Mass resignation of British Airways pilots from BALPA?

[Captaindodo]

Any truth in the rumour that BALPA has been out totally manoeuvred by IAG/BA and British Airways pilots are about to lose their beloved 'Bidline System' resulting in potential mass resignation of BA pilots from BALPA?

[EllanVannin]

No.

Probably a mischievous play on words by someone not wholly satisfied with the necessary amendments to bid line.

[Megaton]

New poster. One post. Anti-BA pilot. Watersidewonker again by any chance?

[Hobo]

I think you've hit the nail on the head Ham... when a new poster uses words like 'beloved' and 'any truth in the rumour', without bothering to produce any evidence that there is Mass resignation of British Airways pilots from BALPA, he is wasting his time posting here.

If he's not wholly satisfied with the necessary amendments to bid line he should be on the BALPA team getting them right.

[BitMoreRightRudder]

Bidline is changing to something a bit less desirable. A few people have/will quit balpa because they are short sighted enough to think it is all balpa's fault and they feel the urge to demonstrate their anger but the real "culprit" is the evolution of the industry. We have a set of T&Cs that are ripe for management plucking.

In reality a few changes will be made and everyone will get on with it. The more militant pilots will get pissed off, make angry noises and call for a BASSAesque approach to all things TU, but thankfully most BA pilots acknowledge the need for a progressive approach from BALPA. Playing hard ball with IAG will see our career paths outsourced to the lowest bidder quicker than you can say Iberia Express.

It's the future - :eek:

[Holyjoe]

Clearly you haven't read the pages and pages and pages of pissed off pilot comments on the forum then!its more than a few disgruntled pilots. Everyone appreciates the need to evolve and change but you clearly underestimate the depth of "pissed off" that is going on out there.

[BitMoreRightRudder]

No I've read them. It doesn't mean there will be a mass exodus of pilots from Balpa or that we are losing bidline.

[Juan Tugoh]

The comments on the Forum seldom lead to more than a few resignations irrespective of the issue. And to what end? BALPA will still be the collective bargaining group for pilots within BA so you can be a grumpy as you like at them it will change nothing.You will still be subject to whatever it is that BALPA collectively agree to with BA. You can elect to "award yourself a 1% pay rise" but you disenfranchise yourself by doing it. You are either part of the process and have a say or else you have no say and still have to abide by the agreements that others make.

[Holyjoe]

Bidline departing is a done deal..it will not be supported post 2017. Here's hoping whatever is replacing it is more favourable than what is being imposed at present. I would agree that there will not be a mass exodus from BALPA but that is not to underestimate the level of discontent amongst the ranks.
BA need a system that avoids the current shortfall of work coverage at certain times of the month but I personally can sense that it is an opportune time for management to claw at some of the best terms and conditions in the industry.
Personal opinion, thats all

[Juan Tugoh]

Can't argue with any of that HJ

[overstress]

eMaestro will not be supported after 2014. Nothing to do with Bidline which is our agreement.

The one-post OP of this thread is a troll of the highest order.

[Buzzdoff]

I see BALPA scrambling for support here. I left the ranks ages ago when someone told me how much of our subs went to support their pension scheme.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Me suspects EASA FTL will hit BA pilots more than most, unlikely FRMS will allow all the swapping to get a nice run of time off.....:\

[Max Angle]

I left the ranks ages ago when someone told me how much of our subs went to support their pension scheme. Yep, me too and in no hurry to rejoin. They have, as a poster suggested above, been completely out manoeuvred by the company.

Expect max. hours and minimum legal days off in the very near future, the high workload of this summer will be looked back on as good times before too long.

We have a set of T&Cs that are ripe for management plucking.And the management know from long experience that the pilots are one of the few union groups in the company that they can pluck with impunity so pluck they will.

[Watersidewonker]

BALPA maybe losing membership at an alarming rate and BA have seen this weakness and are using it to push through changes without being challenged. With a great division amongst BA flight crew at the moment tensions are running high with the whole BA/BMI hostility which continues without any resolution maybe that's how the company want this to fester throughout the summer. As for bidline well I can see the company offering changes on a take it or leave it basis as the short haul review is near it's completion.

[wiggy]

BALPA maybe losing membership at an alarming rate

That's a good rumour..as others have said there have been a few threats made elsewhere but not many.

and BA have seen this weakness and are using it to push through changes without being challenged.

If that was true Bidline would have already gone....

With a great division amongst BA flight crew at the moment tensions are running high with the whole BA/BMI hostility which continues..

I've seen a few disagreements but no evidence of a "great division", and I'm really not sure what you mean by "the whole BA/BMI hostility.."

without any resolution maybe that's how the company want this to fester throughout the summer. As for bidline well I can see the company offering changes on a take it or leave it basis

We're already being asked by BALPA and BA to consider two future scheduling options, neither of them are the DB's, IMHO, but there's no sign of "take it or leave it"....

as the short haul review is near it's completion.

Ah, I wondered how that was going - that seems to have gone very quiet, possibly because the rumour has it some nettles might be a bit too painful to grasp. You seem to have your ear to the ground - any news of any non-pilot work groups being told to sort their scheduling agreements out.....are the company in the mood to tell others to "take it or leave it";)??

[bex88]

When working for a company like BA every pilot needs to be in a union be it BALPA or something else.

I don't think I have ever been in a company where I feel so under attack. Profits come first, then shareholders and the wellbeing of front line crew is somewhere on the ocean floor. Sorry to say it but I remain in BALPA because of fear.:sad:

As for the BA/BMI hostilities you must be referring to CC because the only Axe I see is between the top and the bottom of the ex bmi pilot group

[one day soon]

because the only Axe I see is between the top and the bottom of the ex bmi pilot group

Please do explain?

[overstress]

Latest figures are that 4 BA people have left BALPA last month. 3 of those have transferred to 'retired' status, presumably on retirement, and one (1) has left over the work coverage issue.

So, Watersidewonker BALPA maybe losing membership at an alarming rate I would say maybe not....

[bex88]

There is a growing feeling of discontent because junior pilots wether that be FO or captain are trapped in the bmi bubble for stage one rostering. As a result of this these pilots will get the last choice of the trip lines available for the foreseeable future and are unable to benefit at stage one from increasing seniority within BA. Meanwhile the pilots at the upper end of the lists feel somewhat smug having gone from a preferences based system to a seniority one. When enquiries are made as to when this may change being advised to leave it alone as you don't want to make trouble for yourself in my opinion is a cause for concern.

It's all part of an incomplete merger process which at the time was perhaps nobody's intention but now the benefits have been felt by some there is a reluctance to change anything.

Please feel free to comment on the above

[one day soon]

Firstly, just so it doesn't come across as personal I have to say that on the current threads covering DEP, BA, etc your comments views and opinions on how life really is at BA, I think yours are by far the most accurate of all the posters.

However being one of the junior bods in the bubble its only fair to say that I have never felt any axe towards anyone else in the bubble, I agree its an incomplete process and saddened to see under both new bidding options it will continue as it reinforces the current division, but I guess I see it as still better than the old crewing regime and only a tempory situation until going longhaul or leaving!

Happy to continue swapping views/questions via private messages as im aware this is possibly 'thread creep' but I'm shocked you were told to "leave it alone" , I hope you told said person where they should place that opinion.... And its a dark place!

[bex88]

Unfortunately you can't tell a manager where to stick it.

I don't mind the current arrangements but it should be for a defined period otherwise some may find themselves marginalised and discriminated against indefinitely.

On here you can speak your mind but I would not be so brave in public given the friendly warnings