Now BA pay strike pilots say: We want more talks
THE union behind a strike at British Airways announced a return to the negotiating table last night – hours after the Mail published pictures of its boss on a luxury cruise.
Images of Balpa’s Brian Strutton strolling with his wife in the Sardinian sunshine, rather than trying to resolve the dispute, have angered passengers whose travel plans are in disarray.
The £141,000-a-year general secretary was also condemned by Tory MPs for jetting off on the seven-day cruise the morning after announcing that BA pilots would strike on September 9, 10 and 27.
Yesterday Balpa unexpectedly contacted BA and offered to resume peace talks in London via the conciliation service Acas.
Jason Mahoney of BA wrote straight back offering to meet immediately – putting pressure on Mr Strutton to cut short his holiday, which is due to end on Saturday.
The letter from the airline was addressed to Mark Keane, a young and hardline BA pilot who is leading pay negotiations for Balpa.
Mr Mahoney thanked Mr Keane for his letter, saying: ‘I am pleased to hear that you are willing to meet.’ He then asked Mr Keane who would be attending the talks and when he would be available to meet.
Mr Strutton was last night scheduled to be cruising from the Tuscan port of Livorno to Palamos in Spain.
A source close to the negotiations said the decision by Balpa was clearly the result of pressure applied by the Mail and the backlash against Mr Strutton’s holiday.
The 59-year-old has insisted he was willing to talk and could be contacted while away. He also said that BA had refused his offer last Thursday to resume negotiations.
Talks broke down after both sides refused to budge.
More than 3,000 Balpa members who fly for BA – including captains paid an average of £167,000 – have rejected an 11.5 per cent pay rise over three years plus a 1 per cent bonus.
The strikes are set to disrupt the travel plans of up to 450,000 passengers. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, with BA forced to rebook some customers on other airlines.
Many have been forced to abandon their holidays, or have needlessly forked out for alternative flights after being wrongly told by BA that their bookings had been cancelled. The airline has been heavily criticised for its response, with passengers complaining they struggled to get through to its call centre to rearrange their flights.
A BA spokesman said: ‘This is encouraging news for our customers. We have continued to urge Balpa to return to talks since they issued strike dates and are pleased by this welcome development.’
A militant union boss warned his long campaign of rail chaos will continue as he was re-elected for another five years yesterday.
Mick Cash, the £154,000-a-year general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: ‘We will leave no one behind in the pursuit of workplace justice and we will stand and fight wherever that principle comes under attack.’
The union is taking action against South Western Railway tomorrow.