PC767
The precedent for removing staff travel from people who have withdrawn their goodwill from the company was established way before this current dispute. Admittedly, it was returned fairly soon after normal service resumed.
In any job there is a balance point. Do the rewards outweigh the grunge factors. Provided the job is reward positive (and it doesn't have to be financial rewards) then most folk will stick with it. However, once the grunge factors are in the majority, then the commonsense thing to do is quit. The dilemma that an awful lot of cabin crew face is that the grunge factors, by all accounts are greater than the rewards. I hear of crew who feel they have a management that does not respect them, that they are constantly apologising to customers for shortfalls in service, that they have had changes imposed on them, that they are fearful that the company will reduce their variable pay or that new fleet will starve them of profitable routes. The list goes on and on. The problem is that BA cabin crew know damned well that they cannot walk into another cabin crew job with ease and expect to earn as much as they currently do. Moreover, there seem to be an awful lot of crew who have never worked outside of BA, so don't have a broad skills base that can be applied to say a clerical or sales role. So the prospects outside of BA are bleak for these folk. They are doing a very creditable King Canute act. The job is changing and not in a direction to their liking, but rather than try and shape the future they are desperate to maintain the status quo. It really is sad to see a bunch of individuals who are on the whole well meaning fail to comprehend that change is inevitable and that the only way to make sure that the outcome has any positive elements is to influence those steering the change. Show a truly viable alternative and most people will thank you for it. Stonewall and they will either bypass you or run you over. Time for cabin crew to make up their minds.