In response to the latest Bristow Helicopters statement to media, BALPA General Secretary Amy Leversidge said:

“We appreciate Bristow Helicopters management finally acknowledging that pilots and tech crews are critical to the success of the company and indicating they want to come back to the table to negotiate with us.

“However, they need to accept that in a ballot of our members 95% rejected the current offer on the table. After the ballot we entered back into ACAS talks and after over a week of trying to get movement from Bristow management they tabled an offer that was virtually indistinguishable from the rejected offer. There is no confusion or misunderstanding on our part, our members are clear and resolute – we need an offer that is just focused on pay and is not reliant on reducing terms and conditions.

“We have said all along that we want to resolve this dispute and the way to do this is for Bristow management to listen to their loyal and dedicated pilots and tech crews and understand they can’t just table the same offer that has been rejected, they need to negotiate with us and make a pay offer that is fair and reasonable.

“We will enter into talks with them at any time – we want to find a solution to this dispute and for our experienced and talented pilots and tech crews to be properly valued for the job they do.”