BA, Balpa pass dispute to third party
21 February 2008A dispute that threatens to create serious problems for British Airways, and potentially lead to its passengers relying on their travel insurance, has been passed to an independent third party for conciliation.
BA employees with the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) recently held a vote on industrial action, which concluded with 86 per cent of participants supporting a strike.
The cause of the rift between the airline and its pilots is reported plans for OpenSkies, BA's new transatlantic subsidiary, to be staffed with crew working on inferior terms to the carrier's existing pilots.
A meeting was called near Heathrow airport following the ballot, where it was agreed that the dispute should be passed onto an independent party.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, said he was confident that a settlement can be reached without causing disruption to passengers.
He added: "We are proud of the professionalism and high reputation of our pilots and have never sought conflict with them."
Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said: "The ballot result shows the strength of feeling of our members about the implications of the creation of OpenSkies.
"We have no quarrel with the travelling public and have always maintained that these issues could be resolved through negotiation rather than confrontation."