BA strike talks adjourned until Friday
Talks in the aim of resolving the BA cabin crew dispute have been adjourned as the latest strike enters its fourth day.
BA’s boss Willie Walsh met leaders of the Unite union, which represents BA cabin crew, on Wednesday in a fresh attempt to reach agreement.
Talks lasted several hours and are expected to continue on Friday. Earlier Unite’s Tony Woodley said “it will not be easy” to reach a settlement.
A total of 246 flights in and out of Heathrow were cancelled on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, over 200 flights were cancelled, though BA maintained that it was meeting its target of flying 70% of passengers to their destinations.
BA said it was increasing its flight schedule for Unite’s next threatened five-day strike, which – should no deal emerge from this latest set of negotiations – is due to start on Sunday.
The carrier said that throughout the current strike it would be operating more than 70% of long-haul flights from Heathrow and more than 55% of short-haul flights.
Previous negotiations between the two sides broke down over the weekend after protesters from the Socialist Workers Party stormed the building they were in.
Therefore, the location of the current round of talks is being kept secret.
Mr Woodley said Saturday’s meeting was the first time that he had “genuinely thought there was a bit of effort going in to settle this”.
He also called for BA to restore travel concessions to workers who had previously gone on strike.
BA’s chief executive Willie Walsh has previously expressed his frustration that agreements reached with Unite’s leadership have been rejected by the Bassa arm of the union, which directly represents BA cabin crew.
As well as the new talks, BA has warned it is planning for a full hearing on the legality of the strike, despite a court ruling in favour of Unite last week.
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Source : BBC News
