British Airways and Unite Union Hold More Talks

The never ending talks between British Airways and the Unite Union continue. It now appears that British Airways will meet with the union and try to resolve their long running conflict. However, Unite is still in the process of re-balloting its members for industrial action.

Just last month, British Airways was able to avoid a Christmas strike by going to the High Court, where the airline won an injunction preventing the proposed industrial action. British Airways said that they have always said that they would make themselves available for talks with Unite at any time without preconditions. They are pleased that this new round of talks will now proceed under the auspices of the TUC.

Unite said that both sides will meet over the next few days to find a negotiated settlement to their long running dispute. They said that this dispute could only be resolved through negotiation, rather than imposition. Thus, they are delighted to be joining British Airways management in talks at the TUC.

They went on to say that they will be approaching these talks in a constructive spirit. They aim to find a settlement that meets the real concerns of British Airways’ skilled, loyal and professional cabin crew while keeping the airline flying.

The dispute is mostly centered around the fact that the airline plans on introducing changes to working practices. Back in November the airline cut the number of cabin crew on long haul flights from 15 to 14. This is the first thing that actually sparked the strike vote. Hopefully both parties will be able to find common ground.