BA Bank Holiday Chaos
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Thinking about what pprecious said about automated check in, maybe that's the way things will go, a dispatcher told me today that easyJet actually dispatched a flight where all the pax checked in electronically.
I would suggest, make hay while the sunshines because if this is the case some people's days in their jobs are numbered.
I would suggest, make hay while the sunshines because if this is the case some people's days in their jobs are numbered.
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Thirdly, to somebody's post regarding BA's economy service, i would say you get preferential treatment as you are airline staff, otherwise economy passenger's are treated like crap, and that's a known fact in the company.
Please do not tar your airborne colleagues with the same "we don't give a ****" attitude that you express towards your customers.
Join Date: Apr 1999
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that when a similar strike occurred last year, our CEO was off to Hong Kong on holiday with his family on CX, what does that say about how much he/she values the customers?
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I’m travelling out of Heathrow over the bank holiday – but on a Star Alliance partner from a terminal with – I think - only limited BA presence.
Any predications as to the level of knock on disruption I am likely to have to put up with?
PS How do the pay, terms and conditions of BA check in staff compare with other carriers operating out of Heathrow and Gatwick?
Any predications as to the level of knock on disruption I am likely to have to put up with?
PS How do the pay, terms and conditions of BA check in staff compare with other carriers operating out of Heathrow and Gatwick?
Join Date: Apr 1999
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If you stay out of T1 there should be no knock on effect except your flights and the car parks being full.
PPS. BA check in staff are the best paid at LHR plus they have a final salary pension, flexible working hours and discount staff travel. Haven't seen many of them jacking it in to work for Aviance and Servisair.
PPS. BA check in staff are the best paid at LHR plus they have a final salary pension, flexible working hours and discount staff travel. Haven't seen many of them jacking it in to work for Aviance and Servisair.
Join Date: May 2002
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Mike Street is the Director who is dealing with the pay negotiations that have now stalled and it looks as if a strike is likely. He has wide experience of messing things up. He handled the takover of Dan Air into EOG.
He doesn't have much time for people or for fairness. For example the Dan Air seniority list was ignored during the pilot redundancies in 1992 - only those flying B737-3/400 were reatained on the payroll, all other fleet pilots were made redundant despite a written company/union agreement for first in last out. Those that were 'lucky' and retained were given a 10% pay cut. It took years to sort out the mess - court action, union action etc.
He doesn't have much time for people or for fairness. For example the Dan Air seniority list was ignored during the pilot redundancies in 1992 - only those flying B737-3/400 were reatained on the payroll, all other fleet pilots were made redundant despite a written company/union agreement for first in last out. Those that were 'lucky' and retained were given a 10% pay cut. It took years to sort out the mess - court action, union action etc.
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"Offering short-term sums of money doesn't get to the heart of the problem. BA's labour costs in the current environment are 100 million to 200 million pounds too high," independent analyst Chris Tarry said. (Reuters).
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BA's labour costs in the current environment are 100 million to 200 million pounds too high
Paying some check-in girl who's on 11k a rise of inflation +£300 isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference to BA's woes.
Skippy had the chance to sort out BA's pay structure after 9-11 and he blew it - trying to cut back on the lowest paid employees, who, lets be honest, have nothing to lose (theres no shortage of jobs in West London paying 11K!) will not make any dent is this supposed 200 million overspend.
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There seems to be this idea above that people go on strike for fun !, let me tell you when a person has a wife and kids to support then striking is a last resort.
Ask yourselfs why this dispute has lasted since january ?. Could it be bad mannagement to let a dispute come to a head at the time when the company makes most of its money ?.
Ask yourselfs why this dispute has lasted since january ?. Could it be bad mannagement to let a dispute come to a head at the time when the company makes most of its money ?.
Be careful!
BA have already contracted-out parts of its operations. If they think check-in staff and baggage handlers are getting too expensive, I'm sure the likes of Aviance and Servisair will be only too happy to talk to them....
Join Date: Sep 2002
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I note in todays Telegraph:
The airline [BA] employs 47,000 people but has been dogged by absenteeism with staff reporting sick 17 days a year compared with the average of seven days. Union sources said the absenteeism was due to working conditions.
So. BA staff are in the habit of taking an extra two weeks holiday a year compared to other workers. On top of being in the rareified club of final salary pension workers who also enjoy extensive staff travel and unionised job security.
I see no realistic way for BA to drag itself out of this mire.
Other than go bust. Imagine it. They wind the firm up on a Tuesday and then rise it phoneix like from the ashes on a Wednesday. Everything contracted out on the ground to competing firms. New hires recruited on a single union no-strike contract only in essential areas of operations such as cabin crew and flightdeck and engineering.
No final salary pension commitments. The dead half of management not rehired and most deliciously those damn militant baggage chuckers and bus drivers out on their ear into the real world.
The BA brand could have been sold to a holding company along with the slots. The aircraft lease holders would have had to held their assets unused overnight whilst the old BA died and the new BOAC was reborn looking for a whole load of aircraft, a brand and some slots...
This cannot be impossible to engineer surely? Sell off the right to the brand and sell the slots and sell the other essential bits to a ' holding company ' then go bust, then start a New BA and buy back the forementioned.
Got to be a way of slashing 50% of costs in my book.
BEN
The airline [BA] employs 47,000 people but has been dogged by absenteeism with staff reporting sick 17 days a year compared with the average of seven days. Union sources said the absenteeism was due to working conditions.
So. BA staff are in the habit of taking an extra two weeks holiday a year compared to other workers. On top of being in the rareified club of final salary pension workers who also enjoy extensive staff travel and unionised job security.
I see no realistic way for BA to drag itself out of this mire.
Other than go bust. Imagine it. They wind the firm up on a Tuesday and then rise it phoneix like from the ashes on a Wednesday. Everything contracted out on the ground to competing firms. New hires recruited on a single union no-strike contract only in essential areas of operations such as cabin crew and flightdeck and engineering.
No final salary pension commitments. The dead half of management not rehired and most deliciously those damn militant baggage chuckers and bus drivers out on their ear into the real world.
The BA brand could have been sold to a holding company along with the slots. The aircraft lease holders would have had to held their assets unused overnight whilst the old BA died and the new BOAC was reborn looking for a whole load of aircraft, a brand and some slots...
This cannot be impossible to engineer surely? Sell off the right to the brand and sell the slots and sell the other essential bits to a ' holding company ' then go bust, then start a New BA and buy back the forementioned.
Got to be a way of slashing 50% of costs in my book.
BEN
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Not necessarily illegal. As BA owe £3b in debt then there may be scope to sell off assets to repay the debt. Thereby leaving nothing much left of a company to declare insolvent. If nothing else you could move all the existing troublesome BA employees into a wholly owned subsidiary which you could soon declare loss making.
Michael O Leary would have no difficulty in sorting this out under existing UK employment law.
Lets face it. Sour faced buttie slingers, pilfering bag chuckers and dim witted passport checkers are hardly irreplaceable professionals deserving of well perked jobs. Each one can be replaced with less than a weeks training and be on a no-strike contract.
BEN
Michael O Leary would have no difficulty in sorting this out under existing UK employment law.
Lets face it. Sour faced buttie slingers, pilfering bag chuckers and dim witted passport checkers are hardly irreplaceable professionals deserving of well perked jobs. Each one can be replaced with less than a weeks training and be on a no-strike contract.
BEN
With MY reputation?
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Ben,
Judging by your last paragraph, it sounds as if you ARE M.O.L.???
At least you have the same opinions of the workforce
PHX
Judging by your last paragraph, it sounds as if you ARE M.O.L.???
At least you have the same opinions of the workforce
PHX
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Looks like its escalating - the TGWU members have voted overwhelmingly for strike and named the day - August 27.
The union said that 66 per cent of its members working in BA's check-in, sales, and administrative departments voted in favour of a strike while 84 per cent of baggage handlers and other ground staff backed industrial action
The union said the strike will hit Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow and will run from 4.30am on August 27.
The union said the strike will hit Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow and will run from 4.30am on August 27.
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What I'm curious about is how much do they think they should earn? Especially with the attitude displayed above. At the end of the day they took a job knowing what it payed. It's hardly skilled labour - go work somewhere else if you don't like it - but don't mess up what for many people is a once a year event just cos you're not happy.
Having watched this unfold I also feel the so called union officials should be ashamed of their conduct - especially being vague about when the strike will occur. I hope they suffer a backlash from any GMB members trying to travel that day.
And with luck only 25% will walk out and we'll see minimum disruption. To endanger a fragile company in trying times could very easily backfire.
SK
Having watched this unfold I also feel the so called union officials should be ashamed of their conduct - especially being vague about when the strike will occur. I hope they suffer a backlash from any GMB members trying to travel that day.
And with luck only 25% will walk out and we'll see minimum disruption. To endanger a fragile company in trying times could very easily backfire.
SK
Join Date: Oct 2002
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Its a great shame that any staff in any airline have to go on strike
what it always shows is that the management are woefully poor at explaining the company problems.The department in dispute is led by Mr street.In the last dispute the man in charge was Mr street.Is it not time Mr street went down the road ?
what it always shows is that the management are woefully poor at explaining the company problems.The department in dispute is led by Mr street.In the last dispute the man in charge was Mr street.Is it not time Mr street went down the road ?
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Absolutely right stormin', I think he is the root of the problem. Doesn't matter what he is as a personality or how he behaves towards his mother, the guy seems to bounce fromone crisis to another.