IheartMBt...
I understand that you wish to save what you have, its a natural stance to take.
However, your message has been overtaken by the real world.
As an individual who gets paid to interpret messages in negotiation settings, you have already lost.
1. The BA CC entered into this fray with no clear message to the consumer regarding what they were fighting for..No personal wage cuts planned, no endangerment of passengers. Nothing.
2. BA CC are at the top of the wage scale in their profession. Hard to claim hardship under those circumstances.
3. A strike of any kind was an overreaction to the situation at hand, but a 12 day strike during the Christmas season, and then to label your action as the "12 Days of Christmas"? Who are you paying to advise you because this was a loser from the start.
4. Your airline is losing money on a daily basis and virtually every other component has made compromises...and somehow the Cabin staff are above this...when the Pilots have recognized the need to compromise for the best of the airline?
5. You have a choice of how to sell, and when to sell, your complaints to the public, and you choose a 12 DAY STRIKE DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON to make your point??? What were you thinking?
Your spokespeople can speak of the fact that now " you won't get Christmas", they can rattle on about what wrongs have been done...
But right now..you are toast. You didn't have your cards in a row when you made this decision, you are backtracking regarding that fact after getting shot down in court...and you have defined the reality that you will be dealing with from this point on.
The perception is now that the public feels nothing but disdain for you. Your decision to strike "The 12 Days of Christmas" was brutal in its message to the flying public. You can now strike later, and the perception will be the same..you already played your card.
As harsh as this may sound, you have already lost. You put BA's back to the wall with an endeavor that you were not capable of backing up with your public message, and then you failed on your procedure.
My personal hope, based on the big bow of weakness you have handed BA, is that they refuse to (though we never say "refuse", we say "The terms are simply not reasonable given the present situation") negotiate with BA CC, if it means a reorganization after bankruptcy (or whatever the term is in the U.K.) fine...They get the win.
Your stance has totally exposed you to not only not being willing to insist on BA's failure, but to being dismissive to its clients.
You can argue the fine points till the cows come home but the fact is that in the public's mind you have lost the battle.
Come to the table with something on a "real world" basis (and be grateful if anyone meets you at the table), and hope for the best.
Vote to strike again...and BA will survive, perhaps under a different structure, a different brand, but they will survive...and you won't.
Whoever told you that you were ready for this sort of challenge was a fool, and whoever voted for it without thinking of the big picture was a fool.
It is what it is.
(and to the spellcheckers amongst you..its late, and I'm just posting)