Cymmon
The real reason for the strike.
I can see similarities with the miners’ strike 20 years ago. They objected to the closure of pits that were not economically viable. The management dug in and the dispute was about the ‘right to manage’.
BA union agreements dating back to the days when the airline was a government run bureaucracy stipulate that the unions must be consulted on the minutiae of their operations. So when competitive economic pressure requires a reduction in the number of crew on a flight, the union digs its heels in. Once again, the dispute is about the ‘right to manage’.
Mrs Thatcher saw what was coming, stock piled coal, and appointed Ian McGregor as the man to take on the NUM. I’m sure the BA board also saw what was coming and appointed Willie Walsh as the man to take on the union. This dispute was going to happen sooner or later and the stakes are very high indeed. Either the union will have to back down or BA will not survive the modern era.