British Airways workers’ pay soars by 13%

Unite has secured a 13.1% pay rise for around 24,000 staff employed by British Airways in the UK, according to the union.

Not including pilots or management, the workforce will receive the pay rise over an 18-month period, together with a £1,000 one-off payment. The union has also built into the pay deal a potential option for salaries to increase further if inflation remains high.

In addition to the pay increase, Unite has secured an agreement that no member of British Airways staff will have the pay rise applied against a lower rate of pay than they were receiving in 2020.

At the height of the pandemic, Unite and the GMB union accused British Airways of plans to “fire and rehire” staff, including cabin crew, and threatened to take strike action.

But speaking to the transport select committee later that year, then chief executive Alex Cruz said that British Airways would not issue new contracts, subject to the outcome of consultations with staff, and said the airline had reached an agreement with Unite in a “majority” of areas.

This week’s agreement effectively reverses the impact of any fire and rehire which did take place. Unite said today that many workers suffered “substantial pay cuts”. Unite has said that “put simply”, the deal both restores and increases pay.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a sizable pay increase which has been achieved by the hard work and dedication of the union’s reps and officers, hammered out in detailed negotiations.

“The fact that Unite has reversed the fire and rehire cuts while also securing a large increase in pay, underlines how the union’s relentless focus on the jobs, pay and conditions of members, is delivering for workers financially.”

As well as the overall pay increase, Unite has also negotiated “milestone reviews” and additional increases for specific groups of workers at the airline. In a consultative ballot, Unite’s members at British Airways overwhelmingly accepted the offer.

Unite national co-ordinating officer Oliver Richardson said: “The British Airways deal is the latest evidence of how Unite is securing significant pay increases for workers throughout the aviation sector, and as the sector recovers, we are also securing improvements for our members’ terms and conditions.”

Unite has secured numerous improved pay deals across the aviation sector, including at major airports, where a raft of pay disputes have been settled after its members voted in favour of strike action.

Prospect union members working for the Civil Aviation Authority are being balloted on industrial action for the first time in its history in a dispute over pay.

Prospect says that CAA staff are facing a cost-of-living crisis after more than 10 years of pay degradation, with pay having fallen in real terms by 37% since 2011. CAA has offered its workers a 5% increase.

Personnel Today contacted British Airways for comment.

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