British Airways and union agree 13% pay rise for 24,000 staff
Leke Oso Alabi residing in London and Patricia Nilsson located in Frankfurt
Skip to the comments section Save this page as a PDF
Get complimentary updates on International Airlines Group
We will dispatch to you a daily email called myFT Daily Digest that will summarize all the recent news from International Airlines Group each morning.
The union Unite revealed on Friday that approximately 24,000 employees of British Airways have agreed to a contract that will lead to a 13 percent increase in their wages.
According to Unite, workers at the airline will see their wages go up gradually over the course of 18 months, in addition to receiving a single payment of £1,000. This arrangement, which does not apply to pilots or managers, was reached after numerous months of talks and also allows for the possibility of further salary increments should inflation persist at high levels.
The airline business has been attempting to prevent a recurrence of the travel turmoil experienced last year due to a severe shortage of personnel across the sector. This scarcity arose as companies struggled to swiftly hire new employees upon the reopening of borders following the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
On Thursday, Lufthansa, the leading German airline, proposed a notable salary increase to its pilots in an attempt to avoid any potential strikes during the upcoming summer vacation period.
Lufthansa has stated that the proposal corresponds to a salary increase of at least a quarter for captains and a range of one-third to half for co-pilots, as per a confidential message obtained by the Financial Times. The airline's pilots must cast their vote on the agreement by August 10.
Other sectors within the aviation field have also been making efforts to prevent travel inconveniences, as ground handling employees at Gatwick were presented with opportunities for salary enhancements in the month of July.
The airline sector faced significant turmoil in the previous year as it grappled with the surge in demand following the pandemic. Between May and August, approximately 25% of flights in the airspace of the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe experienced setbacks, such as disruptions, delays, or cancellations. A dearth of workers was observed across various roles, including pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, and air traffic controllers.
In the current year, the smooth functioning of air travel has faced challenges due to limited workforce availability in air traffic control. These issues have resulted in delays for travelers in Europe, especially during the bustling holiday season. Consequently, this has compelled US airlines to reduce their flight schedules. French air traffic controllers have been organizing disruptive walkouts consistently during the initial six months of the year. Additionally, the employees at Eurocontrol have raised concerns about potential strikes in the future.
In addition to the significant salary boost, according to the union, the recent deal between BA and Unite also overturned the airline's contentious choice during the peak of the Covid crisis to dismiss and then reemploy all of its employees.
This year's agreement was reached after the threat of strike action by check-in staff was avoided in July 2022. The Unite union declared that they had successfully negotiated a greatly enhanced deal resulting in an average salary increase of 13 percent. This improved agreement was subsequently implemented for all employees at BA.
Stephen Furlong, an expert in aviation analysis from Davy, expressed that there has been noticeable progress in the relationship between employees and the leadership of BA, as well as its parent organization, International Airlines Group.
