Thomas Cook cabin crew to strike

This could affect thousands of holidays…

Thomas Cook have voted to strike after a row about ‘dangerous’ rest breaks.

The airline has reduced its cabin crew’s breaks to one 20-minute rest for every 11 hours and 59 minutes worked.

The break allocation is said to be the minimum allowed in the Civil Aviation Authority’s guidelines.

If the strike does go ahead it will take place during the next school term break which is May 30 and July 3.

Unite has said it is fighting for its members to have at least two 20-minute breaks in that period and that it is concerned its members are being “pushed to the limit” with passenger safety being put at risk.

Thomas Cook crew members are said to work 10 to 15 hour shifts and up to 60 hours a week.

Thomas Cook has said they will put plans in place to make sure customers can still go on holiday in the event of strikes, whether this runs smoothly no one knows.

Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said: “We hope that the company take note of this strong vote in favour of action and works with us constructively to resolve the dispute and avoid any potential industrial action. We have already had exploratory talks with Thomas Cook at Acas. Over the coming days we will be approaching further Acas talks in a positive manner and trust that Thomas Cook adopts a similar approach to address our members’ legitimate concerns.”

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: “We’re disappointed Unite cabin crew members have taken the decision to vote for strike action. The safety of both our people and our customers is our top priority and we rigorously adhere to the rules around crew breaks. We’re committed to working with Unite to address their concerns and have already met with the conciliation service Acas to try to find a solution. Meanwhile, we’ve put together plans to ensure that our customers will still be able to go on holiday, despite any possible strike action.”