JAO - Your comments make complete sense - I never was known much for my patience!
BG - It is wonderful reading your exchange with flyeruk69 on the "other thread" and I think that this approach between CC on both sides of the IA will be instrumental in bringing life back to normality when this is all over - which will be very soon now.
However, please forgive me but I cannot stop myself from commenting on the causes of this dispute particulary when you suggest BA have been heavy handed, BASSA somewhat instransigent and flyeruk69 suggests that with an agreement reviewing crewing levels the outcome could have been different.
This entire matter was unavoidable, it was destined to happen because of weak BA managment over the years not standing-up to an over-zealous union executive. The consequence was that all the power lay with the union such that at the slightest suggestion of a change by management the union would snap its fingers call a strike and bring BA to its knees.
BA simply had to do something to restore the balance. It could not go on. If BA settled on the union's terms yet again it would have been back in dispute time and time again at every slight issue - e.g. hot towels, window blinds, working one down, etc. BA's response was to slowy build both internal staff and external contract resources to effectively counter and neutralise any such union action and then to lock-horns over proposing a much overdue and vital cost savings program even though in the short-term it meant carrying a large CC staff overhead - which you are currently experiencing.
This was the point where the power struggle began in earnest between a controlling union executive (DH/LM) and BA management (WW). When a power struggle ensues there can be no compromise, it is an all-out war and can only end with the defeat of one of the parties - in this case BA made sure it would not be them. DH and the union executive will never willingly surrender the power that BASSA has established. If you read the ten points in the strike ballot they are all specious and DH has said himself that once these are conceded by BA there would be even more to follow. What he is really saying is until full power and control over BA's IFCE operations is handed back to him he personally will not settle irrespective of the wishes of his CC members.
CC have unfortunately been somewhat unwitting pawns in this struggle and in many ways have been oblivious to the reality of what is happening at the top as the union executive has been extremely economical with the truth and even openly deceptive over all reporting matters. This is before we get into matters of potential accounting irregularities, etc. One would hope that CC will have learned a valuable lesson here in the dangers of only listening to their union and will take a more balanced view of information released by both union and employer in the future.
We will possibly see in the next few days the end of the war with the defeat of the current BASSA executive. There really can be no other outcome.
If any of this makes sense to you and you are able to understand the above reality and pass it on to all CC who wish this dispute to end then your first challenge will be in persuading the BASSA executive to give its members a truly democratic postal ballot. Until now the only way to vote, as you found, was with your feet leaving the current BASSA executive in place but weakened only slightly with each departure.
It is also time to begin planning what comes next after the current BASSA (& CC89) executives depart. Is it one new Branch? Does it include MF? Is it still to be affilated with Unite? Will PCCC play any part? One thing for sure is that BA wants a mature, intelligent, informed and constructive union executive with whom it can negotiate collective agreements for CC moving forwards as, contrary to BASSA's rantings, it was never out to bust the union but to restore a more equal balance of power. What BA doesn't want is a multi-factional, in-fighting, deliberately obfuscating, intransigent and immature power-wielding mob whose only method of negotiation is to say "NO" then call IA at the drop of a (MF?)(
) hat.