Unite Offers British Airways 3.4% Pay Cut

Reports are now showing that the Unite union leaders that are representing British Airways staff have made a dramatic attempt to end deadlocked negotiations. They did this by offering the carrier to cut cabin crew pay by as much as 3.4 percent.

Sources said that Unite had put forward a package, which the union says would save the airline about £60 million and avert the strike. The union has given British Airways a week to think over the proposed pay cuts. However, the airline will have to accept the deal by next Tuesday or the union will move to name strike dates.

For the past couple of months, British Airways has been locked in a very bitter battle with the Unite union over jobs and working conditions. Union members have twice voted in favor of industrial action. Discussions have been held under the auspices of the TUC, but there has been little sign that a deal is coming. The TUC said that both Unite and British Airways have now committed to the objective of completing these negotiations.

The union is believed to have suggested that cabin crew members would accept this 3.4 percent pay cut, as well as a two year pay freeze. All of this will be done in an effort to cut costs for British Airways. The carrier had just recently reduced the number of cabin crew members that fly per flight in order to save money. CEO Willie Walsh had made it clear just this week that the changes would not be reversed. The union has until March 15^th to announce industrial action and will have to give a week’s notice before striking.