Balpa union faces strike action from its own employees over pensions

Employees of the union that represents airline pilots will stage a 24-hour strike after talks to resolve a pensions dispute broke down.

GMB union members, who work for the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), are protesting changes to their final salary pension scheme.

Balpa said it was “disappointed” by the move. The union is facing a pension deficit of £4.6m and was proposing changes to tackle the problem, including asking new members to join a defined contribution scheme and increasing the pension age from 60 to 65.

A total of 33 GMB members, who work at the Balpa offices near Heathrow airport, voted by 85% for strike action.

Dave Kent, a GMB organiser, said: “There is no economic justification for these changes because Balpa is one of the most successful and financially robust trade unions in the UK.”

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“No employer, let alone a trade union, should impose changes to terms and conditions of employment without the agreement of its staff.”

Yesterday, actuarial group Lane Clark & Peacock revealed FTSE 100 pensions dropped by more than £53bn since July 2007.