Originally Posted by
pax britanica
Before people slip into the default mode of Blackadders Sir Talbot Buxomly people should think a little bit about the very low wages mixed fleet and therefore very junior staff get paid. They are young and come from a generation who have seen their actual and real wages decline over the last decade and I for one can believe that soem have had to sleep in their cars .
Do we really want BA to be cabin crewed entirely by Slovakians just for the sake of a few quid on the ticket . twenty years ago working for BA in any front line role in Flight and cabin crew, Line Maintenance, Check in /passenger services were decent career jobs, all thats gone now so they can pay the senior management a fortune. It is the way of the world but try not to be so nasty to them
You are absolutely right Pax. In my day it was a well paid job with great benefits, decent time off and a good career structure. You felt proud to do the job, you had decent rest and, usually went to work with a feeling of pride and left with a feeling of satisfaction. We really could call ourselves 'the worlds favourite'.
These days I don't know how these young guys and girls do it, appalling salary, minimum rest, extra long duty days and the threat of dismissal hanging no over their heads for the slightest infraction.
BA has made a rod for its own back, it has split CC into the 'them' and 'us'. These MF folk do the same job as others yet you would not believe the difference in their terms and conditions. Yes, CC themselves can take part of the blame, the rot set in in 1989 when BA financed and supported a rival union and split crew down the middle.
It seems to me the attitude now is, 'well if we burn them out, there are always plenty of others to do their job'. That, sadly is probably true, but let's remember what they are there for. Not to sell M&S meals as the next plan is, turning BA into some sort of 'Orange Long Haul'. I for one wish them well in their action, all they want is a decent pay rise to do a responsible and difficult job. At the end of the day, the airline is that one that will ultimately suffer by treating its staff in such a way. It's no wonder people say they attitude onboard is not what it should be, I am not surprised. You need to treat your employees with respect if you want the same back from them.
And finally, sadly some of those stories of some crew sleeping in cars and borrowing money from relatives to buy new uniform shoes are true.