Union leaders representing thousands of British Airways cabin crew have kept the airline waiting for any decisions on strikes after again holding back from announcing dates for industrial action. Officials from Unite spent the day locked in internal discussions following the breakdown of talks last night aimed at resolving a long running row over cost cutting. The collapse of negotiations has brought the threat of strikes closer, but the union made no announcements even though time is now running out for launching a campaign of industrial action. Union members voted massively in favour of strikes last month, and by law Unite has to announce action by next Monday, giving seven days notice of any walkouts. A planned 12-day stoppage by 12,500 cabin crew over Christmas was halted after a successful legal challenge from BA, and the union has ruled out striking over Easter. The two sides held talks under the chairmanship of TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, which broke up without agreement on Wednesday night, although channels of communication have remained open. The cabin crew branch of Unite - Bassa - said it had no wish to cause disruption to BA and its customers and urged the airline's chief executive Willie Walsh to reconsider an offer tabled during this week's talks. Bassa said the difference between the two sides' cost saving proposals was £10 million, adding that far more than that has already been spent by BA on contingency plans for a strike. The airline said the union's proposals fell "significantly short" of this level of savings and would lead to pay cuts of between £1,000 and £2,700 for crew, figures the union disputed. BA maintains it has 1,000 volunteer staff ready to work as cabin crew in the coming weeks if a strike goes ahead. | 
