Non-striking crew and volunteer crew have done nothing but prolonging this dispute. If you hadn't reported for duty, or agreed to train to become cabin crew, our management would have been forced to negotiate because there wouldn't have been any crew available.
This maybe so, but it is irrelevant. IF the judge had ruled differently things would be different, IF BASSA had negotiated things would have been different, IF the unions hadn't been so power mad and stupid in the seventies the laws would be different.
BASSA and UNITE have to play the cards they have not keep wishing they had been dealt four aces. BA did use volunteer CC but they were only able to do so because BASSA couldn't run a legal ballot, and so BA had time to train the volunteers. Had they done that the "12 Days of Christmas" would have happened and we would be dealing with the fall-out from that.
BA have done what they can to minimise the impact of this ill considered industrial action and it seems are relatively comfortable with how things have progressed so far. They are training more volunteer CC, so any further IA will cause even less disruption. BASSA seem to have made no preparation other than to order some healthy eating for Bedfont. If nothing else this shows a lack of leadership and foresight from BASSA. If they "press the nuclear button" and go for an all out strike do you think that BA are not ready for this? do you think that they will not have an answer to it? BASSA have at every stage of this sorry saga been out-thought and out-manouevered by BA, what evidence is there that BASSA have suddenly become master strategists?
Much is made of the high percentage that voted in favour of the strike, the trouble is that faced with the reality of losing ST and money, this support has not been matched in reality; this strike has been poorly supported at best. You can dress it up as much as you like, saying that Bedfont was well attended etc, but BA continued to operate and as the strike went on operated more services.
This strike is now a busted flush; BASSA are merely prolonging the misery of its' own members. They have no clear idea of what they want, they have a decreasing level of support from their own members and UNITE now want this to go away to minimise the impact on the general election.
The longer this goes on the more damage BASSA is doing to itself and the more CC are dragged into suspensions etc for acting like petulant children. This needs to stop now for the benefit of the CC.