11th Mar 10
British Airways still holds hopes of avoiding strike action
by Sally Davies
National carrier, British Airways has just announced that it has submitted a last-minute counter offer as negotiations continue over a looming strike by the airline’s cabin crew. The airline has hit back at the offer by Unite, the union representing the crew, of a 2.6 pay cut. The union has said it was concerned over the offer and has put forward it’s own list of cost savings in the form of more cabin crew working on a part time basis for the company.
Unite has said that it believes BA has accepted a partial repeal of cuts to staffing levels on flights, but wants fewer crew on board than the union has proposed. The union is also requesting the airline to clear 37 staff that are facing disciplinary action over issues related to the dispute.
The TUC, which is hosting the talks, set a deadline of 5pm yesterday to reach a deal. Both sides have been willing to extend the discussions if a deal was on the cards, however, the outcome of the talks would not be made public for some time.
The airline is aiming for a £60 million in spending from cabin crew, with the sum achieved by reducing staffing levels in November. Earlier this week, the union put forward its own proposals for the cost saving of £60 million, which had included pay cuts, partial repeal of staffing cuts and the acceptance of new recruits at a lower rate of pay.
The earliest a strike could take place is next Wednesday if talks do not reach some kind of agreement, as the union is required to give the airline notice of seven days. The airline has planned to break the strike with about 1000 volunteer cabin crew members trained from the carrier’s workforce of 38,000 staff.
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