Union leaders may be ready to throw in the towel in the long-running and costly dispute between British Airways and its 11,000 cabin crew.
When it ballots members this week, Unite will not be urging them to reject the latest offer from BA, even though it does not reinstate travel perks stripped from staff who went on strike in March and May.
Neither has BA agreed to the union’s demand that it halt disciplinary action taken against some staff involved in the dispute.
Although Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley has made it clear the union is not recommending crew accept the offer on the table, he has stopped short of advising members to vote for further industrial action.
According to reports in the Financial Times, the union plans only to put BA’s latest proposal directly to cabin crew and ask them to make up their own minds.
The ballot, which was postponed earlier this week to give crew time to consider the offer, is expected to last at least two weeks.
By Linsey McNeill
