Just to put the 'upgrades' confusion to bed, it has always been the case that the Captain can authorise upgrades when the passengers have boarded and the doors are closed.
The ambiguity came when the asset protection clause failed to add that into the wording. The case still remains that no-one can be upgraded without the permission of the Captain (although it is, in my case, rarely refused) what they may not do is enter the bookings system and change seat allocation through the TRM, neither many the TRM upgrade without the permission of a management grade employee.
Hope that clears it up.
This whole sorry episode could have been avoided if BASSA had chosen to negotiate instead of sticking out for demands to reduce the numbers of redundancies way back at the start. BA offered the same starting point to all Unions based upon previous negotiations and the potential cost savings associated with each department. Those that had more 'fat' to trim were required to provide more savings. BASSA, being the victim of its own success, had more, as a Union representing IFcE, to give than many others. Instead of understanding the rationale behind the system they went onto the offensive and merrily overlooked all the good they could have achieved.
The CC are not to blame for this mess, apart from backing a lame duck, they have been badly treated by both their Union and the Management in a war of words and communication. Sadly though I, personally, feel that BASSA, as their representative, has totally lost the plot and Unite has lost control of BASSA. A dangerous place to be as those in the BASSA heirarchy are rapidly getting to the point where they, alone and personally, have very little to lose but the mass of sensible BA CC employee have alot to lose.
The next few months under 'Red Len' could be telling.
Good luck.