BA Cabin Crew Resume Talks This Week says Tony Woodley

Unite said it’s close to resuming talks to resolve a 22-month pay and staffing dispute as it prepares for a ballot on strike action in the new year.

Negotiations should take place this week under the auspices of Britain’s state-funded Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, said Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of the Unite union, which represents the 11,000 flight attendants.

“It’s right and proper that we get together and try and solve what is one of the most difficult disputes for many a year,” Woodley said today in a telephone interview.

While British Airways and Unite have reached broad agreement on employment terms, the union wants concessions on the treatment of striking workers, including the immediate restoration of travel benefits suspended until 2013 and binding arbitration on all disciplinary cases related to the dispute.

Unite will meanwhile ballot members over further action, with the intention of announcing the result as early as Jan. 14, according to a person familiar with the situation who declined to be identified because the plan hasn’t been made public.