I would very much agree with you there. However I don't see that as an excuse, they collect more than enough subs to pay for expert advice. They paid enough for representation to take BA to court after all and seem willing to do the same again.
In my opinion the problems arise because these elected representatives, who it seems have all worked for BA for many, many years, have no true understanding nor concept of how the business world operates. And lets face it, the 'expert' advice would come from Unite head office - not particularly inspiring nor cutting edge, I would suggest.