It's still all about power. Past management have swung the lead and given BASSA too much power. Now they want to take it away and, predictably, BASSA don't like it.
This could turn out to be very messy indeed as it can be seen from certain postings that there are some very entrenched attitudes within our cc.
I won't deny that BASSA doesn't want to lose its power over what it has achieved power of.
How would you feel if somebody was trying to take your power away from you?
The difference is that flight crew power is enshrined in law (the Air Navigation Order), which means that is not possible unless the law is changed. Cabin crew have never had the legal power which belongs to the Captain. Cabin crew "power" (empire building by an ex-board member) is a BA-ism which should have been nipped in the bud years ago to prevent exactly what is happening now.
Alternatively, maybe we did have it taken away (incorrectly - the law hasn't changed) and steps are being taken to get it back.