Originally Posted by
Xulu
BA Management has shown repeatedly they will not be negotiating. They would rather lose hundreds of millions in revenue than give in. They will play nasty, threaten you, spread lies in the media rather than do a deal.
It is not logical behaviour. That is simply because it is not their money they are playing with, it is shareholders. They are slowly putting Plan B in motion that will break BALPA forever, give them time they will win.
Therefore the only thing that will stop them is the shareholders, because it IS their money being lost.
The strike needs to be decisive, and force shareholders to put pressure on management. That is the only thing they will listen to.
If BALPA announce 6 months of strikes they will fold immediately before any legal action is brought. Not because of management, because of the shareholders protecting their investment.
The terms are:
15% over 3 years.
Public Apology from BA.
Cruz resignation.
Reinstatement of Benefits.
No disciplinary action against strikers.
Until then BA is grounded.
This will resolve the strike within days.
If you want to play fair and nice with Waterside, they will happily drag this out until Plan B is ready and they hold all the power over you. Scare the shareholders and you instantly win.
You have just grounded the airline. It is you that has the power.
Use it or lose it.
On 29 October 2011, seemingly all by himself Qantas CEO Alan Joyce grounded Qantas stranding over 80,000 passengers after a board meeting on the Saturday morning.
Hand on heart he swore that it was spur of the moment decision, no advance positioning and planning; pure theatre of course it was entirely premeditated.
Rushing to intervention by the Workplace "Fair Work" Commission
the pilot union missed THE Opportunity to break Joyce.
The centre piece of the justification for the immediate grounding by Qantas to the Australian regulator was "safety" Pilots would be so distressed by the "lockout" that they needed to be immediately grounded.
Had the pilot union instructed members to take time and de-stress as argued by management, a week of Operating Revenue Loss by Qantas would have sealed Joyce's fate.
Qantas IR correctly surmised the psychological impact would see pilots break ranks and rush back. The gamble worked.
Airlines cannot survive Operating Revenue loss, their expense base is very large and difficult to reduce.
The advantage pilots have at BA, is that management had clearly indicated this is a gunfight, unlike those in the antipodes arm yourselves accordingly.