In a previous strike in 1997, the perks were removed by BA, only to be reinstated at the end of the dispute. This must have fuelled the hopes of some strikers that the same conciliatory* approach would be adopted by BA this time.
* Insert 'submissive' and you have a
partial indicator of how BA found itself in its current position.
The reality, which some people still seem to have trouble grasping, is that WW
has to turn BA around financially, and that means that the old ways of doing business have to be turned around as well. Sadly, there will be both winners and losers in the process.