British Airways - CC Industrial Relations Mk V

[Muizenberg]

Dillussional

Hiflyer 14 and dididi,

With all due respect you are living in a dream world. WW, KW, and BF want to turn the cabin crew role into a transient workforce who are burned out after 2-5 year and leave...end of.

Whilst I don't agree with everything UNITE is doing or BASSA/CC89 have done in the past; this is our last chance for a settlement which will not turn our job role in something unrecognisable.

I am post 1997 crew, and at the mid-mark of the new pay scale. Anyone who says I am over paid is sadly mistaken.

For job where you knowingly take on tasks such as 5-10 nights missed sleep a month (on longhaul), sacrifice many milestone events in your personal life (I've had a manager suggest my aunt re-arrange my cousin's funeral around my roster), and have to represent a company that no longer empowers frontline staff to use their initiative to solve customer issues; myself and more 50% of the cabin crew work force do this at the post 1997 rates.

I flew for another carrier for 12 years prior to coming to BA, and yes there are some ineffciencies at the Legacy carrier. And I am more than prepared to meet BA halfway on issues. I am happy have one less night down route in LAX, HKG, CPT, etc; I am happy to stay in a clean, safe Motel 6 near the airport in US cities rather than down town; I am willing to work harder on-board to compensate for the loss of the 1-2 cabin crew members we have lost on longhaul flights. I am willing to have my roster adjusted when operational irregularities exist. I have come to the realisation that promotion is now dead. I am happy to fly the maximum 900 annual hours regulated by the EU; but after I have done the above I want control over my personal/worklife balance---something BA is not willing to invest in the technology for.

I am all for consensual change. An agreement that we as a community give back at time when BA is in financial hardship; but get rewarded when the company prospers (a deal which our Flight Colleagues have received). BA have not once offer us any reward for what we give up (once the company is back in profit). The biggest issue is IMPOSITION, if BA can just institute a change whenever it wants, what will be next?

The issue is BA DON'T want to talk. Every day we receive some new threat via e-mail, letter or phone. The company has the public and every other department believing we all earn pots of dough....at least 50% of us are on the new post 1997 contract. BA published very deceiving figures; the figures they used are the average a cabin crew member costs including company NI and pension contributions. The figures they used for Easyjet/Virgin did not. Subsequently, an Easyjet crew member who flies their maximum 900 block hours a year earns MORE than an equivalent crew member at BA.

Why I have voted YES, and will support any action by UNITE.

In the last 2 years an incompetent management team has cost BA billions:

* Openskies;
* Virgin passenger price fixing debacle;
* T5 disaster;
* Cargo price fixing fines;
* Fuel hedging too high;
* Not reacting to market conditions (i.e. not reducing surplus supply soon enough);
* Management redundancies which cost on average £100,000 per separated staff member;
* Continued management bonuses, when all other ranks have been asked to give back;
* A chairman who will receive his "unpaid leave" back as a bonus in 2011,
* Everytime BF sends out a letter to cabin crew this costs approx £2,500 a mailshot. This is well over what I earn in a good month.

The list goes on.

Good luck working during the strike. It won't be easy during or after.