British Airways Union calls for Walsh to Step Down

Unite, the union representing some 12,000 British Airways cabin crew, has called on the carrier’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, to step aside from the negotiation table, saying that the dispute could be resolved if he does so. Sources and senior figures for the union believe that chief financial officer Keith Williams is a better person to deal with and could bring the 15-month long dispute swiftly to an end.

Duncan Holley, the secretary of the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (Bassa), which is a Unite branch, says that an agreement will be easier to make if Walsh wasn’t the one negotiating. Williams is well respected and trusted, he continued, and union leaders feel they would be able to forge a better relationship with him. If he presents the cabin crew with an agreement, he added, they would be more likely to accept.

Williams was the one that negotiated with the British Airways union over the airline’s £3.7 billion pension. A union source said that the previous agreement over pension issues shows that they can strike a deal with the carrier if there is a reasonable manager at the helm of the negotiating table. This is what they have been missing, he continued, adding that Walsh’s management is in danger of dragging the carrier down as a premium airline.

Williams is also set to be the new chief executive of the company when it merges with Iberia later this year. Walsh will be stepping up to be the head of the newly merged company, which will allow the airline to operate under their own brands.