A threat of summer strike action by cabin crew and ground staff at British Airways has been raised by a trade union.
Unite, said to represent 16,000 workers at the airline, reportedly won a 97% majority in a ballot for potential industrial action after claiming BA went back on a pay deal.
The union is also balloting 500 check-in staff on walk-outs that could be staged next month at the start of the summer peak.
Unite is reported by The Telegraph to claim that the carrier has restored management pay to pre-pandemic levels but refused to rev ease a 10% pay cut imposed on staff during Covid.
The union also claimed thousands of experienced staff has been dismissed without being replaced, leading to a shortage of check-in personnel, loaders, baggage handlers and cabin crew.
A Unite spokesperson said: “To anyone that has flown on British Airways recently, this overwhelming consultative ballot result will come as no surprise.
“British Airways’ management now can no longer ignore the universal discontent across their own workforce, in the way they have ignored the needs of their own customers.”
The union’s ballot of its full membership was consultative, asking if they would support industrial action over the breach of a ‘good faith’ clause in a pay agreement with the airline. Some 97.3% voted in favour, the newspaper disclosed.
However, no industrial action ballot has been announced and strike action cannot be called based on a consultative ballot result – it is seen as a procedure used by unions to seek the views of their members.
The union is understood to have thought BA breached the deal by awarding ground handlers a pay rise, on top of 5% for all staff, when it had accepted any increase would be paid to all employees.
BA is said to believe the threat of industrial action is based on a misunderstanding which was rectified immediately it became evident., The carrier had thought there was a previous pay increase that ground handlers had missed, made the offer to compensate them, then realised it was in error.
A BA spokesperson said: “This isn’t a ballot for industrial action, and while not surprising given the issues across the transport sector, it’s disappointing.
“After a deeply difficult two years which say the business lose more than £4 billion, we still offered payment to our colleagues for this year. We remain committed to open and honest talks with our trade unions about their concerns.”
The development same as a Spanish union warned of six days of strike action by Ryanair cabin crew in the country between June 24 and July 2 over working conditions and pay.
Ryanair responded by saying it had reached collective agreements with 90% of its European workforce and did not expect “widespread disruption”.
A deal had already been reached with Spain’s “most represnetsive” union, a spokesperson said.