Union Unite has said preparations for a new ballot of British Airways (BA) cabin crew members are "at an advanced stage".
BA staff can continue to strike under the current mandate, but the 12 week legal protective period ends this month. If a ballot for further strike action does take place, it will have to be on a new issue.
Disagreements over wages and working practices seem to have been overcome, but BA's refusal to reinstate travel perks remains the sticking point.
Len McCluskey told BA cabin crew at a meeting today (June 9) that an agreement should have been reached "some weeks back".
"This bunker mentality suggests that the true objective is not cutting costs, but crushing the workforce," he said.
"Talking tough will not help find peace."
If Unite does go ahead with further strike action, BA has pledged to lower the number of flights it has to cancel.
A BA spokesperson said: "As the strikes have progressed, we have upped the schedule. On May 24, when the strike began, it was 60% of long haul. That went up to 70% in the second tranche. It's now 80% in this final set. Likewise in short haul we've gone up from 50% to 55% to 60%.
"As we understand how many cabin crew are reporting for work as normal, we can continue to add to our schedule.
"We also have a large number of volunteer cabin crew and they can supplement in any way we need them to."
Striking BA cabin crew are due back at work tomorrow, after a total of 22 days of walkouts.
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