Global General

BA cabin crew to vote on deal as dispute nears end

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-12 15:45

LONDON - British Airways cabin crew will meet on Thursday to consider an offer to end an 18-month dispute which has cost the airline more than 150 million pounds ($247 million).

A member of the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) told Reuters that talks between the union and management had been "concluded to the satisfaction of both parties".

Unite, which represents the majority of BA crew, said general secretary Len McCluskey would brief members on Thursday at a meeting near London's Heathrow airport over progress made in talks to resolve the dispute with BA.

The BASSA source said members would be asked to endorse the settlement at the meeting and would then be formally balloted within weeks.

Unite would not comment on the status of talks, while BA said the talks were continuing.

BA cabin crew staged 22 days of strikes last year.

While the two sides, which came close to a deal last year, had failed to reach an agreement in talks spanning 18 months, recent changes in leadership at Unite and BA gave fresh impetus to moves to reach a settlement.

BA's former chief executive, Willie Walsh, became boss of International Airlines Group -- formed by the merger of BA and Iberia earlier this year -- and was succeeded by Keith Williams.

Unite elected McCluskey, seen as one of Britain's more militant union leaders, to succeed former joint general secretaries Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson.

"The new faces at BA and Unite have really helped move talks along and the removal of the entrenched view has clearly been a bonus," said Howard Wheeldon, a strategist at BGC Partners, adding a deal would be a major positive for BA.

The dispute started in November 2009 when BA cut the number of crew on some long-haul flights to 14 from 15 and introduced a two-year pay freeze from 2010.

The row -- one of the most bitter industrial disputes in Britain's recent industrial history -- broadened into a fight over issues related to last year's strikes.

The union wanted BA to restore travel perks taken away from cabin crew who took part in the original strikes. It also wanted binding arbitration on disciplinary cases linked to the original dispute and the restoration of earnings docked from crew who were off sick on strike dates.

Last month, leaders of Unite held back from calling a fresh wave of strikes to allow talks to continue. BA cabin crew voted in favour of taking fresh strike action.

Shares in BA-owner IAG, which have fallen 13 percent in 2011, were down 0.7 percent in early trading, having closed at 246.4 pence on Wednesday to value the group at 4.6 billion pounds.  (Editing by Dan Lalor)  ($1 = 0.6064 pound)