British Airways strike finally over

The Unite union has confirmed that a vote by British Airways cabin crew to end their long running dispute with the airline has overwhelmingly come down on the side of a peace deal.  The 18-month row certainly had an effect on the carrier's commercial performance which in some cases did lead to unsatisfactory on-board service.

Unite said members voted 92% in favour with a turnout of 72%.  Staff travel concessions will be returned to crew members from whom they were removed during last year’s strikes.

In a two-year pay deal including productivity, staff will get a rise of up to 4% this year and 3.5% 12 months later.  Lost in the dispute the initial cause of the industrial action was the removal of at least one crew member from most long haul flights.  This has saved BA an estimated £63m per year.

Len McCluskey, Unite’s General Secretary, who headed the final negotiations with Keith Williams, BA’s new Chief Executive, said: “Unite always firmly believed that this dispute would be solved not through conflict but through negotiation.  Thankfully we have reached an honourable agreement with BA.”

With BA now focussed on recovery, rival UK carrier Virgin Atlantic faces disruption from its pilots with BALPA now mandated by its members to strike at a date not confirmed. www.ba.com www.unitetheunion.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum