War of Attrition
Given that BA cannot do anything to actively change BASSA's current leadership (neither can Unite, nor CC89/Amicus, nor BASSA's members, nor anyone else on this planet) then it is becoming clearer to me why BA is playing the waiting and defensive game for now.
BA has the travelling public, the VCCs, the Board, the Shareholders and IA Law all on its side and has neutralised BASSA's only weapon the strike. All BA can do is to appear to be negotiating reasonably (with Unite) for now while BASSA's membership and support ever so slowly bleed away.
BA has no need to give pay rises, no need to return ST in full, no need to enter into any new facilities agreements, every reason to continue suspending appropriately misbehaving employees (from both camps), every reason to keep expanding MF, etc., all designed to grind down BASSA's membership which is now its one and only power base.
What BA most certainly will NOT do is to agree to improve its current offer otherwise it will be negotiating against itself. BA knows the only acceptable offer to BASSA is to appoint DH as BA's new CEO so there is no reason to keep offering further concessions whatsoever. Indeed, seeing as Unite reneged last time, BA has every justification to take back the WW & TW agreed ST and other consessions and return the situation to that prior to the start of the negotiations of last October.
Having said all that I still feel that letting Unite/BASSA meet their strike deadline and make the call could only help BA to weaken BASSA's support further and sooner. If they don't strike (yet again) they look like blustering fools, if they do then BA, while knowing less members will take IA with BA's defences stonger than ever before, will be able to take the numbers (and names) of CC walking-out giving it a very clear calibration of the true size of the 'hard-core' problem. This will permit BA to shape its strategy moving forwards from here.
PS. Any weakening of BASSA will also help Unite, PCCC and maybe some further bickering with CC89/Amicus to speed the process further. After all, if Unite can sort things there are a potential 13,500 monthly subs to be collected out there and, contrary to some opinions, a willing employer in BA crying-out for a union with whom to negotiate future collective agreements in a mature manner - maybe BA might increase MF's pay to cover a reasonable union subscription even!
Last edited by AV Flyer; 17th Apr 2011 at 16:42.