BA Dispute

[ducati]

Union should be kicked out or BA should be out of business. Nearly a billion a year in losses? That’s not a business it’s a country.

And what was the Socialist Workers Party playing at?

It seems to me that we have (worldwide) too much air travel capacity, something has to go. (And the environment would heave a huge sigh of relief).

At least BA were privatised and we the taxpayer are no longer footing the bill. :Razz

[jm.mack]

Yes they were privatised, but if they did collapse would we, the taxpayer, once again be expected to supply the funds to keep them afloat.

[ducati]

Yes they were privatised, but if they did collapse would we, the taxpayer, once again be expected to supply the funds to keep them afloat.

A resounding no. We have the right Gubberment now, see? :lol:

[Kenn]

What baffles me is the fact that BA workers seem to think they are entitled to higher rates of pay and better conditions than are currently awarded by other airlines.In the current economic climate it's madness of a degree not seen for many years.
Should the airline collapse as a result of their stupidity they will have lost not only their priviledges but also their jobs or, are they of the mindset that as the flagship carrier the tax payer will bail them out?
I suggest that they take a long hard look at the real world and stop thinking they are in an unburstable bubble.

[ducati]

What baffles me is the fact that BA workers seem to think they are entitled to higher rates of pay and better conditions than are currently awarded by other airlines.In the current economic climate it's madness of a degree not seen for many years.
Should the airline collapse as a result of their stupidity they will have lost not only their priviledges but also their jobs or, are they of the mindset that as the flagship carrier the tax payer will bail them out?
I suggest that they take a long hard look at the real world and stop thinking they are in an unburstable bubble.

Yes, I can see the other airlines flocking to (not) employ them :roll:

[Andfield]

I suggest that they take a long hard look at the real world and stop thinking they are in an unburstable bubble.

When you have extreme left wing TU commissars orchastrating the show their only thought is "power to the peepul".
I am sure the great mass of BA employees are just as annoyed with their antics as are the travelling public.

[The Drunken Duck]

What baffles me is the fact that BA workers seem to think they are entitled to higher rates of pay and better conditions than are currently awarded by other airlines.In the current economic climate it's madness of a degree not seen for many years.
Should the airline collapse as a result of their stupidity they will have lost not only their priviledges but also their jobs or, are they of the mindset that as the flagship carrier the tax payer will bail them out?
I suggest that they take a long hard look at the real world and stop thinking they are in an unburstable bubble.

Spot on Lizz.

Having spoken to a former RAF Pilot who now flies for BA that is the mindset in a lot of the cabin crew. They have been paid above the industry average for a long time and are too pig headed to see that the airline just cannot afford it anymore, BA are circling the drain and being pushed closer by refugees from the 1970's who probably still blame Thatcher for the current mess the Airline industry finds itself in.

He has been asked to fly as Cabin Crew to keep the schedule going and is happy to do so, as he says, if BA folds then NO ONE will have a job. And in that situation who is going to employ a group of people who have shown willingness to bring an Airline to its knees ?? .. those Cabin Crew who striked will find doors slamming in their faces pretty quickly.

[RecQuery]

What baffles me is the fact that BA workers seem to think they are entitled to higher rates of pay and better conditions than are currently awarded by other airlines.In the current economic climate it's madness of a degree not seen for many years.
Should the airline collapse as a result of their stupidity they will have lost not only their priviledges but also their jobs or, are they of the mindset that as the flagship carrier the tax payer will bail them out?
I suggest that they take a long hard look at the real world and stop thinking they are in an unburstable bubble.

As a rule I dislike unions, I prefer to negotiate my own contract and not be treated like, say the hypothetical idiot across me who does half the work.

However playing devils advocate is this situation, the management aren't taking pay cuts, they think that because of the current economic climate they can bully people into taking cuts. Just because people with the same job title and responsibilities get paid less doesn't mean they need to accept it. The tactics employed to deny them the right to strike are appalling

[Whitewater]

Seems to me that the set up of the pay structure throughout the company is wrong, they are all over paid. It was just a month or two ago that we were told the cabin crew was the highest paid in the world, their management is probably in the same boat. I can therefor understand the workers not wanting to accept cuts if their managment are not having any. The pay structure of the company needs to be looked at and revised, there has to be an independant arbitrator brought in, if not the company will be down the tubes very shortly. My wife and I do a lot of flying throughout the year to various parts of the world, but we have not used BA for the last 4yrs and I guess there are many other people like us, and this recent spate of trouble will have reduced their potential passenger list even further, even if they get things sorted out now it is perhaps too late for them to recover, and it will take a very long time to regain passenger confidence.

[Phill]

The union and the strikers need a reality check.

Look outside and see what is going on in the world.

BA is haemorrhaging money and needs to change or go bump, going on strike is only going in the direction of bankruptcy.
Striking is futile and highly damaging in the current climate. While some of the strikers may think that it is protecting their own interests (i.e. pay) they need to realise it is destabilising the bigger infrastructure (i.e. where that pay comes from).