BRITISH Airways has managed to avert August Bank Holiday
industrial action after striking a deal with its unions.
The carrier has agreed to an 8.5% pay rise over the next three
years, backdated to October last year, with an additional lump sum
of £1,000 paid to staff in installments up to September
2006.
In return, the GMB, T&G and Amicus unions have agreed to
support BA’s plans to halve its absenteeism bill, currently
standing at around £60 million a year.
The policy targets a reduction in current absence from an
average of 17 days per employee down to 10 days within 12
months.
BA director of customer service and operations Mike Street said:
“The new agreed policy on absence is tough on those persistently
absent while remaining compassionate towards the genuinely
sick.
“We can afford this three-year deal because of the new absence
policy, which we estimate will save BA £30 million a
year.”