BA's position vs Unite
For a while, some Unite Officials saw the BA issue as a way of getting publicity. In a TU of that size, most of the members do not know the candidates for election to Gen Sec., so any publicity is good publicity.
(Bill Morris's election to the T & G GenSec job was a good example..............he needed publicity, and his agent, Fred Higgs, got him that publicity. However, in the process, Fred got to know too much, so Bill "fired" Fred in to a job in Brussels)
That motivation appears to have reduced. Unite now appear to be in a risk/damage limitation mode. I suspect that this mode will last for a few weeks until the Unite GenSec election is closer - then it might be back to "any publicity is good publicity".
However, looking at it from the Unite National Officials perspective - the "cuts" which the UK coalition Government wish to put in place will overshadow the BA dispute for many months to come.....................so maybe the top brass will leave the BA dispute for a while?? ............in which case, bassa might get their desire for a marathon??