British Airways still expects the Unite union to ballot cabin crew with its latest offer, despite reports this morning that Bassa – a division of the Unite union – was trying to block the forthcoming vote.Unite’s outgoing leader, Tony Woodley, recently made an agreement with BA chief executive Willie Walsh, and his organisation said publicly that members would be asked to vote on the new deal.
But Bassa has called the agreement “a step too far” claiming it demanded the union relinquish outstanding legal claims against the airline and forced workers to accept the company’s right to withdraw travel perks.
Bassa – the more militant arm of Unite – has insisted that it will not endorse Woodley's deal.
A BA spokesman told ABTN: “Our negotiations have been with Unite. It has already said in a statement that it will ballot its members with the latest offer, which is obviously good news. We have not heard anything different.”
ABTN has made a number of unsuccessful attempts to contact the Unite press office.
The dispute started late last year after talks surrounding pay and working conditions for Heathrow-based cabin crew broke down.
Since then crew been on strike for a total of 22 days at a cost of £150 million to the business.
However, BA recently reported a return to profit and has announced a number of new routes.
Walsh has said the airline is prepared for further industrial action and would be able to staff and fly the majority of Heathrow services.
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