British Airways to meet with union to avoid Christmas strike

British Airways and union leaders say they will meet Wednesday for emergency talks in an effort to head off a Christmas strike by the airline's 13,000 cabin crew workers.

Both sides confirmed they have agreed to hold discussions at 3 p.m. London time (10 a.m. ET). The walkout threatens the holiday plans of about 20,000 passengers on Canadian routes.

The Unite union workers voted for a 12-day strike over the Christmas holidays — from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2 — over changes to pay and conditions for cabin crews.

British Airways is seeking to trim costs by £140 million ($241 million Cdn) by eliminating 1,700 cabin-crew jobs through voluntary departures and a shift to part-time work.

The union said it is eager to restart talks on resolving the dispute with British Airways management, but said stopping the strike is not necessarily on its agenda.

The carrier said it would proceed with an emergency application for a court injunction to prevent the walkout. British Airways plans to argue that the strike vote was invalid because it included workers who had already agreed to leave through voluntary departures.

A hearing on the injunction is scheduled in London's High Court on Wednesday, an hour before negotiations are set to begin.