appeal, sent by email to more than 30,000 workers in the UK, asks them to volunteer for between one week and one month's unpaid leave, or unpaid work. | The appeal, sent by email to more than 30,000 workers in the UK, asks them to volunteer for between one week and one month's unpaid leave, or unpaid work. |
| BA's chief executive Willie Walsh has already agreed to work unpaid in July, forgoing his month's salary of £61,000. | BA's chief executive Willie Walsh has already agreed to work unpaid in July, forgoing his month's salary of £61,000. |
| Last month, BA posted a record annual loss of £401m, partly due to higher fuel bills and other costs. | Last month, BA posted a record annual loss of £401m, partly due to higher fuel bills and other costs. |
| Mr Walsh said BA's drive to save cash was part of a "fight for survival". | Mr Walsh said BA's drive to save cash was part of a "fight for survival". |
| "I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan," he said. | "I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan," he said. |
| "It really counts," he added. | "It really counts," he added. |
| BA has been in urgent talks during the past few weeks with trade unions at the company over other ways to save money. | |
| Details of a large pay and productivity deal are expected to be announced on Wednesday. | |
| Flexible scheme | Flexible scheme |
| A company spokesman said it did not have an exact target for the expected savings from its appeal. | A company spokesman said it did not have an exact target for the expected savings from its appeal. |
| "As much as possible, but we don't have a figure," he said. | "As much as possible, but we don't have a figure," he said. |
| The idea was first launched last month when the airline asked staff to volunteer for a month's unpaid leave, or to work for free for that time. | The idea was first launched last month when the airline asked staff to volunteer for a month's unpaid leave, or to work for free for that time. |
| That attracted more than 1,000 applicants. | That attracted more than 1,000 applicants. |
| But the company's more recent version of its scheme, launched last week by e-mail and in an article in the internal staff newspaper BA News, is more flexible. | But the company's more recent version of its scheme, launched last week by e-mail and in an article in the internal staff newspaper BA News, is more flexible. |
| It asks staff to volunteer by the end of this month for between one week and one month of unpaid leave or unpaid work. | |
| The lost salary will be spread over between three and six months. | The lost salary will be spread over between three and six months. |
| BA said other airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, had launched similar schemes and a majority of their workforces had signed up for them. | BA said other airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, had launched similar schemes and a majority of their workforces had signed up for them. |