After nearly three months of negotiations over British Airways'
proposals to make up to 1,255 pilots redundant and change terms
and conditions by "fire and rehire", the British Airline Pilots
Association (BALPA) has opened a consultation among 4,300 BA
pilots on a package to protect jobs.
The package involves these key elements -
1. Voluntary part time working, voluntary severance, voluntary
external secondments.
2. A holding pool of the equivalent of 300 pilots employed on
reduced pay ready to return to flying as demand picks up.
3. These measures funded by pilot pay cuts starting at 20% and
reducing to 8% over the next two years then further reducing
toward zero over the longer term.
4. Despite these measures, BA pilots are devastated at the
prospect of around 270 compulsory redundancies although we expect
this number will fall further as voluntary mitigation measures
continue to be taken up.
5. There will be no "fire and rehire" of pilots.
BALPA is recommending its members accept these proposals as the
best that can be achieved in these incredibly difficult
circumstances.
Brian Strutton, BALPA General Secretary, said: “It is hugely
disappointing that during our extensive negotiations British
Airways would not accept the full package of mitigations we put
forward which would have avoided any job losses at all, and at no
cost to BA.
“As a result there will be some compulsory redundancies amongst
the pilot community and that is a matter of huge regret. Given
BA's intransigence we have put together the best package we can
to save as many jobs as possible.”
The ballot of BA pilots will close on 30st July.
