A row that threatened to walk British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow during the summer holidays has been put on hold after the airline made a “significantly improved” pay offer.
After a day of talks, a package was agreed with the Unite union on Wednesday, which sources said effectively met its demand to restore the 10% pay cut introduced during the pandemic.
A one-time bonus payment for 2022 worth 10% of salary was rejected earlier.
The offer will now be put to a vote by Unite members, but both sides hope the agreement will resolve the immediate dispute.
A British Airways spokesman said: “We are very pleased that, after working with the unions, they have decided not to issue dates for strike action. This is great news for our customers and our employees.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: “We welcome that BA has finally listened to the voice of its check-in staff. Unite has repeatedly warned that pay disputes at BA are inevitable unless the company takes the legitimate grievances of our members seriously.’
The news comes a day after BA announced it will cancel a further 10,300 flights this summer as airline and airport labor shortages continue to threaten holiday travel.
A 72-hour strike over pay at one of Heathrow’s four refueling firms remains in place for the start of the school holiday period, threatening possible further disruption.
Holiday airline Jet2 said on Thursday it would give staff an 8% pay rise and a £1,000 living allowance this year, as it attacked UK airports for being “horribly ill-prepared” for the recovery in travel this year the summer.
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Jet2 chief executive Philip Meeson said the failure of airports to hire staff was inexcusable and was to blame for the chaotic scenes over the festive period this year and the thousands of canceled flights.
He said most of the 10 UK airports operated by Jet2 were “woefully ill-prepared and under-resourced for the volume of customers they could reasonably expect”.
Meeson added: “The often poor customer service of groundhandlers, long queues at security, lack of staff and congestion at baggage handling … have each contributed to a much worse experience at the start and end of holidays on our customers than they had any right to expect.”
This has happened, he said, “simply because of the lack of planning, willingness and reluctance to invest by many airports and related providers.”
Meanwhile, another cost of living deal for NatWest’s lowest paid workers has been agreed, Unite said. The bank has agreed to give 17,000 staff who earn less than £32,000 an extra 4% pay rise, according to the union.
Unite said it was an important first step and would continue to push for an increase for other staff “who also need support during these difficult financial times”.
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