BA union says ground crew reject pensions deal

A union representing ground crew at British Airways said its members had rejected the airline's plan for lowering the airline's pensions scheme deficit.

"GMB members covered by the British Airways pension fund have given the union a strong mandate to reject the company's pension funds offer," Ed Blissett, GMB national negotiator with BA, said on the union's website.

He said the GMB would seek to negotiate a settlement with BA but added: "GMB cannot rule out the possibility of an industrial action ballot sometime in the future if negotiations are unsuccessful."

A spokesman for the airline said agreement had been reached with BA's unions to tackle the airline's £2.1 billion pension fund deficit under a plan which involves BA contributing a lump sum and changes to work practices.