The pilots of the British Airways (BA) airline, integrated into the Spanish-British group IAG, have accepted a 20% pay cut and the elimination of 270 jobs, the BALPA union reported.
The decision, adopted by 85% of the almost 4,300 pilots consulted in a vote, serves to soften the adjustment plan designed by the company to cope with the drop in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our affiliates have made a pragmatic decision under the circumstances, but the fact that we have failed to convince BA to avoid all layoffs is very disappointing,” BALPA Secretary General Brian Strutton said in a statement.
Management and unions have been in negotiations since IAG – also the parent company of the Spanish companies Iberia, Vueling, Level and the Irish company Aer Lingus – announced last April that It had to cut up to 12,000 jobs in BA to survive the health crisis.
Regarding the pilots in particular, the company had reported that it planned to fire some 1,255 professionals and rehire with different working conditions.
However, the union negotiated an agreement that, after being accepted in the vote, limited to 270 compulsory dismissals, a number that is expected to be reduced with the proposed voluntary mitigation measures.
The points agreed with the management exclude the possibility of “firing and rehiring (with worse conditions)” and consider the option of working part-time, severance pay and voluntary leave, BALPA explained.
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