Originally Posted by
ottergirl
There was a time, not so long ago, that pilots were hiding on catering trucks and leaving the aircraft in civvies to avoid weekend draft. Many have separate mobile phones to avoid talking to Flight crew ops by mistake as well. So it can happen when BA have misjudged their manpower levels.
That's a great example Ottergirl. In all my years in the airline we have always had a clause saying we can be called in at any time. (Can you imagine the uproar if Bassa were asked to agree to that?)
We had a short spell where our bidding practices meant that there were occasional periods when BA were short of pilots, as some people 'chose' not to do their annual allocation of work, resulting in some pilots being called in on days off.
It was a short lived problem, affected very few people (I have come in on one extra day out of many thousands in BA) and was solved quickly. Guess how? Yes, we went to BA with a proposed solution, agreed it with BA and the problem disappeared. Not by Balpa threatening disruption to the operation, but by both sides recognising the problem, agreeing the ideal end point, and coming to an agreement about how to achieve that end.
That's how industrial relations can work, even in BA.
We also STILL have that clause in our agreement, but do any pilots think any call from the company will be to call them in? No. It doesn't happen.
The world isn't going to end just because Bassa won't have control over your working lives.