BA - Common Issues

[keeperboy]

I think the issue at hand at the moment is that we have two very inflexible, quite arrogant parties at both ends. BA management at one, BASSA at the other.

Now I AM a BASSA member and will be voting YES to support industrial action. This is only based on the three issues currently being balloted on: Pensions, merging of old/new payscales, Purser removal and changes to EG300.

However, something that does annoy me with BASSA is the melo-dramatics that they go on with. The wording in their emails, the dramatic text messages they send. I mean, sound professional for gods sake. Please DO keep us updated with the facts. But please stop the emails and text messages that sound like they were written by the scriptwriters of 'Days of our lives'. I think the quotes mentioned by the IR manager which BASSA reproduced are really bad. But I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall and witnessed what came out of the mouths of BOTH parties.

I just want to know the facts.....in full. I want to know exactly what BASSA proposed, exactly what BA proposed, what BASSA said they were prepared to accept and what BA said they are prepared to accept.

I also think it would be ignorant of BASSA to pretend that EVERYONE is happy with the status quo, ie our t&c's. There is a growing call (particularly on Worldwide) for the hourly rate to be looked at again and some more flexible ways of rostering/bidding/swapping our trips which would fundamentally change the way days off etc are generated.

I think BA's next step in this issue will be to turn groups of the cabin crew community against each other to fragment any industrial action. For example, do a deal with those on the new contract and shaft those on the old contract. Or, come up with a deal that will give a huge benefit to one of the fleets but a huge disadvantage to another.