Long time viewer, first time poster, eventually got sucked in. Been enjoying this debate and thought I’d add to it by posting Lyell’s response to Brian Boyd from iFly.
Dear Brian,
I was surprised and dismayed to read today’s letter you have sent to our Cabin Crew. As you are well aware we jointly structured and recommended the last two pay offers based on your guidance and input. The final pay offer (4.8% in year 1 and RPI in Year 2) was constructed after we shared with you the detailed Cabin Crew feedback we had gathered. You were also briefed in detail on the financial performance of our business.
To our surprise you came into the final negotiations expecting to make small changes to the conditions in the offer. It was Virgin Atlantic who made the decision to remove all conditions and structure the current offer as a result of the listening exercise we conducted with our Cabin Crew.
In your letter you make some serious allegations, which I need to address:
· You implied that we have threatened disciplinary action for those who may strike. This is not true and would be unlawful.
· You also implied that Virgin Atlantic would offer financial incentives to Crew to break the strike. Our priority if you disrupt and threaten our business is to our customers and the security of all our employees.
When we shook hands on the final offer, we believed, based on your words we had struck the best pay increase in the industry for Cabin Crew this year.
You understand the difficult and challenging trading conditions in which we are operating, so you know there can be no improvement to the offer, to imply in your communication that the crew would be better off after taking strike action is not in the best interest of my Crew.
Brian, many of our crew are deeply worried about the consequences of this course of action, and rightly so, and communications which inflame the situation do not help.
Lyell Strambi
Chief Operating Officer