Today Friday the 19th of January is the day that could be make or break fo BA management.
If no agreement can be reached then seven days from now a mild easy going workforce will withdraw their labour,something I never saw myself taking.
I hope against hope that this arrogant, aggressive slash and cut management will see the light ,talk with and not at for a change, with it's employee's Union BASSA to reach a compromise.
With it's recent industrial relation problems with other areas of the airline I thought BA may have thought about the affect on 'our' long suffering passengers and sat down and talked, but no they would rather have a fight!!.
They shut the union offices, sent managers all over the world (First Class)!! to talk at crew crew to tell them a strike would achieve nothing, they rostered crew 'in touch' days to tell them the same and at the same time crew could not get leave due to this!!.
All this and we achieved a massive 96.1% YES vote, with only 330 of returns voting No.
This dispute is not about asking for more pay or an improvements to our conditions but to hold on to what we have.
Can I just give a couple of examples of why BA employee's, not just crew have no respect or trust left in their management.
1. They ask for savings, then should lead by example do you think?
No, they award themselves a very nice £76 million in share bonus payments, with Roger Maynard, head trustee of the pensions getting 1.25 millon!!.
2. They want cabin crew to save £37 million and have already lost £40 million plus in lost forward bookings!!.
3. They want to cut senior grades,1 at the moment with and I stress the rumour of 3 by the end of 2007,a saving on 1 is £3 million per year.These people are the one's who deliver your service and their experience is your safety.At the same time we are currently recruiting a further 44 managers to manage crew!!.
These are just three small examples of what BA staff face.
In the papers today Willie Walsh rightly says he wants to cut sickness and so he should.He states that we have reduced cabin crew sickness from 22 days per annum to 12 but the national average is 7 days.
We work in a pressurised cabin all of our working live's,with the germs of all on board being circulated round.Poor air quality due to the air exchange not being worked to full capacity to save fuel and constant jet lag.I'm sure most of you know how that last one alone affects you.
BA in court a couple of years ago at a hearing in which crew asked for the right to work beyond 55 years of age stated 'it did not want it's crew to work beyond 55 for health reasons as flying for a prolonged period has been proved to by bad for the human body'.
Yet two years on it is insisting that if you want the same pension you will have to work a further 10 years for it!!.
I would never change my job and love every day of it,because as a senior crew member of 23 years service I always have great crew working with me and the pleasure of meeting so many interesting people in the form of you our loyal passengers.
After 23 years of loyal service to BA and you are passengers it saddens me that for the first time I will have to and I am willing to take industrial action.
Yes this will affect you and I am sorry for this but if I don't it will affect my remaining 22 years in the job I love and enjoy.
Please can I ask you not to point the finger of blame at what I believe is a mild,non militant group of loyal cabin crew but the arrogant,incompetent group who have the cheek to call themselves management (word used very loosely)!!.
Their only aim is to reduce costs to fund their fat bonus payments.The one's who suffer are you the passenger with lesser quality product and service and we the crew with lesser conditions,which I refuse to accept as we make huge profits year on year.
Cabin crew management and senior management should ask why are 96% of those crew who voted so unhappy?.In my mind their incompetence should lead to and only be rewarded with their dismissal or resignation.
They are a disgrace to the company and all it's employee's.They must go.
WTDWL.