I don't get your point. Why didn't they just do this after christmas? And why for 12 days. From what they've been saying staff weren't told how long it would be or when they just got asked yes or no. Plus considering they are the best paid in Britain (28k starting 38k for supervisors) you can see why hard working people who have had paycuts or been laid off don't support them.
Striking can be a force for good. I think in this case it could have been so - but to do it for so long over christmas just hurts other people and brings the company dangerously close to collapse
I think the timing is more likely to ensure the strike doesn't happen. I thinks it's an aggressive push to make BA settle. Striking and any other time of the year would have had less impact. I'm still holding out that a settlement will occur.
I'm also not buying into BA's documented payments, from what I have been told by people in work with friends who work for Qantas, that salary is only earned by a few, who work ever shift possible. In fact, they say alto of people switch to Qantas from BA as it is a much better working environment.
I agree that this politically charged by the Unions, and that 12 days is way too long.
From working in an industry with hefty unions, I always feel a bit dubious, big mega corps shoudl be better with their staff but often the really driven people in the unions are pretty unreasonable. You have a real danger where they only really talk to people that agree with them and too much reinforcement of their perceived injustices leads to complete inflexibility.
anecdote so not useful evidence: I can think of one time when a union rep (out of a team) being ill for a few days led to the company and the workforce gettign a better deal than it looked like it was going to be before the were ill.
I support standing up for your rights and fair treatment, on the other hand I wouldn't like to comment without some idea of what they are currently on and what they are beign offered. After seeing council related action publicised as being over a limit of 1% payrises actually being 1% above inflation payrises. People twist things on both sides of the issue, always.
It'd be better if everyone was nice, or just let me run the world.
If you don't take action to try and make things better they never get better.
You need to improvise on your office situation, turn your desk into some form of plane diorama, stick cardboard wings on etc, then shout at people when they walk past.
"Hey buddy, get back in the plane, what are you doing out there!"
I am undecided on this one. B_F_K is correct in the other cabin crews earn substancially less than those at BA or Virgin for example (XL used to pay a Junior Crew member a basic of £10000, which was then topped up with flight pay and comissions, which would push it up to £13500 if you were lucky) and I balk abit at the fact that they are so overpaid in comparisson to the rest of the industry
( ... )
I find it difficult to sympathise with them... and I mean this literally. I'll admit that I've followed it in only a vague way and am not interested enough to spend more than a few minutes poking at each opposing website but a small trip to the Unite campaign website offers only solidarity-brother-stick-it-to-the-man guff and nothing to really to substantiate why their cause as a just one.
Alternatively BA throw around figures and hard info at every turn. Their losses in the region of 400 million last year are well documented and with projected losses of 1 billion this year you really start to wonder wtf unite are thinking. As others have said wages are a whole order of magnitude higher than their competitors. Proposed contractual changes apply to new staff only and even then staffing level changes which seem to be proposed through attrition seek only to reduce Heathrow crew sizes to those of Gatwick flight crews. Whole thing reads as virtually suicidal action so... yeah.
Comments 7
Why didn't they just do this after christmas?
And why for 12 days.
From what they've been saying staff weren't told how long it would be or when they just got asked yes or no.
Plus considering they are the best paid in Britain (28k starting 38k for supervisors) you can see why hard working people who have had paycuts or been laid off don't support them.
Striking can be a force for good.
I think in this case it could have been so - but to do it for so long over christmas just hurts other people and brings the company dangerously close to collapse
Reply
I think the timing is more likely to ensure the strike doesn't happen. I thinks it's an aggressive push to make BA settle. Striking and any other time of the year would have had less impact. I'm still holding out that a settlement will occur.
I'm also not buying into BA's documented payments, from what I have been told by people in work with friends who work for Qantas, that salary is only earned by a few, who work ever shift possible. In fact, they say alto of people switch to Qantas from BA as it is a much better working environment.
I agree that this politically charged by the Unions, and that 12 days is way too long.
Reply
anecdote so not useful evidence:
I can think of one time when a union rep (out of a team) being ill for a few days led to the company and the workforce gettign a better deal than it looked like it was going to be before the were ill.
I support standing up for your rights and fair treatment, on the other hand I wouldn't like to comment without some idea of what they are currently on and what they are beign offered. After seeing council related action publicised as being over a limit of 1% payrises actually being 1% above inflation payrises. People twist things on both sides of the issue, always.
It'd be better if everyone was nice, or just let me run the world.
Reply
Get a better job. Or try and change things in a positive way.
Of course, there are sometimes valid reasons to strike. This could well be one of those.
Also, they get to fly in planes all day. I'm stuck in a fricking office. STOP COMPLAINING YOU WINGEBAGS!
Reply
You need to improvise on your office situation, turn your desk into some form of plane diorama, stick cardboard wings on etc, then shout at people when they walk past.
"Hey buddy, get back in the plane, what are you doing out there!"
Reply
Reply
Alternatively BA throw around figures and hard info at every turn. Their losses in the region of 400 million last year are well documented and with projected losses of 1 billion this year you really start to wonder wtf unite are thinking. As others have said wages are a whole order of magnitude higher than their competitors. Proposed contractual changes apply to new staff only and even then staffing level changes which seem to be proposed through attrition seek only to reduce Heathrow crew sizes to those of Gatwick flight crews. Whole thing reads as virtually suicidal action so... yeah.
Reply
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