Seven days of strikes by British Airways cabin crew look inevitable on Friday after the airline withdrew its formal offer to resolve the dispute.
The strikes by 12,000 BA cabin crew are scheduled to go ahead on March 20, 21 and 22 and then on March 27, 28, 29 and 30. There may also be further walk-outs after Easter if the dispute over pay and working conditions is not settled.
Unite had planned to hold an electronic ballot of its members on BA’s last-minute formal offer to resolve the dispute. But BA chief executive Willie Walsh withdrew this offer after the union announced strike dates today. Walsh said the deal was conditional on strike action not going ahead.
Unite assistant general secretary Len McCluskey said the withdrawal of the offer "beggared belief" and denied that it was ever conditional on no strike action. Earlier, McCluskey said Unite was not recommending the offer to members as it “fell short” of what the union wanted but it would be put to a ballot next week.
A Unite spokesman said: “We can’t hold a ballot of members on an offer that’s no longer on the table. BA would have to put it back on the table.”
He also confirmed that no further negotiations were scheduled between the union and the airline.
