British Airways pilots are threatening to strike following a row over pay and jobs cuts.
This comes after accepting a temporary deal back in 2020, but after seeing the recent success from GMB and Unite union, pilots are poised to strike.
Under trade union Balpa, pilots are threatening a walk out after airline chiefs rejected calls for a new pay rise, as the Telegraph first reported. The union is now preparing for industrial action which could take place later this summer.
READ MORE- Edinburgh trains today as strike action causes travel chaos across Scotland
This year, British Airways were forced to cancel and reschedule a number of flights until the end of July, across the UK as the airline struggled with the surge of customers and lack of staff.
Back in 2020, pilots for the airline are said to have agreed on a pay cut to avoid job losses. The temporary cut of 20 per cent then decreased to eight per cent over the following two years. This allowed job cuts to go from 1,255 to just 270.
British Airways has since offered a pay reward of five per cent, which was accepted by the union. This came after British Airways. reported a loss of over £4billion during the coronavirus pandemic, as the Express reports.
However, after seeing the success of Unite and GMB unions, pilots now want a pay increase rather than pay cuts while ground handling crew scrapped a planned strike after accepting an eight per cent pay rise last week.
A union source said: “They did it by stomping their feet and having a ballot on strike action. BA seems to ignore you until you issue a ballot, is the sentiment among members. Within Balpa we don’t usually like to do that.
"We would rather take a grown-up approach. But we are under enormous pressure. And the longer this goes on, the harder it gets.”
Talks are ongoing as Balpa recently wrote to airline chiefs saying the salary sacrifice scheme needs to be abandoned.
Martin Chalk, Balpa general secretary, said: “We are in talks with British Airways and wish to persuade them that continuing deductions from our members’ pay is unwarranted.
"We should actually be talking about pay increases given the inflationary scenario. Unless BA is prepared to walk with us down that road then we will have to consult with members to consider our next actions.”
A spokesperson for British Airways commented: "We remain committed to continuing talks with the union."
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