Unite Union and British Airways Set to Hold New Talks

It now seems that a brand new set of talks to end the dispute between British Airways and the Unite union, which is the union representing British Airways cabin crew members, has been unveiled by the arbitration service Acas. The chief conciliator at Acas, Peter Harwood, said that he understood this was a very damaging dispute for everyone concerned.

Harwood went on to say that the proposals that they have put forward must understandably remain confidential to enable the parties to reflect on them with out the glare of public. He is expecting to meet with the parties again this week, but the timing of the meeting and its location will, of course, be kept a secret.

Despite this announcement, the Unite union is still preparing to hold a fresh ballot for industrial action. Thus, passengers still face the fear of yet more strikes. This could continue to disrupt flights during the school summer holiday. So far, 22 days of strike action have been called by the Unite union. This has cost the carrier at least £150 million.

The Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, was a lot less optimistic about these future talks. He said that he would be pleasantly surprised if the Acas proposals formed the basis of a resolution. He said that they stand ready, however, for yet more discussions.

A spokeswoman for British Airways said that they can confirm that Acas’s statement is correct. However, it would not be appropriate to start commenting further at this time. The process is continuing; however, the airline will not give a running commentary on their discussions with the Unite union.