Its always amazing to see how one sides blinkered opinion can be rolled into a massive emotional beating stick and I mean that for both the BASSA/Unite side and the management side.
I have it on good authority from a member of personnel management at Waterside, who is a good friend, that the happy clappy session never took place. The same as the company never paid for the goodbye drinks for the VR pilots. However, as is always the case for the gutter press, never let the truth get in the way of a good story!
The BASSA newsletter strikes me as being full of spin, rhetoric and untruths complied together to raise the blood pressure prior to the issue of the Strike Ballot. An aim that I sure it has achieved. BASSA has broken down the BA figures but never, ever given a detailed and sustainable breakdown of its own £178 million savings figures. They fail to discuss the issue that the company wants long term measures as the business is restructured and the BASSA stance was that they want any savings back in two years or there is no discussion! A stance they held on to throughout the 'discussions'! As to the Unite/BASSA edict at the end of ACAS, of course they were moaning, they didn't get their ways as they weren't willing to discuss anything apart from temporary measures. Their stance effectively left BA with no choice but imposition.
IST is and always has been Band 4! Get it right cabin crew union!
Should be fun to see what the ballot causes!