Union chiefs accused British Airways of “dirty tricks” yesterday after the airline said that cabin crew threatening a £150 million series of strikes were demanding “free sick days” for conditions such as blocked ears and ingrown toenails.

A list of ailments leaked by BA suggests that the Transport and General Workers’ Union wants workers to be able to stay at home with any of a dozen conditions without it counting on their record.

BA admitted that a strike was becoming increasingly likely. Up to 700,000 passengers could be affected.

The union has called on its 11,000 cabin crew to strike on January 29, 30 and 31 and has given warning of further stoppages on February 5, 6 and 7 and February 12, 13 and 14. The action could ruin half-term holidays for families across Britain.

Union officials claim that cabin crew are furious at heavy-handed management and the imposition of new measures on pay, pensions and sick leave.

BA is desperate to control the number of days taken off by staff after bringing it down from a “completely unacceptable” average of 22 to 12 in the past two years. The national average is seven. The union claims that the reduction has been achieved by managers forcing staff to work when they are feeling unwell. Rival airlines have refused to disclose their own figures for sick leave.

“BA should not denigrate their staff by such misrepresentation,” Jack Dromey, deputy general secretary of the T&G, said.

Mr Dromey and Willie Walsh, the BA chief executive, said yesterday that they hoped to reach a negotiated settlement this week. Mr Walsh has called on Acas, the conciliation service, to intervene.

There was little common ground in a tense stand-off between the two on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Mr Walsh said that the strike threat had been built on a campaign of “hype and rumour”. “Threatening our customers is not the way forward,” he said. “We have to avoid disruption.”

Mr Dromey responded by telling BA that it was time to “start listening and stop lecturing”. He said: “The reality in BA is that workers who are sick come to work because they fear the consequences, and that cannot be right.”

Mr Walsh wants to tackle the unions and push through widespread reform before the airline’s relocation to the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

The union is also upset over pension proposals that are designed to cut the £2.1 billion deficit in the BA retirement fund.

Amicus, the second-biggest union in Britain, put pressure on the T&G by recommending that its members should accept the pension plans.

Analysts believe that BA would lose at least £50 million during a three-day strike. Gert Zonneveld, of broker Panmure Gordon, said: “£50 million over three days in my view is a fair assumption.”

Shares in BA fell 1.5 per cent yesterday, wiping nearly £100 million from the group’s market value.

Grounded

BA says that staff want unrecorded time off for:

Colds
Blocked ears
Diarrhoea and vomiting
Visible injuries
Conjunctivitis
Cold sores
Herpes
Ingrown toenails
Down-route sickness (falling ill abroad)
Loss of voice
One-off life event (loss of partner)
Operations

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