Originally Posted by
aviationvictim
This fire and rehire idea. Is it actually legal? It seems very extreme even for the UK as it makes the unions completely redundant. Surely there must be a way to stop something like this happening?
Best of luck to all involved.
This is actually legal in the UK.
The fact that it is legal does not make it fair or ethical during a pandemic but rather the opposite.
This shows the real intentions of BA management & IAG. We all know that WW is fully in charge of these decisions. Alex Cruz is simply one of WW's direct reports within IAG.
In the majority of G20 countries this practice would be illegal. The only exception would be the US.
The UK workers in recent years have been following the US in a suicidal trend: large corporations have successfully invested millions of pounds to discredit unions. The vast majority of workers in the UK now are so brainwashed that they strongly believe Unions are a waste of time.
This is very dangerous indeed, especially during a crisis of this magnitude as companies can take huge advantage of the workforce by slashing T&Cs to increase further fat cats' bonuses ignoring any ethical principle and social consequences.
It is true that "anti-union" countries like the US and the UK have lower unemployment levels however we can't forget that the "race to the bottom" is reaching very dangerous levels with too many workers surviving under awful T&Cs in both the US and the UK. BA Mixed fleet is only one example with crew sleeping in their cars unable to afford petrol.
This polarisation (getting worse by the day in both the US and the UK) is not sustainable and will lead to widespread mental issues and civil unrest in the long term.
Decent T&Cs are actually compatible with healthy corporate profits and BA is one of the few example left in the UK. BA has been very profitable with the present T&Cs. This is a fact.
Other EU countries enjoy high productivity combined with generous salaries and strong unions (e.g. DE, DK, CH etc). High level of staff engagement and morale.
We must wake up before the entire system collapses...see the US where millions of very low-paid workers have no sickness payments, no leave, etc ( zero hours contracts) and rely on tips, madness and non sustainable.