Litebulbs,
Totally agree.
However, I do not think that kind of negotiation is remotely possible with the present militant 'leadership' who only seem to want confrontation at every turn. In my time in BA bassa have always had a very bad reputation for their seeming inability to negotiate. In the past it has worked, which is why BA cabin crew enjoy the T&Cs that they do. I would suggest that was not down to negotiating skills, but rather to weak management who inevitably gave in the moment bassa used their normal negotiating tactic of - 'strike unless we get what we want'!
Times have changed massively. All other unions / branches have recognised this - and negotiated accordingly. Alas, bassa have not moved with the times! They did not understand or appreciate the financial climate, they had made a deliberate and conscious decision NOT to look at the independant financial figures available, they felt they could offer a 2 year loan rather than proper savings and they seemed to feel it was acceptable for every other department in BA to make savings - except them!
The bassa leadership have been shown on many occasions to be extremely short on truth, but very long on rhetoric and blatant untruths. Their financial calculations have been shown to be childlike in there accuracy - £173M savings which turned out to be only about £52M. They have shown themselves to be complete amateurs dealing with professionals. Surely it is time for the cabin crew community to be represented by professionals as well. I appreciate that Untie officials are professionals, but that is of no consequence while bassa continue to veto any progress by the parent union!