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The first British Airways strike has come to an end, with another one expected very shortly. With thousands of passengers certain to be affected by the strikes, especially over the busy Easter period, Gordon Brown recently waded into the affair.

Speaking on Woman’s Hour on Radio 4, Brown said that the strike was “unjustified” and “deplorable”, adding that it was “certainly not in the national interest”. He called for the strike to be called off, but his strong words clearly fell on deaf ears as the strike went ahead as planned.

What makes the condemnation even more surprising is that Unite is one of the largest financial backers of the Labour Party, and it seems that Gordon Brown is picking a fight with his own team. We will have to wait and see just how wise this will prove to be with an election around the corner.

Brown wasn’t alone in his condemnation of the strike, with the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, also calling the industrial action “totally unjustified”.

BA is going to lose millions of pounds in revenue as a result of the strikes, and it is hoping that following the initial strike a deal can be reached. The strikes are being held over BA’s proposal to withdraw one member of the cabin crew from all of its flights in November this year. This would lead to many job losses that Unite considers unacceptable.

BA is carrying out the action in order to reduce costs, which it claims would lead to savings of £60 million. These cost reductions are necessary following the terrible time that the airline has been having recently over the global economic crisis. However, Unite wants savings to be made in other areas.