Holidaymakers travelling with British Airways are set to face disruption this summer as the airline failed in the Court of Appeal to block pilots from taking strike action in a dispute over pay.
Members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association, Balpa, last week voted nine to one in favour of strikes over a pay dispute, based on a 90 per cent turnout.
The UK’s flag carrier went to the UK’s High Court last week in an attempt to obtain a temporary injunction to avoid mass walkouts, but the judge ruled that the pilots’ union had carried out its ballot correctly and the result could stand.
Brian Strutton, Balpa’s general secretary, said the Court of Appeal rightly dismissed BA’s attempt to injunct industrial action and that trying to “defeat the democratic view of their pilots in court” rather than negotiate, has wasted time and money that could have been put into finding a peaceful resolution.
British Airways said it was disappointed that Balpa had chosen to threaten the holidays of thousands of customers with industrial action and apologised for the disruption it will cause.
The union said it will not announce strike dates today and is required to give BA 14 days’ notice of any proposed walkout.
BA believes its pay offer of 11.5 per cent over three years was fair and highlighted that the Unite and GMB trade unions, which represent nearly 90 per cent of all BA workers, had recommended the same pay offer to their members.
“We continue to pursue every avenue to find a solution to avoid industrial action and protect our customers’ travel plans,” the airline added.
Balpa has said its members did not want to cause disruption to passengers but it had been in negotiations with the airline since November. It hopes BA “now recognises the seriousness of the situation and will work positively with us to find a way forward.
The ruling comes as London’s Heathrow airport last week avoided mass walkouts of up to 4,000 workers, including security guards and engineers, so they can vote on a new pay offer.
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