Threat of BA strike at Heathrow suspended after airline agrees pay deal

The dispute that threatened to cause a strike of British Airways check-in staff at the airport during the summer holidays has been resolved.

Sources said that after a day of talks, a package was agreed with the Unite union that restored the 10% pay cut introduced during the Pandemic.

There was a one-off bonus payment that was rejected.

The agreement will be put to a vote by Unite members, but both parties hope that it will resolve the dispute.

The unions collaborated with British Airways and they have decided not to issue dates for industrial action. It's great news for our customers.

Sharon Graham is the general secretary of the Unite union. If the company didn't take our members' legitimate grievances seriously, there would be pay disputes at BA. The news came a day after British Airways said it would be cancelling 10,300 flights this summer because of labour shortages.

The start of the school holiday period is at risk of being disrupted because of a strike by one of the four firms at the airport.

Jet2 said on Thursday it would be giving its employees an 8% pay rise and a £1,000 cost of living payment this year as it lashed out at British airports for being "woefully ill-prepared" for the rebound in travel this summer.

Philip Meeson, executive chair of Jet2 said the airports failure to recruit staff was to blame for the chaotic scenes over the holiday periods.

Most of the UK airports where Jet2 operated were woefully ill-prepared and poorly resourced, according to him.

Long lines for security search, lack of staff and congestion in baggage handling are just some of the problems ground-handling suppliers have contributed to.

He said that it had happened because of the lack of planning, preparation and willingness to invest by many airports and suppliers.

The lowest-paid workers at NatWest have been given another cost of living deal. According to the union, the bank has agreed to give a 4% pay increase to 17,000 staff who earn less than $32,000 a year.

Unite said that it was an important first step and that it would continue to push for an increase for the remaining employees.