Strike action by British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow called off

Strike action by British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow in row over 10% wage cut is called off as airline makes improved pay offer after weeks of airport chaos

  • Members had last month voted ‘overwhelmingly’ in favour of taking strike action
  • It came amid a dispute over a 10 per cent pay cut made during the pandemic
  • Unions said pay had been reinstated for managers, but not for check-in staff
  • Strike halted today after BA made ‘good offer’ following intense negotiations 

Unions have suspended a strike action by 700 British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow after the airline made an improved pay offer following weeks of chaos at the airport.

Members of the GMB and Unite unions had last month voted ‘overwhelmingly’ in favour of strike action amid a dispute over a 10 per cent pay cut made during the pandemic.

They argued that the pay had been reinstated for managers, but not for the airline’s check-in staff.

BA was accused of ‘treating its loyal workforce as second class citizens’ and told strike action would cause ‘severe disruption’ to flights at Heathrow.

But the dispute has been suspended today after the airline made an improved pay offer, Unite has said.

It follows nine hours of intense negotiations yesterday in which an ‘agreement in principle’ is understood to have been reached.

GMB and Unite members will now be balloted on the proposed offer. 

The finer details of the deal have not yet been revealed, but union sources told the BBC that a ‘good offer’ had been tabled.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said today: ‘We welcome that BA has finally listened to the voice of its check-in staff.

Passengers queue for check-in desks at Heathrow Airport amid several weeks of chaos at the transport hub

BA was accused by the Unite and GMB unions of ‘treating its loyal workforce as second class citizens’

Some passengers took to sleeping close to bins at Heathrow this week as chaos continued to plague passengers

‘Unite has repeatedly warned that pay disputes at BA were inevitable unless the company took our members’ legitimate grievances seriously.

‘I pay tribute to, and stand with, our members who have fought hard to protect their pay.’

And the union’s regional officer Russ Ball added: ‘I want to salute the solidarity and bravery of our members, who, through acting in unity, have ensured that a vastly improved offer has been made.’

Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, said: ‘All our members were asking for was what they were owed. British Airways finally moving on pay is long overdue.

‘It is very clear that workers organising and threatening industrial action is what has delivered.

‘All our members – who are predominantly low-paid women – wanted was to be given back the pay cuts BA imposed on them during the pandemic, threatening them with fire and rehire if they said no.

‘These are frontline workers facing anger from customers daily. The least they deserved was fair pay. The final decision on any next steps will be taken by them.”

Heathrow has been mired in chaos since March as bosses struggle to hire enough staff amid widespread labour shortages across the UK in the wake of Covid lockdowns and financial support packages.

It comes as BA’s helpline crashed yesterday after it announced it will cut a further 10,300 short-haul flights until the end of October, in yet another blow for holidaymakers planning a summer getaway.

The airline became so overwhelmed with calls due to the announcement they had to tell customers they would contact them first if their flight was cancelled. 

A crowd of passengers queuing in the departure hall of Heathrow Airport, which has been mired by delays since March

A passenger sleeps in Heathrow’s Terminal 2 as they wait to board their flight, accompanied by luggage

BA has been one of the worst affected carriers in terms of schedule disruption in recent months as the aviation industry battles increased demand and staff shortages.

In a statement the airline said it was ‘not where we wanted to be’ but believed the cuts were ‘the right thing to do for our customers and colleagues’.

Up to the end of June, BA had cancelled 17,600 flights – equivalent to 2.8 million seats.

Nearly 1,000 further flights have been cancelled so far this month alone, too, including 785 from Heathrow and 186 at Gatwick.

The airline has said it is facing the ‘most challenging period in its history’ and has ‘regrettably’ had to make further reductions to its schedule.

A BA spokesperson said: ‘We took pre-emptive action earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to provide customers with as much notice as possible about any changes to their travel plans.

‘As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions. We’re in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund.’

Regarding slot alleviation, a statement added: ‘We welcome these new measures, which help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve by making it easier to consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance, and to protect more of our holiday flights.’ 

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