British Airways was facing the threat of fresh strikes today after the airline's cabin crew overwhelmingly rejected an offer aimed at ending their long-running dispute.
The Unite union said there was an 81% majority against the proposed deal in a turnout of 71%.
Representatives of the cabin crew will meet Unite's joint general secretaries, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, on Monday to discuss their next moves in the bitter row.
'BA management should take note of their own employees' strong rejection of their offer and immediately address the outstanding concerns,' the union leaders said.
Union activists have been pressing for a lengthy walkout following a series of stoppages in March which caused travel chaos for passengers and cost BA tens of millions of pounds.
The dispute was inflamed yesterday when a union official representing cabin crew was sacked.
Unite had urged members to reject the proposed deal because BA had not fully restored travel concessions taken away from those who went on strike and because more than 50 union members have been suspended.
The two sides have been in dispute for more than a year in a row over jobs, pay and working practices, including staffing levels on aircraft.
The main sticking points now are linked to the strike in March, when thousands of cabin crew walked out, forcing BA to put in place contingency plans to keep aircraft flying.
Unite will have to give a week's notice of any fresh strikes.
