I totally agree that if the pay offer is that derisory then it should be rejected and CC89 should sit back down with Virgin and try and thrash out an improved deal.
However, after reading some of the posts on this thread I think one question that some of you should ask yourself is, "If I wasn't cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic, what job would I be doing and, more importantly, how much would I be earning?"
I gave up my crew job earlier this year 'cos I fancied a change and wanted to do some travelling. In my last year there I earned approximately £22,000. Now I'm back I'm unable to find a job that will pay me anything like that. I'm currently temping in a call centre for less than £300 a week and absolutely hate it! Fortunately I've been offered a job with an airline and start soon.
My point is to consider what you have and why you do it. By all means don't allow your employer to take the p**s but instead of comparing yourselves to BA consider the fact that there are plenty of cabin crew in the UK who don't even come out with £1000 a month.
I think we all realise that we are never going to be rich doing the job and I can fully sympathise with the frustrations of not been able to have a mortgage etc but these problems aren't unique to cabin crew. The lack of affordable housing in the south-east is well documented and affects a sizeable proportion of the population who'd like to get a foot on the property ladder.
Anyway, just my point of view...