Originally Posted by
demomonkey
I caveat everything with saying "I am not a legal expert" but, I seriously doubt;
- The Law would prevent an employer/employee entering into independent contractual negotiations (i.e. hiring temps on NF contracts)
That is my understanding of the situation, but only if they sat outside of the bargaining group and current recognition arrangements, unless agreed. That is the whole point of collective bargaining.
- That BA's Legal people haven't already been through existing contracts to check that the scope exists to achieve what they wish. Based on their track record they seem pretty ahead of the game.
Agreed. This is where Unite have to seriously raise their game
- That current agreements between BA and the CC (and Pilots and probably a few other groups) exist outside of our employment contracts in non-contractual agreements (e.g. BA vs BASSA and BA vs BALPA)
I am not sure if we are on the same page here. My point is that, if you look at your contract, then unless you have had a major restructuring, then you will not be on the terms set out in it. They will be held in a separate collective document, or a letter of amendment. Legally, the reduction in the crew establishment figures has been proved to be non contractual. Pay, hours of work and holidays will be, as a minimum.
I think the current dispute very clearly demonstrates that the old way of IR in BA is now a thing of the past and we live in a new IR world. The recent BA vs BASSA case has shown us all that we have fewer protections than we previously thought. As a result, future IR relations are going to have to be alot more mutually co-operative if we are likely to retain the benefits we need and compromise on other issues.
Total agreement with you there
Its OK for pilots to say 'We're alright Jack because you can't train CC to be Vol.Pilots in 3 days". That's somewhat missing the point because as we saw in the last dispute BA's Legal people are choosing the battleground and they'll challenge any Industrial Action via the courts so it better be water-tight.
Unite will have to adapt, that is certain
Welcome to the brave new world!
As for SOME CC who currently seem to assume that ALL Pilots are 'VCC' and need to be treated with the utmost contempt just because of the uniform they wear - you people really really need to give yourselves a sanity check and question your reality.
Small minorities on both sides are at fault for this