British Airways - CC Industrial Relations & Negotiations
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Oh dear, the nation's most read daily says:
THE Christmas strike by the British Airways cabin crews' union is cynically aimed at causing maximum misery to passengers.
Worst-hit will be families who have saved hard to visit loved ones.
Their anger and tears can only be imagined.
The tragedy of the strike is that nobody can emerge as the winner.
Cabin staff cheered when the strike was announced. But they were cheering the destruction of their own livelihoods.
The airline, already losing £1.5million a DAY in the recession, faces disaster.
Will those million passengers losing their flights book BA again?
The cabin crews' militant union, Unite, says it has been forced to strike because management won't compromise over job cuts, a pay freeze and conditions.
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The crippling 12-day stoppage, from December 22 to January 2, is completely out of proportion to management proposals.
It will have a wider economic impact that will damage the whole country.
How CAN the airline avoid cutbacks when it faces losses of £750million this year?
Average pay for BA cabin crew is £29,000 - way above most earnings.
Britain's 2.4million unemployed will find it hard to understand why people on such good money want to strike.
Nobody likes taking less for doing more. But that's the way of it in tough times.
The Sun wonders whether so many crew members would have voted to strike had they not been wound up by union hotheads.
Unless averted, this strike could do lasting damage to BA.
The business market, BA's lifeblood, will look to other airlines. So will holidaymakers.
Far from being the world's favourite airline, BA will become the one airline everyone wants to avoid.
Worst-hit will be families who have saved hard to visit loved ones.
Their anger and tears can only be imagined.
The tragedy of the strike is that nobody can emerge as the winner.
Cabin staff cheered when the strike was announced. But they were cheering the destruction of their own livelihoods.
The airline, already losing £1.5million a DAY in the recession, faces disaster.
Will those million passengers losing their flights book BA again?
The cabin crews' militant union, Unite, says it has been forced to strike because management won't compromise over job cuts, a pay freeze and conditions.
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The crippling 12-day stoppage, from December 22 to January 2, is completely out of proportion to management proposals.
It will have a wider economic impact that will damage the whole country.
How CAN the airline avoid cutbacks when it faces losses of £750million this year?
Average pay for BA cabin crew is £29,000 - way above most earnings.
Britain's 2.4million unemployed will find it hard to understand why people on such good money want to strike.
Nobody likes taking less for doing more. But that's the way of it in tough times.
The Sun wonders whether so many crew members would have voted to strike had they not been wound up by union hotheads.
Unless averted, this strike could do lasting damage to BA.
The business market, BA's lifeblood, will look to other airlines. So will holidaymakers.
Far from being the world's favourite airline, BA will become the one airline everyone wants to avoid.
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And even the traditionally union-supporting Mirror can only sit on the fence:
Similar ambivalence from the Daily Star:
There would be no winners from a British Airways strike over Christmas and New Year - except rival airlines.
Both sides in a potentially catastrophic dispute are utterly convinced of the rightness of their case.
Ba chief Willie Walsh argues he must slash costs to save the ailing airline. One of the most decisive ballot results in recent years says the staff equally believe they are treated unfairly.
But one way or another it will be settled and it is better for both parties if we don't wait for a victor to emerge from the smouldering wreckage of a crashed company. So the airline's senior executives and Unite leader Len McCluskey should sit down immediately to pilot a way out of this confrontation. Passengers caught in the middle will curse one side or another or both, but a strike isn't inevitable if negotiators roll up their sleeves and start talking.
We hope there's a deal for the sake of BA, its staff and, most of all, long-suffering travellers.
Both sides in a potentially catastrophic dispute are utterly convinced of the rightness of their case.
Ba chief Willie Walsh argues he must slash costs to save the ailing airline. One of the most decisive ballot results in recent years says the staff equally believe they are treated unfairly.
But one way or another it will be settled and it is better for both parties if we don't wait for a victor to emerge from the smouldering wreckage of a crashed company. So the airline's senior executives and Unite leader Len McCluskey should sit down immediately to pilot a way out of this confrontation. Passengers caught in the middle will curse one side or another or both, but a strike isn't inevitable if negotiators roll up their sleeves and start talking.
We hope there's a deal for the sake of BA, its staff and, most of all, long-suffering travellers.
CHRISTMAS is cancelled. Well, at least for all the suffering BA customers planning to jet abroad.
Staff voted unanimously yesterday to walk out for 12 days.
And they’re doing it right when tens of thousands want to fly to loved ones for the festive period.
The nation sympathises with their fight for better pay and jobs.
But once again WE are the ones to pay for their action.
This not only destroys Christmas for those travelling but the families *desperate to see them too.
It’s not fair.
They’ve left their strike decision far too late for many to book alternative flights.
It means a miserable end to 2009 and a lonely start to the new year.
BA chiefs and staff need to redouble efforts to resolve this crisis *immediately.
They owe it to their customers to work together and finally sort things out.
These strikes cannot be *allowed to happen.
Staff voted unanimously yesterday to walk out for 12 days.
And they’re doing it right when tens of thousands want to fly to loved ones for the festive period.
The nation sympathises with their fight for better pay and jobs.
But once again WE are the ones to pay for their action.
This not only destroys Christmas for those travelling but the families *desperate to see them too.
It’s not fair.
They’ve left their strike decision far too late for many to book alternative flights.
It means a miserable end to 2009 and a lonely start to the new year.
BA chiefs and staff need to redouble efforts to resolve this crisis *immediately.
They owe it to their customers to work together and finally sort things out.
These strikes cannot be *allowed to happen.
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Advice For Passengers
This may be of interest to passengers:
ADVICE FOR PASSENGERS
Should I cancel or book again?
Passengers who booked before November 2 and are insured can book new flights with a different airline and will be covered for any extra costs. Those who booked after that date or do not have insurance will have to gamble that the BA flight ultimately goes ahead, or pay for new flights and bank on BA cancelling so that they get a refund for the original trip.
Refund policy
Under EU rules, passengers must be offered a different flight or a full refund within a week of the cancellation. People who cancel flights themselves will not get their money back if they have non-refundable tickets.
Tour operator customers
People who have booked through a tour operator are advised to contact them because they are responsible for making alternative flight arrangements or organising refunds, not the customer.
Will I get stranded?
BA is responsible for making alternative travel arrangements, including hotels and transfers, for anyone stranded due to the strikes. Vouchers or money should be provided for food and drink if there are airport delays.
Insurance
Passengers should get in touch with their individual insurers. Some may only pay out for short notice cancellations, which would not apply here. Generally they will not pay out for a delay of less than 12 hours and it is best to get a letter from the airline to confirm this.
Compensation
Passengers whose flights are cancelled within 14 days of departure are entitled to compensation but airlines have wriggled out of this in past when it is due to industrial action.
ADVICE FOR PASSENGERS
Should I cancel or book again?
Passengers who booked before November 2 and are insured can book new flights with a different airline and will be covered for any extra costs. Those who booked after that date or do not have insurance will have to gamble that the BA flight ultimately goes ahead, or pay for new flights and bank on BA cancelling so that they get a refund for the original trip.
Refund policy
Under EU rules, passengers must be offered a different flight or a full refund within a week of the cancellation. People who cancel flights themselves will not get their money back if they have non-refundable tickets.
Tour operator customers
People who have booked through a tour operator are advised to contact them because they are responsible for making alternative flight arrangements or organising refunds, not the customer.
Will I get stranded?
BA is responsible for making alternative travel arrangements, including hotels and transfers, for anyone stranded due to the strikes. Vouchers or money should be provided for food and drink if there are airport delays.
Insurance
Passengers should get in touch with their individual insurers. Some may only pay out for short notice cancellations, which would not apply here. Generally they will not pay out for a delay of less than 12 hours and it is best to get a letter from the airline to confirm this.
Compensation
Passengers whose flights are cancelled within 14 days of departure are entitled to compensation but airlines have wriggled out of this in past when it is due to industrial action.
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DREW?? A large number of crew saying they are coming i, hAVE YOU spoken to everyone then. pLease keep quiet you know nothing!!!! 
out of nearly 10,000 of us that voted. I don't think so. I am sorry about the passengers, timing is no good but WW must go and BA must be the airline it used to be. I have had comments from passengers about wanting BA to be the airline it used to be.
Anyway, makes me laugh when people come on here and say large number of crew.ermm hate to break it to you but no it is a MINORITY really small MINORITY.
out of nearly 10,000 of us that voted. I don't think so. I am sorry about the passengers, timing is no good but WW must go and BA must be the airline it used to be. I have had comments from passengers about wanting BA to be the airline it used to be. Anyway, makes me laugh when people come on here and say large number of crew.ermm hate to break it to you but no it is a MINORITY really small MINORITY.
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Flying chick, please don't forget to get down to that picket line on day one. We look forward to hearing about your experiences.
And please don't tell anyone here to keep quiet, this isn't a BASSA forum, you have absolutely no authority here (thank goodness).
And please don't tell anyone here to keep quiet, this isn't a BASSA forum, you have absolutely no authority here (thank goodness).
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Today an article in The Independent quotes my message of the 25th of November so the press do look at this site.
Trust BA management i'd rather get Doctor Shipman look after my folks for the weekend.
Trust BA management i'd rather get Doctor Shipman look after my folks for the weekend.
Junior trash
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Anyway, makes me laugh when people come on here and say large number of crew.ermm hate to break it to you but no it is a MINORITY really small MINORITY.
Join Date: Oct 2006
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All take a chill pill please.. 
92.49 of us voted in favour. 779 voted no out of 14,000 tell you all something???? 
PLease stop with the we didn't know what we were doing. We are all adults and quite a large majority of us are talented, educated human beings. Stand by my union and BA passengers will have the excellent service we once gave. It is so embarassing. WW must go!! We ar enot low cost we are not Ryanair.
92.49 of us voted in favour. 779 voted no out of 14,000 tell you all something???? PLease stop with the we didn't know what we were doing. We are all adults and quite a large majority of us are talented, educated human beings. Stand by my union and BA passengers will have the excellent service we once gave. It is so embarassing. WW must go!! We ar enot low cost we are not Ryanair.
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Flying Chick
For every fired CC after this mess there are literally thosands of people willing to work for a quarter of what you are earning now, don't forget that later on when you are on the street and complaining about BA hiring cheap inmigrant labor.
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FChick its started ,had a friend on the phone last night for over an hour,loads of tears, yes she voted "yes" but she only voted "yes" to make WW sit up and think. Anyway she is of to the GP to get signed of for a month, solidarity for you
WW knows that 35% of crew either a) don't belong to a union b) didn't vote or c) voted NO.
If the Court injunction doesn't work, then he is gonna try and break the strike be under no illusion.
Enjoy your charity work over the xmas period
WW knows that 35% of crew either a) don't belong to a union b) didn't vote or c) voted NO.
If the Court injunction doesn't work, then he is gonna try and break the strike be under no illusion.
Enjoy your charity work over the xmas period
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yeah LGW crew probably didn't vote. People leaving, people off ill, people who probably live abroad and post got lost.. Hello we are the majority that voted yes. 9000+ you just cannot take it can you?? 
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Fellow pax: how strong in our resolve?
A question to the affected passengers here:
Would you rather see WW back down so that your travel plans aren't affected of would you support him in a long battle with the unions (meaning your plans are cancelled)?
I managed to rebook, but honestly this is the first time I would not have minded if my plans were affected. If WW gives in to these people then and only then, will I switch airlines. How about you? How strong is your respolve?
As a GCH and very frequent flyer I have sent BA management my support for this battle and suggested they read this thread (and many others) if ever they feel the need to give in.
Would you rather see WW back down so that your travel plans aren't affected of would you support him in a long battle with the unions (meaning your plans are cancelled)?
I managed to rebook, but honestly this is the first time I would not have minded if my plans were affected. If WW gives in to these people then and only then, will I switch airlines. How about you? How strong is your respolve?
As a GCH and very frequent flyer I have sent BA management my support for this battle and suggested they read this thread (and many others) if ever they feel the need to give in.
Couldonlyaffordafiver
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Flyingchick,
No one knows how many people will turn up until Day One. BA will be contacting crew at the moment to find out how many will actually go on strike, versus the number who were misled into voting "Yes" to force BA back to the negotiating table (which BASSA had run away from previously). I trust you will be telling them that you will be on the picket line from 6am to the death.
You have no more idea about that than anyone else.
No one knows how many people will turn up until Day One. BA will be contacting crew at the moment to find out how many will actually go on strike, versus the number who were misled into voting "Yes" to force BA back to the negotiating table (which BASSA had run away from previously). I trust you will be telling them that you will be on the picket line from 6am to the death.
Anyway, makes me laugh when people come on here and say large number of crew.ermm hate to break it to you but no it is a MINORITY really small MINORITY.
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FChick, so that's it cos you don't agree with me, you have to imply that I'm Lying.......... pure BASSA, maybe you don't belong on a democratic forum.
Anyway I trust you will be working for charity, I look forward to the details
Anyway I trust you will be working for charity, I look forward to the details
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WatersideWonker, where did they get the other quote?
"This will be my last ever flight with BA. When other carriers are adopting a much less selfish approach to their job prospects and the needs of their customers at this special time of the year, I refuse to ever again subsidise over-inflated salaries for BA cabin crew."
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Flying Chick - for what little it's worth and for the expected paucity of your reply - how do you think striking will return an already financially crippled airline to it's former glories? How, exactly? Are you really so naive as to assume that if you can "get rid" of Willie Walsh that, somehow, this will all go away and the cabins will be full of passengers paying full-price for F and J tickets because, let's be honest, they've just been staying away because they don't like our CEO?
The responses across the UK from our beleaguered passengers should tell you everything. That you care so little and pretend to couch this as some sort of moral battle tells me everything about you.
My wife will be crossing the picket line and if there's anything, anything at all, I can do outside of my normal role in this airline to facilitate flights getting away then I will do it. (Finncastle, if this means I'm serving your dinner on the way to SA, I apologise profusely in advance, but I'll do my best!)
The right to withdraw labour is important and should be inviolate but with such a powerful right comes an incredible responsibility as to how and when one should exercise it. On this part alone, Unite, BASSA and the harridans have seriously misjudged their reception.
I presume, Flying Chick, that you would feel morally justified when you're in the big queue at the dole office with the rest of us as your principles so clearly drive you to have 100% of nothing than 95% of something.
If, and I now have some strong and well-founded doubts, BA should survive this suicide attack - just how do you see the wounds that you will have inflicted being funded. Do you genuinely believe that somehow a change of CEO will make all the debt (plus that incurred by your action) go away? Or, as unpalatable as it clearly is to you and all so many of the crewforum sycophants, the fact that if not WW, the next CEO will have to clear up the mess and the pain for those staff remaining will be unimaginable in comparison to those changes "imposed" on you thus far.
Like it or not, the city isn't on WW's back. They lent the airline the capital in the summer to aid survival, they approved the choice of WW as CEO of TopCo in the merger and the share price yesterday reflects the city's belief that he's taking on some unpleasant tasks and facing them head on.
Bankrupting him and, by extension, all of us in the BA family, into submission is a zero-sum game and no-one will win.
Not that, I suspect, you care. BASSA 100% I could weep.
The responses across the UK from our beleaguered passengers should tell you everything. That you care so little and pretend to couch this as some sort of moral battle tells me everything about you.
My wife will be crossing the picket line and if there's anything, anything at all, I can do outside of my normal role in this airline to facilitate flights getting away then I will do it. (Finncastle, if this means I'm serving your dinner on the way to SA, I apologise profusely in advance, but I'll do my best!)
The right to withdraw labour is important and should be inviolate but with such a powerful right comes an incredible responsibility as to how and when one should exercise it. On this part alone, Unite, BASSA and the harridans have seriously misjudged their reception.
I presume, Flying Chick, that you would feel morally justified when you're in the big queue at the dole office with the rest of us as your principles so clearly drive you to have 100% of nothing than 95% of something.
If, and I now have some strong and well-founded doubts, BA should survive this suicide attack - just how do you see the wounds that you will have inflicted being funded. Do you genuinely believe that somehow a change of CEO will make all the debt (plus that incurred by your action) go away? Or, as unpalatable as it clearly is to you and all so many of the crewforum sycophants, the fact that if not WW, the next CEO will have to clear up the mess and the pain for those staff remaining will be unimaginable in comparison to those changes "imposed" on you thus far.
Like it or not, the city isn't on WW's back. They lent the airline the capital in the summer to aid survival, they approved the choice of WW as CEO of TopCo in the merger and the share price yesterday reflects the city's belief that he's taking on some unpleasant tasks and facing them head on.
Bankrupting him and, by extension, all of us in the BA family, into submission is a zero-sum game and no-one will win.
Not that, I suspect, you care. BASSA 100%
I could weep.
Couldonlyaffordafiver
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Flyingchick,
It tells me you can't count.
There were approximately 9500 "Yes" votes, not (by your implication) 13300.*
92.49% of around 80% of 95% of BA cabin crew voted "Yes".
*BA had 14000 cabin crew prior to Voluntary Redundancy. The total is now approximately 12500. If Flyingchick is suggesting that those who took VR and any non-union members were ballotted, then the ballot is illegal.
All take a chill pill please.. 92.49 of us voted in favour. 779 voted no out of 14,000 tell you all something????
There were approximately 9500 "Yes" votes, not (by your implication) 13300.*
92.49% of around 80% of 95% of BA cabin crew voted "Yes".
*BA had 14000 cabin crew prior to Voluntary Redundancy. The total is now approximately 12500. If Flyingchick is suggesting that those who took VR and any non-union members were ballotted, then the ballot is illegal.
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Chick - you so don't get it do you? I will try and outline my honest feelings as a passenger;
As someone who will possibly have christmas ruined by this selfish act I can honestly say that BA and Willy now have my full support. As someone who used to work at LHR, albeit not BA, that is a complete reversal of my opinion of him!
You have so misjudged public opinion on this. I now have zero interest in your personal position(s) - I am so livid that your striking colleagues can ruin christmas for my family just like that. I am finding it very difficult not to resort to the gutter language I want, and feel justified, to use!
The world HAS changed and you really do need accept that. I think the post that mentioned that the damage is done just by exercising the threat is spot on. Sadly BA will now only be a last resort. Also I have to agree about the surly attitude from many of the BA CC.
Sad times indeed.
As someone who will possibly have christmas ruined by this selfish act I can honestly say that BA and Willy now have my full support. As someone who used to work at LHR, albeit not BA, that is a complete reversal of my opinion of him!
You have so misjudged public opinion on this. I now have zero interest in your personal position(s) - I am so livid that your striking colleagues can ruin christmas for my family just like that. I am finding it very difficult not to resort to the gutter language I want, and feel justified, to use!
The world HAS changed and you really do need accept that. I think the post that mentioned that the damage is done just by exercising the threat is spot on. Sadly BA will now only be a last resort. Also I have to agree about the surly attitude from many of the BA CC.
Sad times indeed.