Approximately 24,000 employees of British Airways will receive a salary increase of more than 13% over 18 months from September, the Unite union said.
Workers will also receive a one-time payment of £1,000, but pilots and management are excluded from the agreement, specifies Unit. The deal, after months of negotiations, lessens the threat of disruption as demand for air travel soars. As workers push for higher wages in a number of sectors as the UK is plagued by inflation.
Inflation, although it has come down a bit, is still at 7.9%, well above the Bank of England’s 2% target. Unite’s wage negotiations were aimed at mitigating the effects of inflation on workers.
The union said the deal also reverses pay cuts from 2020. Recently British Airways was able to avoid disruption after a wave of industrial action by ground handlers was called off. Strategies also change. While the airline has fired more than 10,000 employees during the Covid pandemic, it has since hired thousands more staff as the travel request approaching 2019 levels.
Last week, AGIthe company that owns British Airways, said it made record half-year profits of £1.1 billion, helped by higher fares and a continued rebound in travel.
