My concern is that if the crew aren't going to lose money by accepting this new payment, how does it save BA money, and whats the point in it??
Because it enables BA to introduce New Fleet without the legacy crew kicking off and striking.
There are 2 main ways of making the savings,
a)Everyone takes a bit of pain, but they all remain on the same contract together, and keep solidarity and the same bargaining group. (like the pilots)
b)The "I'm alright Jack, screw the newbies, they know what they're signing up for, I want to keep all my money thanks" (this is the traditional BASSA way, hence '97 contracts, LGW, BHX, MAN, GLA etc etc etc)
If crew want to not give anything up (apart from working a little bit harder), then the savings have to come from New Fleet. This fixed payment is just to convince BASSA that BA are not out to impoverish you all and take the shirts off your child's back. They never wanted that.
They need to save money, they tried to negotiate, BASSA wouldn't (see the
undisputed chronology in the latest court judgement). The money has to be saved one way or another, you can either have a say, or you have no say. Stamping your feet isn't helping your members, especially when your members clearly don't have the balls for a strike. (otherwise one would have been called today)
All these things have been on the table since June. BASSA just didn't tell you about it, and they certainly won't highlight it now, as they could have achieved what they are likely to in the next few weeks without marching you all up the hill and down again several times.
As the Judge said the union "glossed over the fiasco at ACAS" (the fiasco being the two halves of the union squabbling like idiots and refusing to sit in the same room!)