Firstly Jcdcon.....
When I said it should be better, I did not mean 'better than Office staff', but better than it is now. You mention iFly and the salaries advertised there but have you actually ever worked in a VS office, spoken to the staff about pay and seen what many take home with overtime, increments and staff shortages? Probably not, otherwise you would not have been so quick to bite my head off.
Secondly, why can't I ask for a pay rise after 13 years? The nurses, teachers, firemen etc do it after a year or so and no-one bats an eyelid, even though they clearly knew the salary when they made a career choice.
Thirdly, I strongly and wholeheartedly disagree and take great offence to your (and others) suggestion that Virgin crew have an attitude of Me Me Me and that we provide a poor service and are sheep when it comes to voting!!!
Look around you. The forums are full of complaints for ALL airlines and not just Virgin.
I voted NO because £23k as a Manager just doesnt cut the mustard with me!
Allowances? These are not a taxable element of my salary, do not count towards my mortgage borrowing capability, therefore I wont address any comments on them except this. BA/2 night NRT/£425. VS/2 night NRT/£150.
It is superb that as a senior CM you feel great about earning 19k. I hope you feel as ecstatic about earning £23k as a Manager in 10 years time. Before you launch the lifestyle card again, may I remind you that its not all Hard Rock pool parties, but working Christmas (for a £50 bonus
), enduring long delays, flying in Red Alert times and a damn lot of studying.
I remember being a senior and how stress free and easy my life was, but its not like that as an FSM. Whilst you are getting some kip for the return sector, I'm quite often sorting out sick crew (on average about 1 in every 6 flights), talking to the hotel about crew behaviour (yes that happens too), talking to ground staff and airport staff about delays, catering probs etc (yes they call your room) dealing with lost items etc in check-in when we land and generally being a manager whilst supposedly off duty. You may not see that, yet you speak of the bigger picture, but are clearly just seeing the horizon. When I joined I did not see a big ad saying 'Managers come this way for £22k'. I joined as a junior with a salary I was happy with. I just didnt expect my salary to creep up so darn slowly! I thought it would at least keep up with my growing expertise and experience!
You mention crew compliments. I can guarantee you 100% that those levels are not there to make life 'nice and easy for the crew unlike those other horrid airlines'. Those levels are set because Virgin knows that to ensure the service it promises its customers, those crew HAVE to be there.
I happen to love my job and love the company but I simply feel that I should be rewarded with a better salary.
I have a mind, I have a brain. I care about my pax and the brand. But my morale is low after seeing several payslips from other depts. To be blunt, I feel like I'm having the piss taken out of me now.
