Union discusses BA strike plan

Air passengers are braced for further disruption in the coming weeks after talks between British Airways and the unions broke down last night.Yesterday's discussions in central London, chaired by the TUC, came to nothing despite speculation that the union had come up with a plan to avert a walkout."Management's offer went nowhere near addressing our members' concerns over crew numbers and service levels," said the Unite union, which represents BA cabin crew.It said the talks were "impeded by gratuitously provocative statements by senior BA managers not involved in the negotiations, once more calling into question the company's interest in reaching an agreement".TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said he'll be keeping in touch with both parties, but that no further negotiations are planned at this stage.Union leaders will meet today to decide whether to call a strike and, if so, on which dates. They've already promised not to target the Easter holiday period.We'll know the exact details by Monday, the last day before the union's mandate for industrial action runs out. They must also give seven days notice of strike action.Cabin crew last month voted in favour of industrial action to protest against new working practices imposed by the airline's management. The result in favour of a strike had been widely expected and echoes the results of the first strike vote held by the Unite union in December, when members voted by nine to one in favour of downing tools. Bay Capital