Perhaps there are no pilot's strikes because Pilots are expensive to train and to replace and therefore , if they are unhappy , management are more inclined to listen. I'm certainly not claiming to state fact here , just guessing really.
It is true that BA staff are treated better than most other airlines . That is why staff turnover is lower . I've worked for several small airlines where bullying and low pay are the norm.
Sadly , I fear our managers would like to go down the same road , as salaries can be kept low if people do not make a career of the job and it's certainl,y better from a pensions perspective. It's easier to push young inexperienced people or returning mums around than staff who feel they are professionals and expect to be treated as such.
I used to be proud and happy to work for BA. Conditions were great , pay was realistic for London , the product I was working with was one of the best in the world and I felt I was treated as an adult. Now I feel much as I did when I worked for the other airlines . Intimidated , overworked , undervalued and ready to leave.
And to those who say "well just leave then" , it's not that simple . I have financial commitments like most people do and as most customer service jobs these days are fairly unpleasant , it makes more sense to retrain , which I am doing . I will soon be in a position to look for alternative employment. Serving the public is not a pleasure any more. Constant rudeness and unrealistic demands wear even the best people down. When you do not have the support of your managers , it is pretty hard to bear sometimes.
Having watched the chaos and unhappiness the walkout brought to many , I do wonder whether the people involved actually realised the implication of what they were doing. Perhaps if they had , they would not have chosen to act as they did. I cried when I saw one Australian family who had been waiting for three days and eventually had the police remove them from the building. To be perfectly honest , when I first heard about the walkout , I was delighted that someone was finally standing up to our management . My opinion began to change after watching the news images of suffering and disappointment which were harrowing to watch . I can't help wondering if there wasn't another way of protesting which would not have caused so much damage.
I feel completely mixed emotions about the whole sorry saga. Despite what some might say , WE are being pushed to the limit by our managers but does that justify punishing the wrong people ? I wonder if there are some amongst the strikers who feel that given what happened , in retrospect , they would do it differently.