Britain's leading union is due to announce the results of a strike ballot among cabin crew at British Airways PLC on Monday, raising the threat of a damaging walkout at the airline over the busy Christmas period.
More than 14,000 cabin crew have been voting on industrial action after a dispute with BA over job losses and changes to work practices.
The struggling carrier has announced sweeping changes as part of its bid to cut costs, including axing 1,700 jobs, freezing pay for current staff and offering lower wages for new employees.
The result of the ballot is scheduled to be announced early afternoon local time during a meeting of workers organized by the Unite union at Sandown Park racecourse on the outskirts of London.
The prospect of a "yes" vote appears more likely after the failure of talks last week between BA executives and leaders of Unite. That would mean that the union could order strikes beginning a week from now _ on Dec. 21.
A series of walkouts over the Christmas and New Year break would likely make BA's perilous financial state even worse.
The airline, which is struggling as the global downturn eats away at demand for air travel, has defended the cost-savings measures as necessary to move back to profitability. It posted a net loss of 208 million pounds ($346 million) for the six months ending in September, its first-ever loss in the period, as revenue fell by 13.7 percent.
BA also revealed on Monday that its pension deficit has blown out further to 3.7 billion pounds, from 2.1 billion pounds in 2006, and said it would consult with employees about a recovery plan.
Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh, who has warned that the full-year results will be similarly dismal, said that the cabin crew had been misled by the union over the necessity and fairness of the airline's new pay and work proposals.
"Our cabin crew union refuses to acknowledge what is going on around it," the outspoken Walsh wrote in Monday's Daily Mail newspaper. "Like King Canute, it sits by the water's edge shouting at the waves of recession and competition to go back."
"This cannot work," he added. "And though the union may be bent on self-destruction, I will not allow British Airways to be pulled under."
The union has argued that the changes, introduced in mid-November, has stopped members from doing their jobs properly and were imposed in breach of contract.
Cabin crews agreed last month to fly with reduced staffing after failing to win a court injunction banning the changes last month until a High Court decision on the dispute is due on Feb. 1.
If the cabin crew do go on strike it will be the first since three days of action in 1997.
Shares in BA were trading at 201.6 pence on Monday, up just 0.2 percent.
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