Well I for one prefer the new system. The old system was fine, if it was used as intended - infrequently and only in exceptional circumstances...
However this wasn't the case at all. It was a constant worry every day when leaving work.
Some of us couldn't use the childcare excuse, and therefore were the ones to pick up the work, despite having holidays, anniversaries, partners birthdays etc. planned...
There are some horror stories of people being called when abroad, only to be forced to return to the UK the next day to work, as they answered their phone by "mistake"
The new system is very similar to every other airline that has a random rostering system. You can request a preference for days off, but you can't be certain until the roster is out.
Good airlines normally publish the roster 2 weeks before the end of the month, but some will delay it to a week before.
So if only BA could speed up the process, then our system would be no different to most other airlines.
It is a great shame the bidline is no longer as it used to be, but everybody needs to know that when they are rostered a day off, that it is indeed a day off.
We can only hope that, when BA has recruited enough, that Forced Assign will be less frequent. Otherwise as I have said before, part-time seems to be the only viable option, if you want a decent life outside work.