BAA and Unite reach pay agreement, avoid strike action

UK's BAA and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) announced (16-Aug-2010) BAA has reached the basis of an agreement on pay with Unite for its security, engineering and firefighting staff, that is "fair to staff, but which also reflects the difficult economic climate" (AFP/Associated Press/guardian.co.uk/Reuters, 16-Aug-2010). The unions will now be balloting their members on the proposed settlement with a recommendation that members vote to accept it. BAA stated it expects the union to recommend member accept the offer, avoiding potential disruptions to operations. Unite stated it is prepared to recommend the "much improved" pay agreement to its members. British Transport Minister, Philip Hammond, welcomed the agreement. [more - BAA] [more - Acas]

BAA: "We think it's a deal that's a fair reward for our staff. We believe that the unions are going to recommend acceptance of our offer to their membership. If that's the case, then we are very, very confident that any disruption to our airport operations has now been avoided," Terry Morgan, Spokesperson. Source: BBC News, 16-Aug-2010.

Unite: "Unite came to these negotiations with a strong mandate for industrial action. In today's negotiations between Unite and BAA, the assistance of Acas has been constructive and we are pleased to announce we are calling off strike action at BAA's six airports. Unite's negotiating committee will recommend a much-improved offer from BAA. Details of the agreement will be made public once BAA staff have been advised of the improved offer," Brian Boyd, National Officer. Source: guardian.co.uk, 16-Aug-2010.