Hand Solo,
I don’t think we disagree on many things, and I admire your enthusiastic posting, but I just think that BACC preventing x amount of job losses is a slightly simplistic way of looking at it. Throughout the rundown of BACX, BA were clearly desperate to avoid announcing official pilot redundancies. Not because they cared I suspect, but because they feared the bad publicity that it would bring. If they had, then they would have been into a consultation process to mitigate the effects. They could have claimed "subsidiary noting to do with us, clear blue water" all they wanted, but we rather suspected that the courts would not have seen it that way and that they would have been forced to suspend recruitment until all displaced were found new positions.
After all, it’s no different to a major car plan closing. If there are jobs elsewhere at another plant, then the company would be expected to absorb as many job losses as possible for people with the appropriate experience and qualifications. If extra training was required, then it would have to be provided.
BA cannot get round basic employment laws unless it sells an operation – which it did. Likewise, I guess it could have sold BAR.
What really annoys me is the fact that by law, BA and all airlines are required and encouraged to teach and foster a culture of good CRM and TRM. Since they don’t appear to embrace any of these principles in the way in which they deal with staff, why don’t they just cancel CRM training for good and save a load more cash.
The principles of CRM / TRM are meant to create a situation where a Flight Deck is manned by reasonably happy bunnies. Some of these RJ pilots are on their third base move in five years, all because of internal company politics. Come on BA, sort it out once and for all, telling them that you should be thankful that you have a job is not really good enough.
Care to comment duty stooge? Colin?