Midman
Well you could look at £5.80 as the minimum wage and multiply that from check in to check out, minus a negotiated position on when you are on or off clock down route, multiplied by the head count, to give a figure that BA cold not legally go below, for reducing staff costs. Oh and pension, ST and reducing holiday to 20 days. If BA was still loosing money, then you would have to look elsewhere.
However, BA do set standards when recruiting and those standards demand a higher salary and or better working conditions.