It is lamentable that none of the other groups of employees have been organised enough to take an effective stand against the behaviour of the bmi board.
If they were then I am honestly certain they would be able to count upon support from the pilots, acutely aware as they are of the demands being made on bmi staff in the name of increasing profits.
The future success of all components of the bmi group is without a doubt a concern of the pilot group as well - they are not keen on signing our own death warrant - but they consider it no longer acceptable to build that success at the expense of continuning erosion of their working conditions, family lifestyle and professional dignity.
For example, that profitshare which all employees of baby have shared over the last couple of years has been achieved to a great degree by the pilots, in tolerating roster disruption, years of non-negotiated, delayed, salary impositions, and a slowly degrading quality of life compared to their colleagues elsewhere in industry.
Maybe the group won't make so much money next year as a result of the actions of the pilots, but the feeling is that enough is enough.
FYI, the current situation with the IR, regarding 'baby sector pay, was not initiated by the IR themselves, but by bmibaby management. The pilots feel that such an error should not be paid for out of their expenses.
Last edited by Gary Lager; 26th Jul 2006 at 16:52.