Union considers BA dispute offer

。 11 May 2011 Last updated at 21:11 ET  The bitter dispute between the Unite union and British Airways has been continuing since 2009 Union members are meeting later to consider an offer which could end the long-running dispute between British Airways and some cabin crew.

The BBC has learned Unite union leaders are said to be "content" with what has been negotiated during talks with BA.

If those at the Heathrow meeting back the offer, a formal ballot of union members could be held within weeks.

This dispute began in 2009 over cost cutting but became bogged down over the loss of travel perks to striking staff.

Staffing levels

It has resulted in travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers with the bill for the disruption caused to BA estimated to be ￡150m.

Continue reading the main story John Moylan Industry correspondent, BBC News

This has been one of the most bitter and prolonged industrial disputes of recent years.

It involved four strike ballots, led to 22 days of strike action and disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. It cost BA about ￡150m.

But a change of personnel at the top of both BA and the Unite union gave fresh impetus to resolving the row. Talks got under way in March, away from the glare of publicity.

The new deal will cover disciplinary action that some staff suffered during the strike and the issue of the removal of travel perks to those that went on strike.

It should also lift the threat of any further disruption to BA flights this summer.

However, after 22 days of strikes over the past 18 months, hopes have been raised that an end to the row is in sight.

Negotiations between the two sides resumed in March, when cabin crew voted in favour of a further round of industrial action, and have been going on for weeks.

The union held back from announcing strike dates pending the talks.

A spokesman for the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association - a branch of Unite - confirmed that "talks have now concluded to the satisfaction of both parties".

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, who has held talks with BA chief executive Keith Williams, will address a mass meeting of union members and the union leadership is expected to recommend they accept the offer.

If they do, a formal ballot will be held, with the result expected in July. This raises the prospect of BA flights being free from disruption through summer.

The dispute started in November 2009 as a row about staffing levels on some long-haul flights. BA reduced the number of cabin crew on long-haul flights from 15 to 14 and introduced a two-year pay freeze from 2010.

Unite said this would hit passenger service and affect the earnings and career prospects of cabin crew.

But the union's demands shifted to the reinstatement of some workers sacked during industrial action and the decision, affecting about 7,000 Unite members, to take away travel perks from striking staff.

Leadership changes

Progress is thought to have been made on those two issues, which were the main sticking points, and reports suggest the proposed deal would also cover union representation and pay.

Former British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh became the focus of the anger of many union members during the dispute.

Mr Walsh has since moved on to head the company formed by the merger of BA and the Spanish carrier Iberia, International Airlines Group, and was succeeded by Mr Williams.

Mr McCluskey was elected in Novemebr 2010 to succeed former joint general secretaries Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson.