BA set to avoid pilots’ strike after union agrees deal

British Airways is set to avoid a damaging pilots’ strike after agreeing the outline of a pay deal following months of negotiations. The agreement brokered with the British Airline Pilots’ Association union includes a 4% pay rise for this year. “We are pleased to have agreed a pay proposal in principle with Balpa, which will now be put to members with a recommendation from the union,” BA said. The truce between senior executives at the airline and the union has in effect shut down the likelihood of a major pilots’ strike in the coming months. The news will come as a boost to BA, which has endured a difficult year of travel disruption and was forced to cut back its schedule over the summer because of staffing shortages. The package includes the end to a controversial pay deduction scheme agreed with Balpa in spring 2020 to avoid mass redundancies. The union has argued that the agreement forged in the heat of the pandemic should be cancelled now BA is making money again as passengers return to the skies. IAG, the airline’s parent company, has forecast an operating profit of about E1.2b for the three months to September, far exceeding analysts’ expectations. “Following long and difficult negotiations, Balpa has now negotiated an agreement in principle to remove this pay cut and deliver a pay increase in 2022, while paving the way for pay negotiations for 2023,” the union said. “This agreement will now be recommended to our members to accept,” it added. The carrier has also agreed to additional pay rises for pilots who were made redundant during the pandemic but have now returned. <br/>