Threat of BA strike at Heathrow suspended after airline agrees pay deal

theguardian.com:

The dispute that threatened to cause a walkout of British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow airport during the summer holidays has been suspended, after the airline made a “vastly improved” pay offer.

After a day of talks on Wednesday a package was agreed with the Unite union that sources said in effect met its demand to restore the 10% pay cut introduced during the pandemic.

A one-off bonus payment for 2022 worth 10% of pay had earlier been rejected.

The offer will now be put to a ballot of Unite members but both parties hope that the agreement will resolve the immediate dispute.

A British Airways spokesperson said: “We are very pleased that, following collaboration with the unions, they have decided not to issue dates for industrial action. This is great news for our customers and our people.”

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “We welcome that BA has finally listened to the voice of its check-in staff. Unite has repeatedly warned that pay disputes at BA were inevitable unless the company took our members’ legitimate grievances seriously.” The news came a day after BA announced it would be cancelling another 10,300 flights this summer as the labour shortages at airlines and airports continued to jeopardise holiday travel.

A 72-hour strike over pay by one of the four refuelling firms at Heathrow remains in place for the start of the school holiday period, threatening possible further disruption.

The holiday airline Jet2 said on Thursday it would be giving its employees an 8% pay rise and a £1,000 cost of living payment this year, as it lashed out at British airports for being “woefully ill-prepared” for the rebound in travel this summer.

Jet2 executive chair, Philip Meeson, said the airports’ failure to recruit