Huw Merriman: the Chair of the Transport Committee
Originally Posted by
cashash
I no longer have a dog in this fight, how it is run is up to the Staff and Unions, but I would doubt trying to make it political is going to help the campaign - I would suggest it would be more likely to alienate those whose support you need.
As an aside, the local MP whose Constituency Heathrow is actually in also has not signed - and he is Labour. Also with most of the MP's away from Parliament and rather hit and miss IT being used for home working can every MP actually get to sign these EDM's?
The Chair is
a British Conservative Party politician
"
Talking of MP’s, for those of you in Sussex, please shake Huw Merriman’s hand for me as he has demanded that the BA Millionaires Club turn up to parliament and explain themselves, apparently they’ve all been too busy up till now."Chair's comments
Chair of the Transport Committee, Huw Merriman MP, said:
“It seems remarkable that British Airways cannot find anyone with sufficient responsibility to join others from the aviation sector for our Select Committee inquiry this Wednesday. With so many questions, this would be an ideal platform for BA to set out its challenges, to reassure and seek Parliamentary support should it need more assistance from the UK authorities.
“In March, BA’s parent, IAG, warned against the UK Government bailing out its competitors and said it would administer ‘self-help’ before seeking support. BA’s UK staff are now facing mass redundancies or working on vastly reduced terms. BA’s passengers are not being given flight refunds they are entitled to.
“In Spain, it would appear that BA’s parent has adopted a different strategy of seeking substantial Government financial support and maintaining its operations and employee numbers.
“It’s vital that BA reassure their staff and passengers that they are not using this epidemic to reduce their UK wage bill and competitors, in order to maximise future profits if and when the market returns.
“Judging by the huge volume of emails which MPs are receiving from concerned staff and passengers, it is more important that we hear from BA and IAG than demonstrate their lack of delegated responsibility. We therefore intend to proceed with a separate session for British Airways and Mr Walsh on Monday 11 May in the event the limited resources in Parliament can accommodate. We look forward to meeting Mr Walsh and hearing his strategy for BA in these challenging times.”