Channex
what you fail to recognise is that by opting for strike action this dispute now touches every employee within BA. Had cabin crew been successful in getting 100% backing for the strike call, the company would have been proverbially stuffed. Recovery ? not a snowball's chance. Cabin crew would have royally pi
ed off our customers to the extent that many would refuse to fly with us out of principle. You would have not only put 25,000 other employee's jobs at risk, you would also have endangered some 100,000 pensions, including your own. Cabin crew by going direct to the nuclear option without first trying the work to rule or even (heaven forbid) negotiation lost any sympathy that other groups pf employees might have had. If the company needs to make savings, isn't it fair that the burden is shared equally by all staff ? Why should cabin crew get preferential treatment over say checkin staff ? Both are customer facing roles.
I did fib slightly - Iberia are currently exclusively Airbus, but may take either the A380 or 747s in 2014. BA is currently spending a small fortune extending hangers in EastBase to accommodate the 777-ER. Consolidation on aircraft types ? No in fact it pays to keep both major manufacturers guessing which way IAG will jump for new fleet purchases. BA will still need to provide casualty maintenance facilities at LHR for the whole fleet - MAD is a bit far to taxi if you have a bit of a dent.
Enough. The offer is out there now. The rest of us can sit on the sidelines and offer an opinion on whether we believe the deal to be good, bad or indifferent, but the vote that counts is that of
all BASSA members. The only comment I would offer is that from the sidelines it is abundantly clear that rejection will not secure a better deal. Tony Woodley will have done his utmost to get the best possible deal. I doubt that there is anyone in the BASSA camp with his degree of experience in dealing with management. So hanging on thinking that a better one is just around the corner is a fool's errand.