Re: What next ?
Can't see BA moving a muscle. The ball is firmly in Unite's court. Which is a bit of a problem. Unite are in the process of balloting for industrial action with the BAA. They also have a clutch of other negotiations going on, plus the looming cuts from central goverment. To cap it all, they have an election for the post of general secretary as Woodley and Simpson are due to retire. I suspect that the Unite leadership have also lost patience with the BASSA branch. I think they view BASSA now as a liability that could put the union in a very nasty position if they continue to spout more of the nonsense we have heard in the past couple of weeks. If crew have been leaving the union in any numbers, the branch organisation will be working overtime to keep their records up to date. The large difference between the numbers of strikers quoted by BA and those claimed by Unite points to possible accounting issues. Put it like this, if BA reckon that less than 5000 crew walked out, yet Unite say that over 7000 crew claimed strike pay, it does sound like some people may have been economic with the truth in claiming strike pay. Last thing the union wants is a fraud investigation, but a 30%+ difference does need explaining.
There is supposed to be an appeal against the February court case on the contractual nature of manning levels that got thrown out (Malone & Ors vs BA)
My guess is that Unite will quietly drop this. The leadership know they haven't a hope in hell of turning the clock back. I think BASSA will be read the riot act. They will be told that any further comms will only come from Unite and I think Unite will ensure BASSA hold new elections. Duncan Holley will not be able to stand and I suspect that he won't get offered any role in the union - think he's hacked off too many people. Odds are he'll opt for retirement. With a number of the reps suspended or out of the company, maybe the BASSA committee will get some new blood. The Unite executive may look to replace Lizanne Malone - her track record for attending meetings over the past year hasn't been shining. Not sure how you oust someone in her position -maybe you suggest that she retires ? If BASSA can clean their own Augean stables, they may be able to rebuild their membership.