Heavens. What an acerbic bunch we have become. The last three pages require deletion.
From the start I have pointed out that Walsh's assault is not about saving an ailing airline, it is about a smash & grab on cabin crew T&Cs. I have repeatedly called upon my leadership to explain how the figure of £82million was reached. Some transparency. My union did as they were asked, and produced their own proposals which produced a greater saving than the company required. But £82million was a smokescreen, it may as well have been .82p.
The real intent was the creation of a new fleet, staffed by temporary workers, and starvation of the existing fleet's work - thus earnings.
And its commences in November.
The previous three weeks of intense negotiation have been for nothing. I read here that BASSA will not budge, have a say no attitude. They may have, but so has BA under the regime of Walsh. The argument may be that BASSA said no,no,no but clearly so have BA. I had an interesting chat with a senior manager at BA. Travelling east in first class, and perhaps one too many champers, (deliberately applied!), he let slip that several meetings with the union had been cancelled. Walsh had met with Francis and questioned why he was negotiating, there was nothing to negotiate. Whether the Walsh/Francis meeting occurred is hearsay, however it was confirmed that meetings with BASSA were cancelled, whilst at the same time Francis was telling crew that IfCE was involved in intense negotiations.
So, where from here. It seems that Walsh is revelling in his 'reasonable man gets nowhere' mantra and the unions remain defiant. Neither side will make the first move to compromise. Colleagues I speak with seem happy to take a temporary hit to see BA through the current economic downturn, but not a permanent change to their contracts. They can see the opportunistic nature of Walsh & Co. They also understand that the customer will not benefit. Savings made in the long term will not be passed onto our customers, you will not see a reduction in your ticket price. Nor, will you see any improvement in service. The rut which BA have dug is of no benefit to anyone, not passengers, not other employees, certainly not the cabin crew and not management. Walsh took a gamble and took a sledge hammer, at the worst possible time, to wield at his staff. A better CEO would have been diplomatically and tactfully chipping away, as indeed previous CEOs have done.
So who benefits from this stand-off and its culmination. Perhaps the leadership team and their bonus's, perhaps the shareholders. I would say if the gamble goes wrong, (which is looking highly likely), they too can join the list of those who will not benefit.
Change is constant, I think we all agree, not instantaneous. Major and instant changes lead to problems. This is a major change for me. My loyalty can only lie with my colleagues and unions. A £6000 reduction in my salary equates to 25%. Too much for me to maintain my lifestyle. (Which, incidentially, is not excessive. Just average.) A heart to heart conversation with my wife, and the agreement is that under the new terms I simply could not afford to work for BA. So should i just capitulate, as some, (any I make no apologies), smug commentators on here have suggested and maintain a job, after all jobs are not easy to come by at the moment. The problem of my finances will not change so you will understand why I need to fight to maintain what I have. Fact: You would.
I'm a Conservative, and have been since my days as a crad carrying young conservative. I believe in the doctrine of capitalism, but I also believe that capitalism must be played out carefully and discretely. Make it too blatent and Marx becomes a hero. It's not good to reveal the loss of 300 jobs on the same day that it is revealled the 'fatcat' senior managers are back on a £1000 a day. Winds people up. Alun Howells six days of work equals the repossession of my home.
And to finish. The views expressed on this forum are a minority, and beyond a considered change. I read the same people spouting the same views without consideration of what else is written. This is not a conversation, not a debate. There is a crisis brewing and my time is better spent dealing with the problems the crisis will bring. I cannot influence your views, but neither do I need to. So this will be my last post. My time here does not matter. I'll continue reading for a short while but ultimately I intent to cancel my membership of PPrune.
Happy flying.