Yes, how often have I seen that 'head in the sand/just a bunch of whingers' response.
I wanted my company to do well, so that I could possibly earn more and have job security. What frustrated me and many others, is that chronically bad and corrupt management were wasting my efforts and dragging the company down to their level while they filled their pockets. That's one aspect, and one I have grown used to in every job I've ever had to some degree. But I began to speak up when I saw BMA managers breaking not only their own company rules, but regulations and laws. I wouldn't have even spoken up if they were doing such things in a responsible way with the greater good of the company, staff or passengers in mind.
You can count me as one of the people that loved my job, loved working with highly motivated and proffessional colleagues and worked for much less money than I could have earned somewhere else. I won my share of gongs for good performance and devotion to the company, I did my share of overtime, sometimes as much as 120 hours in a month to cover the fact that BMA continually failed to recruit, train or keep enough staff to cover the operation.
While I was sold off to Aviance, the writing was on the wall. The only way I can explain it is to describe the last 3 managers I worked under;
BB was like many managers because he would put himself down for 30-40 hours overtime a week, but most of it he did from home, i.e. he defrauded the company (and part of my profit share). He looked after his chronies and treated the rest like dirt, denying them leave, overtime or shift swaps "because he didn't like them". He left shortly before the company threw him out for fraud and telling porkies. Ironically, he went to EasyJet and was soon sacked pending prosecution for the same dirty deeds.
Next came DD. An ex-BA despatcher, he was in charge of creating the computer records of our performance. He proudly showed how he could convert BMA's dire performance into glowing statistics ready for the big sell-off. He took lying to a new level at bmi and seemed to be honing his skills for bigger things (scams?). He finally got sacked when someone recorded his attempt to bribe and then threaten a union official.
Then there was (is) CC. A perpetual list maker who never does what his lists tell him to. He would take leave whenever he felt like it, and usually without telling anyone. A serious aerophile (plane spotter), most of his time at work would be spent on the ramp getting numbers. Some of his typical exploits; He took one despatcher from the Iberia contract and sent him to despatch a Qatar flight, even though he had had no training for the entirely different DCS system or the aircraft he was to work on, and from a different terminal with diferent procedures. when the flight went SNAFU and a bin that should have been offloaded wasn't, he tried to discipline said individual for failing to adhere to procedures that he was never taught. // next one is when he binned a report regarding incorrect paperwork onboard an aircraft. The report described how the conversion chart was incorrectly printed and prompted the pilots to set incorrect stab angles for their CG position. to say that this was safety sensitive is an understatement, never the less, despite promises from CC to pass this on to the airline immediately, he threw it away. // The last one was when he went to a bmi aircraft that was delayed because of 20 rush bags. On the very day that the Lockerbie trial was concluding, this joker decides to by-pass security and load said 20 rush bags without screening, over-ruling the despatcher who then refused to sign the loadsheet. Caught red-handed by the DoT inspector, that night he returned to the despatch office and was seen forging the despatchers' signature to make it look like it was her decision.
What makes me sick about this guy, is that he was 'promoted' after every incident. In fact, he has been 'promoted' through almost every department in bmi, and to this day, is wandering around Heathrow on behalf of bmi in a very senior position, spreading his own brand of incompetence, dishonesty and total disregard for safety or procedure.
WHY?
Because there is no accountability within bmi's management structure, which seems to be designed to protect, even encourage this type of behaviour amongst its managers. I could speculate that they want this situation to hide other, more sinister aspects and activities of th next level of management; under the table deals and bungs from contractors, skimming and plain old fraud? who knows, but the rumours have been around for as long as bmi has been at LHR.
I can understand those that just want to do their job and ignore all the 'stuff' that goes on, but I suspect that once all the players have sucked everything out of bmi they can, they will walk away with their huge redundancy deals and secreted profits leaving the workers, i.e. the people that made it work DESPITE management 'interference', to fend for themselves.
I for one believe that the company and the workforce do not deserve this fate; to suffer at the hands of a few greedy, ego stroking individuals.