Originally Posted by HiFlyer14
That offer is not reasonable - at least not to those of us who have come to work. Why shouldn't we have the 3% bonus that was offered previously, or the MTP set at 2008/9 rates? A 4 year pay deal at only RoI is a long time to just keep up with price increases.
HiFlyer14 Up until now I have agreed with pretty much everything you have said, but I have to take you to task over this.
a) Why no 3% bonus? I don't think BA can treat strikers and non strikers differently. (and as an aside, the majority did vote for this, whether or not they actioned it on the day, they gave BASSA a loaded gun, and must have had a suspicion someone might get hurt (although probably didn't realise it would be BASSA shooting themselves in the foot) Also, if this bonus is like the pilots shares, I wouldn't worry about it, it is probably triggered only when we make £1bn, every flight goes on time or early, and every passenger writes a personal letter of thanks to WW!
b) Why MTP set at 2008/9 rates? Have you considered that this might actually be a good thing? If you were going to pick a year as a datum for the amount of box payments etc, given the fairly flat inflation recently, why not pick a year with a decent amount of flying done, rather than 09/10 with a reduced programme
c) Regarding pay rises set to inflation, why do crew deserve a pay rise? For loyalty and increased skills? They still get the increments for that, worth up to 7% I think? Why should someone get paid more in real terms just for doing the same job? When most people in the real world get a pay rise, it is because they have done something for it, increased productivity, more responsibility etc etc. I do take your point that if we were suddenly making loads of profit, RPI could be a cap on your rises, and 4 yrs is a long time but consider the other side of the argument, if we are still loosing money hand over fist, and inflation is going up, you would be getting a pay rise still when staff all around you would probably getting a pay freeze at best. Not a bad deal.
However, despite all that, I do have huge sympathy that due to collective bargaining, what ever deal that gets done in the end will apply to all the crew, which is a real shame, especially if BASSA go for a 10 or 12 or indefinite strike on the 14th.