Whilst I am sorry about the inconvenience to SLF - this has been a long time brewing, ever since 9/11 management have been throwing their weight around and pushing for a fight.
The management got away with ignoring the agreed systems in place when they cut back at MAN and BHX, now they have just gone too far and attacked fortress LHR.
Skippy has ordered his minions to slash jobs and cut expenditure (sounds familiar?) so he has got the fight that he wanted.
This may be all part of Skippy's master plan - BA mangement is well known for its dirty tricks, so the staff may end up on the losing side. But at leats this time, hopefully, they will go down fighting.