BA and union to resume talks
Mar 19, 2010
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The airline's Chief Executive Willie Walsh(above left) will meet Tony Woodley, joint head of the Unite union, for a second day of talks after they were adjourned shortly before midnight. -- PHOTO: AFP |
LONDON - BRITISH Airways and union leaders will restart talks on Friday to try to halt a strike this weekend that would disrupt thousands of passengers and undermine the government before an election due in May.
The airline's Chief Executive Willie Walsh will meet Tony Woodley, joint head of the Unite union, for a second day of talks after they were adjourned shortly before midnight.
BA cabin crew are due to start a three-day strike on Saturday in a dispute over cost-cutting plans that would reduce the number of staff on long-haul flights and freeze their pay this year. They are due to strike again from March 27 to March 30.
The airline wants to save 62.5 million pounds to help cope with a fall in demand, volatile fuel prices and increased competition from low-cost carriers.
Neither side would comment on the progress of the talks, beyond confirming that they would meet again in London.
In full-page newspaper advertisements on Friday, Walsh said a 'significant number' of cabin crew would work during the strike and the majority of BA staff did not support the action.
'Unite has made the wrong decision and misjudged the mood of our times,' he wrote. 'My door remains open to Unite.'
The union has said cabin crew will call off the strike if the airline reinstates an offer which was withdrawn last week. -- THOMSON REUTERS
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