Litebulbs
Think it's pure coincidence, although Unite lodged the appeal some time back and it also sounds as though Unite instigated the latest talks. Last time we were in this situation, it was the court case that is now the subject of the appeal and Unite were balloting for industrial action.
I note that BASSA seem to have kept the blinkers on, judging from their latest missive. They say, and I paraphrase, that members have the choice of voting to accept the deal if they think it addresses all their concerns, but intimate that should the deal put forward not have a majority, that they will ballot for strike action.
Am I alone in having a degree of unease about the way in which this consultative ballot will be conducted ? I just get the impression that the previous one was possibly poorly managed with insufficient time allowed to ensure that all ballot papers were received and members given a reasonable opportunity to cast a vote. The strike ballots gave four weeks from papers being sent out to close of voting. The consultative ballot allowed about half that time. Maybe that was why under half the membership voted. Given the timescales, I can see that BASSA would want to hurry through any consultative ballot so that they could have the four week period for a strike ballot in time to walk out at Christmas. I reckon that BASSA will only allow three weeks maximum for the consultative ballot as this will then give them the opportunity to call a strike by December 13th for the Christmas week.
I get the feeling that the BASSA leadership want another strike. The tone of the comments coming from them in recent days suggests that to be the case. Which makes me wonder if they have the best interests of their members at heart, or whether this dispute is now becoming a personal crusade for some to try and cause maximum damage to British Airways. I would have thought that if the membership reject the deal on the table (when it finally materialises) the next steps should be to go back to the negotiating table and try to secue a better offer. Striking is the last resort, not the first option.