UPDATE | 24 July, 2019
According to BALBA statement, the High Court judge presiding over the case determined that the pilots union had issued its ballot correctly and therefore the ballot result could stand.
“We ask that BA thinks hard about why 93% of our members feel so strongly about taking strike action”, the statement says.
Pilot unions have still not set any strike dates to give British Airways one last chance to commit to negotiating on pilots pay and rewards with at ACAS later this week.
British Airways is on the verge of massive disruptions in its operations over the peak summer season. 93% of pilots working for the carrier voted in favour of industrial action on a 90% turnout.
The carrier offered pilots 11.5 per cent pay increase over three years, however, the offer was rejected as the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) believes pilots are worth more seeing the carrier making healthy profit.
BALPA said in a statement that pilots have been interested in resolving the problem since November, in order to not cause huge inconveniences during the high season.
While British Airways says being open to solve the problem, BALPA claims it was British Airways which chose to “drag this out into the summer months“.
Therefore, British Airway announced no changes in their schedule yet as BALPA has not determined any particular dates for the strike hoping to mutually resolve the problem.
British Airways is seeking an injunction on Tuesday in the High Court to halt any potential strike action. The union would have to give British Airways a minimum of two weeks’ notice of any action, meaning the earliest any action could could take place is 6 August.
In BALPA’s opinion, it would be more cost-efficient for the carrier to reach an agreement with pilots than to allow to start the strike action.
Story to be updated.