You can bet on the strike, the timing of which is a function of BA's imposition, possibly via the trustees of the BA pension scheme, of terms that will represent a cut in remuneration of such magnitude that BA's pilots will be united in their opposition as never before.
Meanwhile, BA carry-on with the campaign of low-level harassment of the flight crew workforce designed to up the turnover of flight crew to a level "comparable with industries outside aviation". A cleverly instituted policy of "everyone is the same" leaves flightcrew facing awesome responsibility yet receiving no acknowledgement of it from BA at a corporate level such that "command" becomes a hollow word: who will act on a Commander's wishes if it is demonstrably obvious that BA pay no respect to the holders of such a position?
If you dare to be ill, expect a sickness policy designed for an office-based organisation that takes no account of the physiological effect of flight on the human body, such that people who are patently ill come to work to avoid being placed in an Orwellian programme of attendance management that is an insult to flight professionals and a threat to flight safety.
BA's work current work allocation arrangements are based on seniority and so transparent, yet BA plan a system of near permanent reserve for their crew, where drafting at 7 days notice would be a regular feature of a roster that PLANS to achieve the legal LIMIT wherever possible. The fact that this will render great chunks of family life all but impossible is just too bad, eh, in an airline that "tours" its shorthaul pilots in hotels in Europe as well as seeking the legal limit on flying hours from its longhaul crew. But that’s OK, as divorce is a career hazard for flightcrew, isn't it, and anyway, the little s@ds deserve it for the loaf of a job they enjoy, eh?!
Meanwhile, across the organisation, morale plummets and repetitive faults appear on aircraft maintained by a fantastic group of professionals who BA have abused for years - its engineers. They are, it appears to me, overwhelmed by the never-ending re-organisation from the latest whiz kid desperate to make his mark and move on up the management food chain.
But a low morale, high-turnover, declining experience-base workforce is just fine because it will make it CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP and boy, that is where we have to go to keep those 250% management bonuses rolling-in.
Don’t worry though, because "safety is our first priority". Right. Bring on the strike - lets get it over with and leave aviation to that great customer service expert, Mike O L@ary, and his men from the Emerald Isle. They care, and it shows, (witness any documentary coming your way soon), and with the IAA in charge, all will be well for sure.