Gate lay-off offer attracts 700

The Gate Gourmet walkout triggered chaos for British Airways

About 700 staff from the catering firm at the centre of the Heathrow jobs row last month have applied for redundancy, according to the T&G union.

About 300 of those sacked in the ongoing row at Gate Gourmet have applied, while a further 400 applications came from current staff.

Gate Gourmet sparked chaos at Heathrow last month after sacking 670 staff.

This prompted a wildcat strike from Gate staff and BA baggage handlers staged a two-day sympathy walkout.

The dispute grounded hundreds of BA flights, causing long delays for tens of thousands of passengers at the height of the summer getaway season.

Talks resume

The T&GW said talks between the two sides will resume on Monday in a bid to resolve one of the bitterest rows in modern industrial history.

"There's some detailed analysis that needs to go on now because, of those 700, it may be that some of them won't be allowed to go because of the particular job that they do," a T&G spokesman said.

Meanwhile, sacked workers are planning to stage a demonstration in Brighton on Monday at the start of the TUC Congress.

The caterer says it need to cut 670 jobs from its 2,000-strong workforce to survive.

Gate Gourmet has been told by its creditors that it has until next Monday to meet their demands or its assets will be seized.