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Union secures reversal of BA Covid-era ‘fire and hire’ pay cuts

British Airways has agreed a pay rise of more than 13% to around 24,000 staff. 

The Unite union declared the agreement as reversing the airline’s BA’s decision at the height of the pandemic to hire and refire its entire workforce, with many workers suffering substantial pay cuts.

“Put simply, this both restores and increases pay,” Unite said.

The workforce – excluding pilots and management – will receive a pay increase worth 13.1% over 18 months, as well as a £1,000 one off payment. 

Unite has also built into the deal the potential for pay to increase further during this period if inflation remains high.

In addition to the pay increase, agreement has been made that no member of staff will have the pay increase applied at a lower rate of pay then they were receiving in 2020.

Unite balloted its members at BA on the offer and it was overwhelmingly accepted.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a sizeable pay increase which has been achieved by the hard work and dedication of the union’s reps and officers, hammered out in detailed negotiations.

“The fact that Unite has reversed the fire and rehire cuts while also securing a large increase in pay, underlines how the union’s relentless focus on the jobs, pay and conditions of members, is delivering for workers financially.”

As well as the overall pay increase, the union said it had also negotiated “milestone reviews” and additional increases for specific groups of workers at the carrier.

The union’s national co-ordinating officer Oliver Richardson said: “The British Airways deal is the latest evidence of how Unite is securing significant pay increases for workers throughout the aviation sector, and as the sector recovers, we are also securing improvements for our members’ terms and conditions.”

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