Unite agree to pay freeze and 'new fleet' to avert BA strike
06.03.10
British Airways and trade union officers have set a deadline of 17:00 on Tuesday to avert a cabin crew strike, as the Unite union considers tabling a compromise deal, including a two year pay freeze for cabin crew, the Guardian and Daily Mail both report. Unite's chief negotiator, assistant general secretary Len McCluskey, is considering a range of options as negotiators prepare a final offer to BA that could be tabled on Monday.
According to the newspapers' 'sources close to the talks', Unite's options include a two year pay freeze, a partial repeal of staffing reductions on flights and an agreement to create a ‘new fleet’ consisting of new, lower-paid recruits on separate planes.
The TUC, which is hosting the Unite and BA talks, said today that its general secretary, Brendan Barber, would end negotiations next Tuesday night: ‘On the initiative of Brendan Barber, both Unite and British Airways have now committed to the objective of completing these negotiations by close of play on Tuesday 9 March to determine whether or not a mutually acceptable settlement can be achieved.’
If the talks fail, Unite must provide seven days' notice of strike action to BA, which means it can strike from 16 March at the earliest. It must stage a walkout by 22 March. However representatives at Unite's cabin crew branch, Bassa, have already started discussions on strike dates, and walkouts could be announced soon after the 17:00 deadline if no agreement is reached.
BA has demanded proposals from Unite that save at least £60m a year on cabin crew costs, and officials from the union have been drafting these over the last few days. BA estimates that it will reach its savings target after it unilaterally cut crew levels from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights in November - a step that led to cabin crew voting for strike action last month.
Unite is considering requesting a compromise that will see the 15th person put back on board on some of the busiest flights, with lower crew complements retained on the remaining services. The union says this will make up a substantial part of the £60m expenditure savings. The remainder could be achieved through a two-year pay freeze and, most significantly, a deal on the ‘new fleet’ proposal. Unite is looking for guarantees that these planes will not dominate routes including New York and Tokyo, which are among the highest earners for existing cabin crew.
According to a BA presentation at the TUC talks, ‘new fleet’ effectively creates a brand new airline within BA. The seniority system for cabin crew, where promotion is based on points such length of employment, would be dismantled. This would allow senior staff to be recruited from outside BA into a brand new structure comprised of three roles: cabin crew, the brand new onboard post of customer service manager, and the office-based crew-team manager.
It is likely that average pay would be brought in line with rival air carriers such as Virgin Atlantic, which pays its flight attendants half as much as BA, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
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