Fred and Cervix,
Thanks for continuing my debate, I was tucked up in bed on my last day off before going back to the grind.
From what I have read, it seems that rather than striking about serious quantifiable issues, the CC have taken the decision to strike mainly on the 'respect' issue. The Managmement have not been very amenable; we'll show them! I work in a non-unionised environment and pretty much all of the things that you are complaining about apply here. Not just to the airline industry but to all large employers. They are impersonal, do not care culturally about their employees and are really only worried about the bottom line. Lack of respect issue from FD to CC is bull****. There are lots of CC that have no respect in the other direction but lets face it most of us get along just fine.
The sickness/air conditioning packs issue is utter hogwash (check out doctors sickness rates). It is a cynical attempt to try and disguise the fact that sickness has been used as a right by CC
globally for years. I have sat on crew busses and listened to the girls/guys rebuilding their next month's roster based around their social lives. Not all crew do it, but those that do irreparably damage the image of the entire CC population in the eyes of the management. The reason most FD don't pull a sickie (some do) is that they couldn't bear the thought of screwing a mate. The solution to that problem might be a decent bidding system but even then the 'deadwood' would still take advantage of the situation.
The worry for me is that for the strike to work you have to have public support and stand together. The pay/qualifications issue will be spun, BA will even start comparing Easy/Ryan and BA's conditions.. The other union will still go to work and you will not have a united front even within BASSA. I saw this quote the other day from the BASSA boss:
Jack Dromey, T&G deputy general-secretary, said: "Our members are fed up with being bullied into coming into work when sick and with the divisions caused by poverty-level new entrant pay scales. "They see customer care being cut and the airline's reputation being damaged by bungling management."
I have yet to see true poverty amongst the cabin crew, all the ones I have known (and the one that I married) had a nice girl about town lifestyle. If you go to the facts on the sickness issue you will lose and I think the public right now see the TGWU about to sully BA's reputation, not the other way around.
From my angle, there are 2 reasons customer care is going down hill, industry wide. 1. Cost cutting, everyone is trying to stay competitive. 2. Crap in-flight leadership, on one hand we have CSDs that have been doing the job professionally and enthusiastically for years. Sadly we also have CSDs that as soon as they get promoted spend the next 20 years asleep on the jumpseat.
As to expressing your opinion; remember the old saying "opinions are like arseholes, we all have one and they usually stink!" Cervix, I wish you well but I don't think you will win. Unless you can win the factual arguments in the weeks to come and gain public sympathy, you are toast.
Ghost