British Airways - CC Industrial Relations Mk V

[JazzyKex]

Correct me if I am wrong but BASSA has not broken any agreements yet, have they?

It would be interesting, as has been mentioned by others, to know what the criteria are for implementing the disruption agreement.

If those have been fulfilled by the recent snow episode and BASSA have not allowed it to be used does that not count as breaking their side of an agreement?

[romans44]

OK Romans why not look at this from a slightly different angle.

OK Romans why not look at this from a slightly different angle.

Assume BA did NOT ask the union to implement the DA. They have just gone and unilaterally used the crews to the limits of their duty hours whenever necessary without the union being involved.

If this has been the case why have we not heard the union screaming from the rooftops that BA never asked us. If only they would have come to us first we would have gladly invoked the DA for the good of the customers!

Instead we only hear from BASSA that BA are doing as they please and they are powerless...

I agree it is dangerous to assume hearsay is fact, but it does seem pretty farfetched to assume BA would NOT have asked to implement an agreement designed entirely to cope with the situation it finds itself in!

Hi JazzyKex,
you will find that BASSA told its members straight away that the agreement was being broken.
If u are cabin crew and a BASSA member you would have recieved and email and a post on the BASSA website.
The only thing BASSA can do, is to challenge all this in court and/or ballot for industrial action.
As you may be aware they are already doing both things.
You make a very valid point when you say

it seems pretty farfetched to assume

However the truth is that we are talking about a company who has already broken our agreement and will continue to do so unless we stand up to them.

[Desertia]

There is one factor that may be an issue here. If Unite are actually having productive talks with BA, then it is not in UNITE or BA's interest to pour oil on the fire by publicising BASSA's lack of co-operation and giving them another opportunity to squeal about being picked on, and the press to do yet more damage to their reputation.

If this is the case, then I doubt BA would be willing to publicly acknowledge that they asked for DA and were refused.

(Of course, if the talks aren't successful by the time BASSA have their next backslapping, whooping and cheering meeting at Kempton, then it becomes irrelevant to the issue, apart from possibly in the February court case).

you will find that BASSA told its members straight away that the agreement was being broken.
If u are cabin crew and a BASSA member you would have recieved and email and a post on the BASSA website.
The only thing BASSA can do, is to challenge all this in court and/or ballot for industrial action.
As you may be aware they are already doing both things.
You make a very valid point when you say

Romans44,

We all saw this email from BASSA, and I quoted from the published version of it when I said that Bill Francis "asked for flexibility".

The court challenge is over the November 16th imposition.

I would think you would require some legal activities on February 1st to add any of the DA-related activities to it - that's assuming it is appropriate to do so.

Note how BASSA did not exactly rush to obtain an injunction.

We are getting to the point now where BASSA's only basket left is IA, and the sensible eggs are going to start getting out of it and walking off.

[romans44]

It would be interesting, as has been mentioned by others, to know what the criteria are for implementing the disruption agreement.

If those have been fulfilled by the recent snow episode and BASSA have not allowed it to be used does that not count as breaking their side of an agreement

?
Hi JazzyKex, if you have to ask this question I am assuming you are not familiar with our agreement.
It is all there in black and white page 76

[Hotel Mode]

Stop trying to be clever Romans. Your agreements arent exactly top secret.

Key section in bold. There can be no doubt that this was exactly the situation the disruption agreement was written for. Lest we forget BASSA refused it previously during last years snow when they were not in dispute. Care to justify that one?

Disruption Agreement

When significant events outside the control of British Airways cause severe disruption to the operation, the following changes to the scheduling agreement may, after agreement with the Trades Union has been reached, be enacted for an agreed fixed period of time, to maintain the integrity of the operation and facilitate the return of the operation to normal as soon as possible.

The IFS Operations Manager will contact the chairperson of each of the Trades Unions to inform them of the situation and recommend a timescale for which the disruption agreement will be required. With the agreement from the aforementioned confirmed, the details of options to be used will be verified in writing.

The IFS Operations Manager will log the occasions that the agreement is utilised and will fully debrief the Trades Union at the following week's Operations meeting. Details will also be recorded in the Worldwide Steering Minutes.

During the specified period of disruption, the report centres at LHR and LGW will display signage to the cabin crew informing them that the Operation is in a period of disruption.

Examples of occasions where this agreement could be enacted are severe weather, acts of terrorism, ATC failure or the collapse of power/communications supply. This list of examples is not exhaustive and other events that are outside of British Airways control will need to be considered.

20.1 24-HOUR AVAILABILITY

Crew on 24-hour availability can be contacted to move forward on a purely voluntary basis. If the crew member agrees, the following applies:

• Notification of the trip may be reduced from 24H, but it must not be less than 12 hours notice.
• The rostered trip immediately after the 24H becomes flexible, but subsequent trips are fixed. If there is sufficient 24H to allow the trip and MBTR to be allocated, the subsequent trip remains fixed.
• 1 MBTR can be flexed to maintain the forward roster - Agreements on B2B/long-range Box 1 operations apply.
• MBTR cannot be reduced below 3 nights.
• Crew can be contacted between 1200 and 2200.

20.2 REST DAY WORKING

When the disruption agreement has been enacted, rest day working will be available to counter shortfalls in the operation. Messages will be circulated via Voice, Crewlink and other media to communicate the availability of rest day working.

The following conditions apply for rest day working on Worldwide:
• Crew can register to work on their last MBTR only. You cannot apply for RDW if you only have 3 MBTR.
• Crew can volunteer to undertake RDW by registering on Voice after their clear time on their last working day.
• Voice will accept RDW volunteers up to 1200 for the next day's operation. Likewise RDWvolunteers can withdraw their names up to 1200 prior to the next day's operation.
• RDW volunteers can access Voice from 1800 to ascertain whether they have been allocated a duty, which will not report prior to 0800 the following day.
• Allocation of RDW must be within grade.
• 1 forward rostered trip will be flexible and the following duties will remain fixed.
• RDW cannot be achieved on part-time days or annual leave days.
• Crew cannot volunteer for RDW if they are sick.
• RDW can be undertaken on no more than 1 occasion in a calendar month.
• For work allocation crew will be considered in time of bid order on the basis of best fit.

Crew cannot express trip preferences.

• When triggered, details of the rest day working operated will be provided to Worldwide Steering, but ad-hoc lists can be provided by the Worldwide IR Manager on request.

20.3 WORK TRANSFER

Worldwide 767 operations can be operated by 767 licenced Eurofleet crew, under the following rules:
• All services will be operated to the Worldwide agreement in all respects.
• Other rules to be agreed between Eurofleet and Worldwide IR/TU teams.

Item still to be negotiated by Worldwide and Eurofleet representatives.


20.4 OPERATING ZONE CLOSURES FROM BASE

If full crew complements cannot be achieved for all flights, certain flights may be nominated to operate with closed zones, according to the following rules:
• An aircraft matrix will determine the complements required for each type of zone closure.
• Where the required gaps exist to enact a zone closure on a nominated flight, the CSD will be advised of the zone closure.
• The zone closure will be retained for the whole itinerary unless the flight can be recrewed by positioning.
• In the event a crew member needs to be removed from a service with a full crew complement:
• Volunteers to move services will be sought by the Operations Team.
• Open Zones will retain their full purser and main crew complements.
• The replacement trip should fit within the boundaries of the original rostered trip, or the crew member can volunteer to flex 1 MBTR to
accommodate the new itinerary.
• If there are no volunteers, crew members will be removed by juniority within grade. In this case, MBTR may not be flexed to accommodate a new itinerary unless agreed with the crew member affected.
• In the event that there are more volunteers than needed, the most senior crew member will be removed first.
• Zone closures and 1 down arrangements cannot be applied to the same service.

20.5 OPERATING ONE DOWN FROM BASE

Working down arrangements, are the last option to be used after all other disruption options have been exhausted. Clear evidence of a direct cancellation must be provided. In the event that 1 gap exists on a specified 777 or 747 service from base:
• CSD will be advised of change to crew complement.
• CSD and Purser complements must be maintained.
In the event of down-route sickness in a one down operation, a zone of the aircraft would need to be closed for the return service.
In all other cases, zone closures and one down arrangements cannot be applied to the same service.

20.6 ADDENDUM TO WORLDWIDE DISRUPTION AGREEMENT

• The use of call forward on 24-hour availability, zone closures from base and work transfer may be sought by the company from Trade Union reps on a planned or tactical basis, as an alleviation from the Worldwide agreement. Any remuneration will not be bound by the disruption agreement, but will be negotiated in good faith taking in to
account previous arrangements.
• Rest DayWorking and operating one down from base will be used exclusively within the WW disruption agreement.

[Andy_S]

Originally Posted by romans44

Hi JazzyKex, you will find that BASSA told its members straight away that the agreement was being broken.

I think you missed JazzyKex point.

The point being that if the DA was invoked by BA without making the request of BASSA first, then surely BASSA would have used the opportunity to score a PR victory by making a hue and cry about how they would have happily agreed to it if only BA had asked....... The fact that BASSA didn't do so speaks volumes.

[romans44]

The point being that if the DA was invoked by BA without making the request of BASSA first, then surely BASSA would have used the opportunity to score a PR victory by making a hue and cry about how they would have happily agreed to it if only BA had asked....... The fact that BASSA didn't do so speaks volumes

Andy S, I think time will tell.

[Human Factor]

romans44,

Wobble, can you provide the information with facts not hearsay?

Short of publishing the BA Operations Log here, which you've got less chance of happening than seeing BASSA winning this dispute, you'll have to take his word for it. It will have been detailed in the log.

Your lawyers will see it in February.

Edit: Some say the log shows BASSA were asked to implement the DA and declined....

[romans44]

When significant events outside the control of British Airways cause severe disruption to the operation, the following changes to the scheduling agreement may, after agreement with the Trades Union has been reached, be enacted for an agreed fixed period of time, to maintain the integrity of the operation and facilitate the return of the operation to normal as soon as possible.

Hotel mode,
I am not trying to be anything.....read the above part of the agreement.

[Hotel Mode]

Hotel mode,
I am not trying to be anything.....read the above part of the agreement.

Yes, and by not agreeing to it in the exact circumstances specified, BASSA were breaking the intent of the agreement.

By the way, excessive use of smilies seems to be a disease imported from Crewforum and BASSA forum that makes your argument look weak.

[Desertia]

A reminder of the Telegraph's view of things:

The agreements make it clear that managers at BA can only make decisions on matters that cause "severe disruption", such as the weather, "after agreement with the Trades Unions" including "contacting the chairperson of each of the Trade Unions" and "fully debriefing the Trades Unions", with decisions recorded in the "Worldwide Steering Minutes".

It sounds like someone has reached back to the 1970s and pulled the document straight off a dusty shelf marked "industrial relations from a different era".

On that snowy weekend, senior BA sources have told me, the quickest and most passenger-friendly thing to do was fly the plane back from Prestwick the next day to London. OK, everyone would be a day late, but at least they would be at the right destination.

But this, the managers say, clashed with the workplace agreements on two nights off after a long-haul flight. The pilots were happy to fly. The cabin crew were happy to fly. But the unions said no.

So, with no cabin crew, the plane flew back to London empty, taxis had to be called for the stranded passengers to get them to Glasgow and onto other domestic flights to London. Everyone wasted more time and there was more disruption. Passengers were sacrificed on the sacred altar of "workplace agreements".

The Unions said no, when the crew said yes.

<shakes head>

This is what BA proposed in June this year:

Operational Recovery Procedure

The current Worldwide Disruption Agreement will be replaced with immediate effect with the following Operational Recovery Procedure which will apply to all fleets.

The overriding principle of the Operational Recovery Procedure is to put the ‘Customer first‘ in the event of any disruption to British Airways' planned schedule or other operations. This requires all employees and unions to adopt a flexible approach to their normal working arrangements in order to resolve any disruption to operations as soon as possible.

BA may invoke the ‘Operational Recovery Procedure‘ at any time when BA considers that planned schedules or other operations have been disrupted for any reason. Once invoked, and notwithstanding any other contractual provisions otherwise applicable to unions or Cabin Crew, British Airways may take such steps, and require Cabin Crew to take such steps and perform such duties, as it considers appropriate to resolve the disruption. Such steps may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Re-plan and re-route services to repatriate our Customers.

• Cabin Crew may be required to vary their scheduled roster and to undertake such additional or different duties as may be required to continue to provide our services.

• Use 24 hour availability with 12 hours' notice to call forward Cabin Crew in order to gap fill.

• Restrict Eurofleet Cabin Crew from requesting 18 hours off in the event of a delay.

• Contact Cabin Crew at home to advise of a roster changes during disruption.

• Introduction of Willing-to Work.

• Operate with reduced crew complements.

In implementing the Operation Recovery Procedure BA will take reasonable steps where practicable to minimise the impact on Cabin Crew's normal working patterns. The terms of Cabin Crew's contracts will be deemed to have been varied temporarily during the period of disruption in order to comply with such steps as BA requires pursuant to this Operational Recovery Procedure. BA will continue to comply with scheme limits.

The use of the Operational Recovery Procedure in respect of any particular disruption will be reviewed, jointly with the Trade Unions, at the appropriate fleet Steering group after the period of disruption.

[romans44]

Yes, and by not agreeing to it in the exact circumstances specified, BASSA were breaking the intent of the agreement.

Hotel mode,
the truth is that you can't prove that, can you?
Do you have anything in writing from either parties that can sustain your statment?

[Stoic]

Charlie Whelan's war

For what it is worth there is an interesting article in this week's Spectator magazine which spells out the danger to Gordon Brown's election prospects posed by Unite.

Charlie Whelan’s war
Iain Martin
9 January 2010
Gordon Brown’s chief fixer is ensconced in Unite, the increasingly militant union. Iain Martin asks if the comrades can be persuaded to hold back a wave of strikes
Where is Charlie Whelan these days? What’s the old rascal up to? The trade union fixer, spin-doctoring confidant and close friend of the Prime Minister was on my mind after I returned from a trip to my native Scotland for Christmas. I had booked a rail ticket to take me northwards in time for the big day — £112 first class with Virgin. My only choice, seeing as the Unite trade union had engineered a British Airways strike, rendering my £190 British Airways ticket bought months ago useless. That the industrial action was then cancelled, and that I had two tickets, was no consolation. Thousands will, like me, be out of pocket — and wondering what sort of people could even consider a strike at such a time of year.
But what was most interesting about the proposed strike was the silence of the government. Gordon Brown has passed comment on the death of Michael Jackson, The X Factor and the victories of the English cricket team. Yet he had nothing to say about the trade union which was out to cause havoc for the travelling public. It was then I remembered Charlie Whelan. He is now the political director at Unite, regarded by his (many) Labour enemies as one of the most powerful people in the very union outfit that tried to ruin Christmas for BA customers.
To say that Gordon Brown and Charlie are politically close is an understatement. They are Labour blood brothers, never happier than when they are cooking up an assault on their opponents — either external or internal. From their perspective such a get-together could only be bettered if Ed Balls was available to join in the plotting. Whelan is one of the oldest Brown praetorians, who had to resign as his spin doctor after helping bring down Peter Mandelson (who loathes him). Behind the scenes he has an absolutely essential role at the heart of Team Brown — doling out advice on strategy, and making sure Unite stays on side with its donations flowing to the party. The last thing he needs is strikes by his own union getting in the way.
And as the new decade opens, plenty more strikes are in prospect. Four days before Christmas a walk-out by baggage handlers at Heathrow was halted on the eve of action. On the London Underground the workers responsible for electrical maintenance are furious about pay and overtime rates. They opted for a strike beginning on 22 December, to run over Christmas, with a shutdown then only narrowly averted. The union involved? Whelan’s Unite, again.
It has been suggested that these developments are rooted in in-fighting, with various factions attempting to prove how robust they can be ahead of an eventual tussle for control of the union.
All this is profoundly problematic for Whelan. Until now he and Brown have had considerable success encouraging their comrades not to cause too much trouble. Even when the Prime Minister was at his most vulnerable, no significant union figure of influence joined the efforts to remove him. Amid Labour’s difficulties there have been the usual warnings — from the giant public services Unison and the CWU last year — of funding being withdrawn from the party. Now check the electoral commission’s most recent register of donations and you’ll see that the threats have not been acted on. The trade union funds continue to pour in for Labour.
But inflation — the mother and father of pay disputes — is spiking in Britain and could easily be running above 3 per cent by the spring. It is wildly premature to talk about a government potentially ending amid industrial strife and discontent, but just as the busiest months for pay negotiations begin, union members and their negotiators can feel the ground shifting below their feet on prices. Very soon the worker looking not to be left behind may regard a 2.5 per cent settlement unfavourably.
For the Prime Minister this is a situation pregnant with obvious dangers. Will the unions take all this calmly? Already, even before the pick-up in inflation, the movement’s leaders were condemning the prospect of anything resembling a pay freeze as an outrage. It is unlikely that they will be any more sanguine as the situation worsens. Whelan and Brown’s trick in dealing with this will surely have to come in persuading union leaders to hold back from any action because they would get even lower settlements in the event of a Conservative victory at the election. Labour must hope that grass-roots officials and individual members buy this analysis and lay off. Let’s see.
The Conservatives — keen to avoid making enemies — have presented themselves in recent years as a party willing to make peace with the brothers. In a different economic era in 2008, David Cameron even appointed a union emissary, former MEP Richard Balfe, to undertake this unlikely missionary work on his behalf. The Tory leadership said in the autumn that talk of widespread industrial action on pay is merely sabre-rattling. Do they actually believe this? If so, they look to be in for a shock.
Reliable reports are emerging that a war chest of up to £25 million has been prepared by the unions to take on a Tory government if Cameron wins the election. This money would be used to test Cameron’s nerve: to lead resistance to cuts and to fight for increased pay for members. Those with memories of the Heath government will know that Tories who are squeamish about the need for radical reform do cave in, if the pressure is strong enough. So how might Cameron respond to the threat of all-out industrial war? For a new prime minister it would be quite a test.
Whelan, employing his never less than colourful language, will doubtless explain to union leaders that their fight will be made much easier if Cameron is denied a working majority. Come on mate, go easy. Want to fight Tory cuts? Then allow Gordon a little bit more slack now. For old times’ sake, hold off the strike action, comrade. Strengthening Gordon’s hand means weakening Cameron’s. And let’s not forget who the real class enemy is.
But if such attempts at diplomacy fail there could be strikes much sooner. Then it wouldn’t be long before the connection gets made between the resulting disruption, the Prime Minister’s jolly bag-man Whelan and another Labour PM struggling to control the unions. That’s the last thing Brown’s party needs ahead of an election: an explosion of militancy stirring bad memories.

[Human Factor]

romans44,

You obviously missed my earlier post (I say "obviously", you may have chosen to ignore it):

Originally Posted by Human Factor

romans44,

Wobble, can you provide the information with facts not hearsay?

Short of publishing the BA Operations Log here, which you've got less chance of happening than seeing BASSA winning this dispute, you'll have to take his word for it. It will have been detailed in the log.

Your lawyers will see it in February.

Edit: Some say the log shows BASSA were asked to implement the DA and declined....

[Desertia]

I post this more to illustrate the concept of "customer care" for those that may wish to understand it.

While I was typing my last missive, I received an email from Gulf Air in response to a comment card I'd filled out for a flight from Manila in November, in which I bemoaned the lack of a working IFE system.

Not only did I get a very well written apology, but they have credited me with 14,000 air miles, not insignificant in their very good Frequent Flyer scheme.

Now I take my own entertainment on board for just such occasions (these things happen), so it wasn't really much of a loss, but it is this demonstration of desire to keep my custom that will ensure my continued business.

Something BASSA would do well to consider when they decide how much they are going to off "their" customers this time.

[Da Dog]

Romans44

A simple question..............

After the worst snowfall in 10 years, in your opinion should BASSA of agreed to the disruption agreement?

please answer "yesor no"

[wobble2plank]

Romans44,

Where is you written proof that BA failed to enter negotiations with BASSA over productivity enhancements?

Where is your proof that BASSA 'Won' as they state a full court hearing instead of being granted the full hearing as normal after their request for injunction was denied?

Where is your proof that BASSA didn't ply the lack of information tactic to make voters assume the worst when they wrote 'will you take strike action yes/no' on a ballot card?

Where is your proof that Willie Walsh only wants conflict with the Cabin Crew and not rationalisation of contract in line with all of the other departments in BA in order to take the airline forward in a tough environment (look at JAL but take away the Government subsidies!).

Where is your proof that BASSA adhered to all of the rules with respect to granting DA and didn't just petulantly say 'no' as an act of spite thus leaving BA with no choice but to implement.

Where is you proof that BASSA are acting in the best interests of all of the Cabin Crew and not just back slapping each other trying to keep their 'elevated' positions.

Proof, proof, proof blah, blah, blah.

We can all denigrate arguments by stating that 'if you haven't got it in writing it ain't true' but the facts are there, in the workplace, for all to see. If your ability to 'see' is clouded by your own perceptions then that is an entirely different story.

[romans44]

Short of publishing the BA Operations Log here, which you've got less chance of happening than seeing BASSA winning this dispute, you'll have to take his word for it. It will have been detailed in the log.

Hi Human Factor,
No, I am not ignoring you, I just don't want to go around in a circle.
I have been in this industry for far to long to simply believe everything cabin crew say. We could be our worse enemy when it comes to speculation and rumours .
Give me facts and I will be the first one to apologies.

[Human Factor]

Give me facts and I will be the first one to apologies.

Very gracious, romans. Thank you.

I can wait until Feb 2nd.

[Da Dog]

Romans44

A simple question..............

After the worst snowfall in 10 years, in your opinion should BASSA of agreed to the disruption agreement?

please answer "yes or no"

Any chance of an answer?