The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has denied claims by British Airways that the carrier is inviting the union to talks in an attempt to avert strikes next month.
The union said there are no talks planned in the dispute over pay, contrary to a statement on the BA website that claims he airline “continue[s] to urge BALPA to talks as soon as possible”.
BA pilots have announced they will go on strike on 9, 10 and 27 September, potentially bringing disruption to flights.
Following BA CEO Alex Cruz’s comment that he wanted to reach a resolution with pilots, BALPA said it wrote a letter to him asking for a meeting to hear his proposals. The union claimed it had yet to receive a response.
Furthermore, it said other BA staff who had agreed to meet with the union “have not confirmed that they will put forward a better offer”.
General secretary Brian Strutton commented: “It’s disappointing that Mr Cruz has not replied to us having promised to get involved. This dispute will only be settled, and these strikes will not be called off, when BA improve their offer enough to satisfy their pilots. Until BA indicate that they are willing to do that, there is absolutely no point in any talks.”
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has asked BA for clarification on cancellations caused by the strikes after passengers booked on non-strike days were mistakenly told their flights had been cancelled.