London, Jun 17: UK's British Airways (BA), which has asked its staff to work for free as part of company's 'battle for survival' in tough market conditions. British Airways reported a record annual loss in May.

The appeal to its British-based employees was featured in the company's staff magazine. The appeal asks workers to volunteer for between a week and a month in unpaid leave or in unpaid work. Saying that the idea was part of BA's across the board cost-cutting measures, Chief Executive Willie Walsh, along with the chief financial officer Keith Williams has also promised to work for nothing.

"Many of you from across the airline are stepping up to help the company," Walsh said. "I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan. It really counts," he added.

BA said that nearly 1,000 employees had volunteered to take part in the new initiative, which allowed the staff to take a month's unpaid leave or to switch to part-time contracts. Reports suggest that other companies like Cathay Pacific has launched similar schemes, to fight the on going global aviation crisis.

OneIndia News