BA crew win back travel perks in new peace deal
Cabin crew union Unite and British Airways have reached an agreement to end their long-running dispute in a deal which appears to be a resounding victory for the airline.
Unite leader Len McCluskey called the latest offer from BA "an honourable settlement". Under the deal, cabin crew will get a 2.9% pay rise this year and 3% next year.
But the wage rises, which follow two years’ of pay freezes, are linked to productivity savings, staff cuts and lower starting pay for new recruits – moves which the union had tried to block. BA has cut the number of cabin crew on long-haul flights and it is already employing new crew on lower salaries.
However, BA has agreed to reinstate the travel perks former chief executive Willie Walsh withdrew from striking workers and existing staff have been promised bonus pay rises of up to 1.1% this year and 0.5% next if they can agree other cost-saving initiatives by July 1.
The airline has also agreed that union members who were dismissed for reasons related to the dispute, who have not had their cases heard by an employment tribunal, may elect to have their cases heard through the ACAS arbitration scheme.
McCluskey said he was "delighted" with BA’s new offer, which will now be put to Unite members for a vote. The results are expected in June and in the meantime the threat of industrial action has been withdrawn.
Said McCluskey: “We always said this dispute could only be settled by negotiation, not by confrontation or litigation.
“We are delighted to have reached an agreement which I believe recognises the rights and dignity of cabin crew as well as the commercial requirements of the company.
“This agreement will allow us to go forward in partnership. I am particularly pleased that staff travel concessions will be restored in full with the signing of the agreement.”
A spokesman from British Airways added: “We are very pleased the threat of industrial action has been lifted and we have reached a point where we can put this dispute behind us.
“Our agreement with Unite involves acknowledgement by the union that the cost-saving structural changes we have made in cabin crew operations are permanent. We have also agreed changes that will modernise our crew industrial relations and help ensure this kind of dispute cannot occur again.”
by Dinah Hatch & Linsey McNeill
Dinah
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