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Cabin crew at British Airways have rejected the airline’s latest peace offering meaning that further strike action could be on the horizon. Less than half the cabin crew eligible to vote on the pay deal did so, causing BA to put a positive slant on the ballot. The airline said that it was encouraged by the fact that 73 per cent of its cabin crew had not actually voted against the peace deal.
Unite union boss, Tony Woodley, admitted that the turnout for the vote had been lower than usual, and urged BA’s chief executive Willie Walsh to return to the negotiating table. He claimed that the result indicated that 85 per cent of BA’s cabin crew were not satisfied with the airline’s most recent offer.
Although Mr Woodley called for fresh peace talks, he did not rule out the possibility of further industrial action. Strikes since March have resulted in 22 days of walkouts by the airline’s cabin crew and have been estimated to have cost BA more than £150 million.
The new proposals offered cabin crew a pay increase of 2.9 per cent in 2011 with a further pay rise of three per cent in 2012. There was also a clause agreeing not to victimise members of staff who have already taken part in walkouts as well as a promise to partially reinstate travel benefits.
Before the latest ballot Unite said that it would not be advising its members on how to vote so that they would have the opportunity to make up their own minds.
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