British Airways and Unite union in last-ditch strike talks

The British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, and the joint general secretary of the Unite trade union, Tony Woodley, are today holding last-ditch talks in an attempt to avert a three-day cabin crew strike this weekend. Last night Walsh met the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber, and it is understood the BA boss handed over a letter. Walsh declined to comment when leaving the TUC headquarters in central London. In a sign that today's meeting could be make-or-break, Woodley has called a gathering of representatives of Bassa, the Unite cabin crew branch, this afternoon. Woodley offered a way out of an increasingly damaging and politically contentious dispute earlier this week when he said Unite would suspend the strikes if BA resubmitted a peace offer that was taken off the table last week. Walsh has appeared to harden his stance in subsequent communications with Barber, warning that BA was unlikely to submit the same offer and apparently refusing to lift disciplinary procedures against senior Bassa members employed by the airline. The latter stance has led many Unite officials to believe that all hope of a deal before Saturday is lost. There is also concern among Bassa representatives that the BA offer, which included a three-year pay deal and the partial repeal of staffing cuts that triggered the dispute, does not go far enough and could be rejected by members. However, this morning's meeting has provided some hope. BA has said it expects to fly 65% of its passengers to their destinations during the walkout that is due to begin on Saturday. A further four-day walkout will take place the following Saturday if no deal is reached. Unite has been under intense political pressure to reach a deal after Gordon Brown labelled the threatened industrial action "deplorable". Unite is one of the Labour party's largest donors.