my reponse to the poorly produced, youtube video made by untie:
YouTube - The Truth - BA cabin crew put their case
Time to put the record straight & refute some of UNITE/BASSA ‘truths’ here:
“FACT: BA have reduced crew numbers by between one and three per flight. This will impact on the level of service to customers”.
TRUTH: Crew have worked “one down” for years. This attracted a significant one-down payment. BASSA never had a cause to complain when crew were hosed down with cash to do so. Also, to clear it up, the previous claim that working without the extra crew member affects safety is also usual BASSA tripe, they’ve been doing it for years - it was never less safe then. Funny what hard cash can do to ‘principles’.
“FACT: Cabin crew are prepared to make sacrifices. Unite proposed over £100m in annual savings.”
TRUTH: No they didn’t did they! They proposed a poorly thought out TEMPORARY solution, not PERMANENT as requested by BA. Which was INDEPENDENTLY audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers to be worth £52m.
UNITE’s latest proposal actually INCREASES crewing levels onboard and proposes a cap on First class passengers and closing off zones in the cabin until crewing levels have been returned to last year’s levels! Priceless!
“FACT: Contrary to press reports, BA cabin crew do not earn a fortune. 75% earn a basic salary of £20000”
TRUTH: BASSA/UNITE have ‘conveniently’ missed a rather critical bit of information here too as it doesn’t suit their argument. BA cabin crew (especially those at LHR) have a rather lucrative allowances structure earning such things as: box payments/meal allowances/telephone allowances/cat lounge payments/working one down payments) in total these things amount to £12K on European routes out of LHR and £16K on Longhaul routes. So err, that means for the 75% of crew that BASSA/UNITE claim earn a basic pay of £20000, they ACTUALLY earn a gross salary of £32000 on s/h and £36000. LGW crew (who have been conveniently wheeled out for this argument earn HALF what their LHR counterparts do as BASSA/UNITE fed LGW to the sharks many years ago to protect fortress Heathrow. That is now coming home to roost. LGW perform the same service onboard the aircraft & have operated to MUCH reduced crewing levels than at LHR with UNITE/BASSA’s approval for many years!!
“FACT: Cabin crew believe BA should continue to be a premium service carrier”
So do BA. But even if BA didn’t, it’s not BASSA/UNITE’s decision to rule how the airline’s business plan should look/run. Their job is to represent cabin crew, BA’s job is to run a very large company.
FACT: BA cabin crew do not want to strike. They want a negotiated settlement. They are proud of their airline and want a future. Cabin crew care, negotiation not imposition
TRUTH: BASSA/UNITE were given a deadline back in the beginning of 2009 for coming up with the required savings. The deadline was JUNE 2009. After wasting that time by refusing to sign confidentiality agreements to openly view/audit the company accounts as BALPA did, BASSA/UNITE were given till NOVEMBER 2009 to try and come up with something worth more than £52m. They didn’t and BA had not choice other than to ram it down their throats Foie Gras style. They didn’t like that very much, but if it hadn’t have occurred I have no doubt that BASSA/UNITE would still be sat around a negotiating table now, while BA bled cash at the seams.
Selfish, lying union, run to protect the people who run it - high paid, old contract CSDs.