BA strike suspended as union agrees pay deal

The
T&G union and British Airways have agreed a three-year deal on pay covering
baggage handlers and check-in staff.

Brendan
Gold, T&G national secretary for civil aviation, said the deal will be
recommended to union members and so the strike action planned for this Friday
is suspended.

"We
are pleased that holidaymakers can now relax and pack for their summer
break," he said. "The union is also pleased we’ve got a deal on pay
which recognises the contribution of our members to BA’s continuing recovery."

Workers
at airports around the country had planned a 24-hour strike on 27 August as
part of a long running dispute over pay.

The
terms of the deal include inflation-rate pay rises on basic pay for the next
three years plus non-pensionable
lump sum payments of £1,000 over the same period. The deal will be backdated to
October 2003, which adds three months’ money to the back pay.

The
union confirmed that it had entirely separated the issues of attendance from
pay. In talks involving representatives from all parts of the company’s
operations, a framework for attendance management was discussed, aiming to
reduce the sums the estimated at £60m a year BA said it loses through sickness
absence.

"The
T&G has been talking with BA for the last six months on the complex issues
surrounding attendance" added Gold. "It did confuse the pay talks by
linking them to attendance, but the company has listened to our arguments and
responded."

By Mike Berry

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