British Airways protestors gather in Worthing town centre

Led by trade union Unite, the group called on Worthing West MP Peter Bottomley to sign a pledge to review BA’s right to privileged landing spots at Gatwick Airport.

Unite is opposed to the company’s ‘fire and rehire’ policy, where it seeks to fire its workforce and rehire others on inferior contracts.

Unite executive officer Sharon Graham said: “Many thousands of BA workers are being subjected to the most brutal ‘fire and rehire strategy. British Airways are a national disgrace and actions against them will continue. 

“So far, over 289 MPs have added their name to our call for BA’s privileged landing slots to be reviewed and the numbers continue to grow. BA’s scorched earth approach will have consequences.”

The group’s Montague Place demonstration on Wednesday follows a similar lobby of East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton in Shoreham’s East Street.

After last week’s protest, Mr Bottomley took to his social media pages to lend his support to the BA Betrayal campaign.

He said while he would not usually sign petitions or pledges, he would prefer to engage in ‘more direct and active ways’, such as by writing to the Secretary of State for Transport, including the wording of hte pledge, asking for a review of the sitation.

He said he had also asked the Government to clearly outline its position on the pledge’s proposals and what action it plans to take to resolve the dispute.

“This latest dispute is a kick in teeth of so many loyal employees during an international pandemic,” he said.

“British Airways is the only company in the UK attempting to fire nearly all of its 42,000 staff and re-hire them on drastically slashed pay and conditions.

“There is a track record of staff standing up to injustices and bad practices and winning. The devastation BA is causing to the lives of its employees and their families is terrible.

“I will continue to support BA staff and their families where possible in trying to achieve success in this ongoing problem.”

A spokesman for British Airways said:“For more than 100 years British Airways has been flying millions of people around the world. Today that world remains largely closed.

“This is the biggest challenge the airline and our industry has ever faced. Sadly, the global pandemic has resulted in job losses across every industry. Many airlines have already made thousands of staff redundant.

“We are not immune to this crisis. We have to adapt to survive, so we will continue with the proper, lawful consultative process and we will keep inviting union representatives to discuss our proposals to the serious challenges we face. It is not too late to find solutions – as we have done with BALPA – and to protect jobs.”