Union says BA cabin crew reject cost-cut measures

LONDON (Reuters) - Cabin crew union members at British Airways on Monday rejected the company's proposals to slash costs, including pay freezes, new contracts for cabin crew and 3,700 job cuts, Unite union said.

"There was an overwhelming rejection of BA's proposals, including a new rate for starters, a pay freeze and changes to crewing patterns that are quite profound," a union spokesperson said.

More than 2,000 of the union's about 27,000 BA members were meeting at Kempton Park Racecourse in Middlesex.

They backed a union plan, which the union spokesperson said would save the troubled airline up to 130 million pounds.

The next step would be to return to the table for talks, mediated by conciliation service ACAS, on Wednesday, she said.

British Airways reiterated its view, stated after talks with the union broke down on July 1, that it wanted ACAS to facilitate future meetings.

Chief Executive Willie Walsh has been trying to drive through cost cuts at the airline in what he has described to staff as a battle for survival.

It has cut planned spending by 20 percent in the current year, including deferring orders for 12 Airbus A380 aircraft, and is cutting 3,700 jobs on top of 2,500 lost in the year to end-March.

Shares in BA were down 1.4 percent at 123.7 pence at 2:56 p.m., while the FTSE 100 index was down 1 percent.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle)