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Willie Walsh turns down £334,000 bonus at BA
BA chief executive had no choice - Unite would have had a field day
With immaculate timing, Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, has let it be known that he has turned down his annual bonus, payable in shares, of £334,000. He will make do with his basic salary of £674,000.
It is the second year running that Walsh has rejected his bonus, and this time he had little choice. The Unite union, with which BA is locked in a dispute over cabin crew pay and conditions, would have dropped more than a hot drink in his lap if he had accepted it.
The question now is whether Walsh will be able to collect a bonus next year. The airline's pay committee has reportedly set him specific targets to meet if he is to be eligible for a maximum bonus in 2010/11 - and they include "improving industrial relations".
In the meantime, cabin crew returned to work today after the third five-day stoppage, with Unite planning to ballot BA members on further industrial action. Will staff, having lost considerable wages after a total of 15 days off, be up for it? They have gained nothing so far.
Walsh, perhaps with an eye on that "improvement" target, was at his most conciliatory when he said: "I regret that we found ourselves at loggerheads with very valued members of staff at a critical time." ·
