PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - IAG: BA restructuring may cost 12,000 jobs
Old 5th May 2020, 19:58
  #342 (permalink)  
ILS27LEFT
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Europe
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From the person behind the petition.

"5 MAY 2020 —

Well, I am honestly blown away by the support this petition has gained over the weekend and I wanted to personally thank every single one of you, from the bottom of my heart. Sometimes in life it is nice just to know you are not alone when the decimation of a workforce is announced in such an underhanded way. It should give us all strength to know our BA family is a large one and best of all, it’s a strong one.

I would also, on behalf of all those facing these tough times, like to extend our thanks from the UK BA family to our European airline cousins who are also facing similar problems, but have taken the time stand by all the BA workers right now. LOVE TO YOU ALL. We know who our friends are, but more importantly, to those that have instigated this attack on the UK WORKFORCE while saving others closer to home, the world is now watching you VERY CLOSELY.

I would also like to say a big hello to BA corporate who I have been reliably informed are actively monitoring this petition (looks like we are doing something right).

So, I have been doing a little bit of research on BA’s figures over the 2019 period this weekend, as well as reading all of the comments from pilots, crew, and almost everyone that has been effected by the BA's latest plans. The very plans that have been sanctioned by IAG to target ONLY THE UNITED KINGDOM workforce. Just to be clear, all information posted here in this petition is in the public domain or has been circulated by the trade union UNITE of which I am a member.

So while I was on my journey of discovery, I came across a very informative article that I felt I had to share with you concerning IAG’s finances that was posted on the London stock exchange, (link attached) that actually shows the healthy turnover and profit for IAG along with some nice cash reserves in savings. In 2019 BA’s profit margin dropped a small amount to 12.9%, while its turnover increased to 13.29 billion pounds. BA’s profit has stayed the same at around 2 billion (I am assuming the margin drop did not happen on day 1) as opposed to 2018 showing a profit of 2.3 billion.

So, I find it odd that we fast forward to May 2020 and BA is, all of a sudden, 550 million in the red. The question I have to ask myself is, how does a company that makes that much money blow over 2 billion in cash while the UK tax payer foots the wage bill? Now, I am no accountant, and yes, we are facing difficult times, but really guys?

The last time I can remember this level of mismanagement of money was during the financial crisis and the UK government stepped in and renationalised a handful of banks. I personally don’t see that as a bad thing for BA and Virgin alike, as these are companies that are profitable and as a UK Tax payer, I can actually see a return on my investment very quickly. Something for Boris to have a good think about. Len if you are reading this right now, you have my vote to bring the airlines under the control of the UK government.

As I looked through some of the BA management statements I did find it very amusing to see the likes of Willie Walsh blaming the pilot’s strike for £130m in lost revenue as well as strikes at Heathrow for 33m while Willie Walsh overlooked the fact that Alex Cruz decided to award himself a pay rise at exactly the same time taking his salary from £830,000 to £1.36M. To which you would be happy to know, Alex was asked to explain himself on breakfast TV (have a look at the metro article link).

While we are looking at executive pay, I found an interesting article from “This Is Money” about Willie Walsh and his none too shabby pay plan. The 2019 annual IAG report showed he had a 5.5% rise, up from £3million in 2018, with an £883,000 bonus and £1.2million in shares. He also stands to get 1.1m shares worth £5.2million under long-term bonus schemes over the next four years, ‘if targets are met’.

This statement, “If targets are met” got me thinking. So, as long as IAG hits all its targets, Willie Walsh will pocket another £5.2 million over the next 4 years. These targets will more than likely be linked to shareholder value. Shareholder value is the value delivered to the equity owners of a corporation due to management's ability to increase sales, earnings, and free cash flow, which leads to an increase in dividends and capital gains for the shareholders.

Now, I have no issues with anyone earning money, and my view is the more you make the better, within reason, but these bonuses are what drives the management at BA and almost all businesses. I guarantee you that it is this payment to the Shareholders and the bonuses being paid to Willie Walsh and Alex Cruz this is behind this whole program of redundancies.

Also, while this threat of redundancy is going on and as part of gaining market share, it is in IAG/BA’s interest that Virgin, as an airline, fail. Think about it. If BA could hoover up all those slots for a fraction of the price, they could raise total passenger percentages across the UK increasing that 2 billion profit. Maybe IAG’s refusal to stop the purchase of Air Europa at over a billion euro’s is counting on yet more misery for the UK workforce. If you look at the sums of money here that BA management earn, I am sure they will have some obscene bonuses sitting there waiting for them. If that profit margin increases remember “If targets are met” .

So now we know what drives this corporate enterprise and the BA Millionaires club, let us look at the human cost of margin retention and passenger percentage figures and what it really means to you and I, the BA family.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been watching the crew threads and receiving personal messages via social media. I have to say, I have been moved by all of them, but two posts in particular stood out to me amongst all of them.

One post was from a single mother who had barely been able to get out of bed for 3 days, and only did so to feed her young child. She has not stopped crying and is worrying she will lose everything.

The 2nd post actually made me go weak at the knees and I genuinely could not stop the tears. It was from a member of cabin crew who had worked out he was actually better off dead as his family would then have enough money, with his ‘death in service’ pay, to continue paying the mortgage plus putting food on the table, and was seriously contemplating suicide. This is the reality that my new found family are facing every day, and this is exactly how the BA Millionaires Club want you to feel so you take any deal they offer . This is a group of people who hide behind a pandemic to hatch their plans while taking my money as a tax payer. In the UK,as of writing this update, we have 190,584 cases of Covid-19 confirmand and 28,734 death, on track to be the highest in Europe. Another post that resonated with me was from a pilot sent directly to Alex Cruz. The words that stood out were that this newly proposed zero hour contract is tantamount to MODERN DAY SLAVERY. Remember this despicable treatment has been saved by the IAG group for the UK WORKFORCE only, not the rest of Europe and most defiantly not Spain.

It is easy for panic to set in, remember that’s what BA management want right now. So please stop, breath, and take a step back. If you really look at this with a clear head, we have ALL the unions working together this time, court cases have been filed already in the high court and the biggest union in the UK, Unite, is fighting our corner against the BA Millionaires Club.

For those of you sitting there worried and ready to take the 1st proposal that comes along from BA, please remember this. The BA management team actually have a track record of failure when it comes to taking on my BA family. For those more senior members of the Gatwick fleet who remember when the Dan Air staff were brought on, how did that end up for the BA millionaires? My personal favourite though is the 2010 industrial action when the BA Millionaires Club, headed at the time by Willie Walsh, tried to get all the unions fighting against each other by bringing in our Mixed Fleet family. How did that work out for you then guys? Take strength and pride in the fact that we have strong unions that individually have a high record of success, and this time are all ONE FAMILY together fighting our corner. You can guess which team I am glad to be on. I implore you all do as your unions ask, follow protocol, never act out of anger.

To those that feel that there is nothing else there for you, remember this. Right now, as I speak, our new family spans the globe, our family is over 157,975 strong and is growing by the minute. To the BA Millionaires Club, this time you have every single employee in the UK from the Pilots, Cabin Crew and Ground Staff acting as one. We are not running from you, we are running at you.

To those who feel the darkness closing in and that this world does not need you, I beg you now to please reach out to Crew Care or the Samaritans. You are not alone, you have a family spanning the globe and we are 100’s of thousand strong. Do not wavier, do not loose sight of the goal. We are stronger as One Family, we will not back down and we will not stop or be beaten.

So now we know what we are up against, this is my ‘call to action’ for every UK citizen who has signed this petition. I am begging you to help the BA Family. Time is not on our side, so please can I ask you to do the following.

1) Sign this petition ASAP https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/303081 so it gets read and debated in parliament.

2) Also, we must write to every elected MP in every party in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This will bring massive amounts of pressure on Parliament to act and also for the BA millionaires club to face up to what they are doing. I have also included an MP finder for your area. This is not a debate on who you voted for, this is another voice by those elected to support us.

3) To Len McCluskey I urge you to ask all the UNITE members to write to all of their MP’s in the UK. If a 100 people send the same letter to the same MP’s, they will have to listen.

Talking of MP’s, for those of you in Sussex, please shake Huw Merriman’s hand for me as he has demanded that the BA Millionaires Club turn up to parliament and explain themselves, apparently they’ve all been too busy up till now.

So, in closing and to my new BA Family. From the son of Spanish immigrants, born in the slums of London and growing up on the Grenfell Estate, I have dealt with bullies all of my life and the only way they win is by fear. I make this promise to you all. I will face these people, not with anger, not with fear, but with a determination that’s born out of necessity, as lives and not bonuses depend on this. Trust me “We have this”

Lastly, I would like to dedicate this petition to Ian Johnson (aka Shirley), one of BA’s longest serving Cabin Service Directors, who sadly became one of the 28,734 victims of Covid-19. If anyone is in contact with his family, please let them know.

Please, all of you from all over the world, be safe in these desperate times and remember you have a very large family that loves you.



Steve

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/303081

https://www.theguardian.com/business...taff-redundant

https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/09/ba-ch...ries-10712855/

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...3-2m-year.html

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/.../14441147.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...-grilling-mps/

https://news.google.com/covid19/map?...d=%2Fm%2F07ssc

https://members.parliament.uk/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-Gatwick.html
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