British Airways vs. BASSA (Airline Staff Only)

[essessdeedee]

How can ANYONE gain any sort of joy from this situation?!

I'm sure the militants (and the greens) will.

[Eddy]

The bloody greens annoy me more than the militants, but I suspect we're heading off at a hell of a tangent....

[Pornpants1]

miss m

just prepare yourself for some less pleasant situations in the future just in case because there are crew up there with ZERO tolerance when it comes to strikebreaking.

and those crew will fall foul of the B & H policy and will not be with the company much longer.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by pornpants

and those crew will fall foul of the B & H policy and will not be with the company much longer

Good shout. Regardless of one's opinion about this whole situation, EVERYONE deserves to be respected for the personal decision they've made.

[Sporran]

It is not all doom and gloom regarding cabin crew.

I am stuck in Europe, but have just returned from a second very pleasant dinner and drinks - 12 of us no less.

There will always be the nasty, vitriolic militant minority who seek out trouble and do their level best to 'spoil' what should be a very enjoyable working environment.

I agree with Pornpants 1 and Eddy, that this could be a 'positive' time to get rid of the nasty element.

We are all entitled to our opinions, we are all entitled to feel strongly about these opinions, BUT we must respect other peoples opinions. Crew that do not respect the opinions, and the rights, of other crew will be continue to be dealt with firmly by the company.

[Caribbean Boy]

Monthly Duty Payments

biteme wrote:

I am all for a monthly travel payment.
My sticking point is that I would be giving up contractual variable pay for non-contractual MTP.
If BA are willing to make the MTP contractual I would be very happy to accept.

BA has offered in writing to make the MDPs contractual, forming part of the monthly basic pay. Remember that BA offered this in response to the concern raised by Unite that New Fleet crew would benefit if the better routes were to be flown by NF. Unite's response to "The Way Forward - British Airways Formal Offer 11/03/2010" was:

The MDP is an obvious ploy to distract you from the loss of your routes and
destinations. You could be left with the worst of the mix. For example we
will do ATL/ATL back to backs and night stops, with no payment, while New
Fleet will do all the long range and JFK back to backs.

By accepting a MDP, you will be settling for the following;

Worldwide:
• No Box payment
• No B2B payment
• No Destination Payments
• No ETP (for delays on A/C and buses etc)
• No Diversion Payments
• No One Down Payments

Eurofleet:
• No ETP (for delays on A/C and buses etc)
• No STR
• No LDP
• No Early Report

As Unite has not publicly offered an alternative solution, it makes you wonder what kind of representation Unite is providing for its members.

[ottergirl]

ptc

Whilst noone has been directly nasty to me

Well thats a result!
The thing is that refusing to go out down-route is not bullying and harassment anymore than talking about the dispute at dinner is. Crew will always talk about the issues affecting them and they may not realise that you're sensitive to the subject. There are not many in our community that will blame you for taking a job that was offered when you needed one so I think you should hold your head up high, tell it like it is and accept that you are not going to like all the people all the time (or they you).

Its a great job, and if no-one is being nasty to you then its your own stuff that is preventing you from making the most of it.

[HiFlyer14]

PTC

Welcome back - please remember that cabin crew who went to work during the strike, are in the majority. There were @ 700 crew who went on strike the first weekend, probably less the second. So hold your head up high and ride the storm. You will undoubtedly find more friends than enemies out there. We're easy to spot because we're still smiling. The others are just suffering from a huge reality hit right now - loss of pay, loss of staff travel, etc. You will find that if anyone was to turn against you there would be plenty to rise to your defence, not least of all the pilots.

Keep smiling.


Miss M

What steps have I taken on issues I don't agree with? I usually go against them, like handing out hot towels despite being told not to!

Why is acceptable for you to go against Unite when you chose to (even though you are still a Union member), but if I chose to resign from a Union that, in my opinion, has GROSSLY misrepresented me and then come into work during a strike, as a non-union member, then you are "disappointed" in my behaviour?

[Litebulbs]

HiFlyer,

Just because you belong to a union, does not mean that you have to agree blindly. Just imagine if you and MissM were reps for BASSA. Opposing views, yes, but balance is a good thing.

it does make me chuckle however, when this thread fans up fear of retribution from strikers. It is hardly a group of miners we are talking about, is it? This last paragraph is in bad taste and I apologise to all who may be offended by it

[HiFlyer14]

Litebulbs, not being in the midst of it, you cannot possibly know what it feels like. Remember bullying is how it is perceived by the victim and not by your or anyone else's definition.

As many Unite militants are unaware on numerous levels THIS IS 2010. Some things no longer have a place in our society. Bullying, harrassment and intimidation are but three of them. Saying NO to any change is another.

Please don't even attempt to try and condone or underestimate bullying and intimidation on this thread. The extent and the degree to which it happens in our community is utterly disgraceful, and if we achieve nothing through all this pain we are going through at the moment we must purge our community of this appalling behaviour.

Oh yes, and I fully agree:

Just because you belong to a union, does not mean that you have to agree blindly.

I guess that's why 75% of cabin crew came to work during the strike, no?

[strikemaster82]

Litebulbs

HiFlyer beat me to it. All too easy for you to belittle the situation, (enjoy your chuckle) but I have seen cabin crew beside themselves with worry over how they may be treated by the strikers.

You sound a bit removed from the situation, TBH.

[4468]

We are all entitled to our opinions, we are all entitled to feel strongly about these opinions, BUT we must respect other peoples opinions. Crew that do not respect the opinions, and the rights, of other crew will be continue to be dealt with firmly by the company.

Anybody who doesn't respect other people's positions, will be leaving the company.

I am in a position to influence this, as are many of my colleagues. Have no fear!

[M.Mouse]

By my answer I meant that BA has in the past not kept their part of the deal. Same answer for you as to Beagle9. No need to go into details about it because it was one of the reasons as to why we were in another dispute with the company in 2008 and if you were here at the time you would also know about it.

I have been around for many years and witnessed numerous BASSA/BA disputes. With the last three I have had great difficulty working out what the dispute was actually about. You keep referring to the 2007 deal not being honoured but seem reticent to explain it for our benefit. I genuinely have no idea what you are referring to.

[ptc]

Thank you all for your words of support.

I will continue to to rise above the situation and hopefully bring some of my positive attitude to our cabin crew who have lost all their enthusiam for the job!

I will probably opt for keping a low profile as this is easier, and will judge every crew and situation as it comes.

Maybe it would have been a little easier if there were 2 temps on each flight to support each other, but I know this is prob not practical!

[im1234]

SW article with quotes from Derek Simpson
British Airways: Derek Simpson responds to Socialist Worker|17Apr10|Socialist Worker

[HZ123]

4468;So it is OK for you to bully then, what a helpful post! You are in a position to 'influence' this, you are no better then than the bullies?

[A Lurker]

Anybody who doesn't respect other people's positions, will be leaving the company.

I am in a position to influence this, as are many of my colleagues. Have no fear!

What an appalling post - your comments are bullying in the extreme. I assume that those crew - Flight Crew included - who didn't respect my position (to strike) will also come under your 'influence' and you will have them 'leave' the company

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by litebulbs

it does make me chuckle however, when this thread fans up fear of retribution from strikers. It is hardly a group of miners we are talking about, is it?

Hi litebulbs,

I know for a fact that people have been sent anonymous messages via Facebook and others have had anonymous notes in their dropfiles at work. It might not be eggs on car windows or the slashing of tyres, but it's still an attempt to bully and intimidate those who may have chosen to work.

How many such notes do you think people who went to work have set people who went on strike? I'm guessing zero.

And no, we're not dealing with a bunch of miners here.... which is why the march past the Arora Hotel the other week was inappropriate in the extreme.

[Juan Tugoh]

I assume that those crew - Flight Crew included - who didn't respect my position (to strike)

I don't think that anyone does not respect your decision to strike - we are all entitled to do this and it is always a personal decision. What most people here seem to have a problem with is the dreadful handling of the situation by the astonishingly badly lead and deceitful union BASSA.

That said I totally agree that 4468's post is beyond the pale.

[cessnapete]

HZ123

I think you have misenterpreted 4468. As Flight Crew we have some control over bullying and harrasment during a trip.
Any proven bad behavior to your other crew members and you are offloaded, easy.