Summer holidays relief as union postpones strike ballot
By politics.co.uk staff
The Unite union has postponed its planned ballot of cabin crew staff as members are given the chance to consider an offer by British Airways.
The long-running dispute over pay and disciplinary proceedings against previous strikers has already seen 22 days of industrial action.
Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said it would be “suicidal” to not consult union members on the proposal, but said he could not recommend it as it did not restore cabin crew travel perks.
“It would be suicidal and indeed inexplicable if we didn’t put this latest offer to our members at this stage,” he explained.
“The fact that the travel is not back in full makes the possibility of a recommendation nil. It makes the certainty of a yes uncertain.”
Unite had been due to ballot its members for fresh strikes on Tuesday, setting up the prospect of summer holiday-disrupting strikes beginning as early as August 4th.
The biggest shift from BA of the offer is that new staff will fly on a separate fleet of aircraft with different pay and conditions. Existing cabin crew would be given a minimum allowance payment rather than a flat fee.
“We believe our offer is fair and reasonable and provides a genuine opportunity to end this dispute,” a BA spokesperson said.
