British Airways vs. BASSA (current Airline Staff Only)

[Islay malt]

Having followed this forum with interest for the last few months it is clear that there are many informed people who contribute.
I would be interested to know if anybody can give me a break down of where the £16.38 BASSA contributions go to. UNITE, the Labour party, the branch secretary??

[Timothy Claypole]

I believe some of the union contributions go to the reps who make a tidy income from them.

Were anyone in doubt about the degree of implosion within BASSA, tonight they have resorted to naming and shaming on their website, disclosing the real names behind the pseudonyms who have the audacity to criticise Duncan Holley and his clique.

The beast consumes itself.

[LD12986]

Duncan, If you can't take it, don't dish it out in the first place.

[Caribbean Boy]

I heard that for every £15 paid to Unite, £9 goes to BASSA.

[Litebulbs]

I heard that another rep has been suspended.

[strikemaster82]

I don't think this is thread creep, a few people have commented on the comparison between BASSA and a cult (of the mind control type): here are some fascinating excerpts from How Cults Work.(a website setting out guidance on how to recognise if you're in a cult...

Those who control the information control the person. In a mind control cult any information from outside the cult is considered evil, especially if it is opposing the cult. Members are told not to read it or believe it. Only information supplied by the cult is true...Cults train their members to instantly destroy any critical information given to them, and to not even entertain the thought that the information could be true....Common sense tells us that a person who does not consider all information may make an unbalanced decision. Filtering the information available or trying to discredit it not on the basis of how true it is, but rather on the basis of how it supports the party line, is a common control method used throughout history.

Character assassination is listed as a sure sign of a cult, as is threat of open debate.

Witness the alleged flaming/attacking of alternate views (on here - the long-suffering mods know all too well- also crewforum etc, also the fact that many BASSA members ignore all company communications, etc

I am convinced that once this is over, the psychologists will have a field day and it will be shown that BASSA in the form we have seen it is actually an example of a mind control cult and this whole thing is about power and control.

[64K]

Another Bassa cock up then about the window blinds. For those who haven't seen Unite's 'letter of repudiation':

Our ref: IA/BA’10/100805.REP
5 August 2010
Dear Colleague
BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC
This Notice is given in accordance with the requirements imposed upon the Union by the
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Only the Executive Council
can authorise industrial action and it can only do so after a secret postal ballot.
On 2 August 2010 a posting was published on the BASSA website entitled ‘Closing Window
Blinds at the End of Your Flight’. The posting asked cabin crew not to agree to close the
window blinds at the end of each flight. This posting could be taken as a call to take
industrial action. Cabin crew should ignore this posting and should close the window blinds
at the end of each flight as instructed and work normally.
The Executive Council has not authorised any industrial action by Unite the Union members
employed by the above company and this Notice relates to all and any calls, or threats of,
such action.
On Thursday, 5 August 2010 the Executive Council repudiates all and any calls for, or
threats of, such action and is obliged by statute to give notice of that repudiation in the
following terms:
"Your Union has repudiated the call (or calls) for industrial action to which this Notice relates
and will give no support to unofficial industrial action taken in response to it (or them). If you
are dismissed while taking unofficial industrial action, you will have no right to complain of
unfair dismissal."
If you fail to work normally, you will be taking part in unofficial action. Members who are
dismissed while taking part in unofficial action will not be able to apply to an Employment
Tribunal claiming unfair dismissal and nor will the Union be able to take any action in
support of their re-engagement.
If members wish to take industrial action at any time in the future they should only do so
when the action has been authorised by the Executive Council following a secret postal
ballot.
Yours fraternally
DEREK SIMPSON TONY WOODLEY
Joint General Secretary Joint General Secretary

[report call sign]

BASSA yet again seem to go ahead with ideas of their own on a complete tangent from the mother ship UNITE
When will the (remaining) members (as their formidable leader Mr Holley puts it)
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!
Or maybe they are also too busy feeding their tomatoes!

[Pornpants1]

LB said

I heard that another rep has been suspended.

You are correct, I believe its the person who took a very active role in the verbal assault on the Aurora Hotel on the bath road during one of the BASSA "marches"

[cessnapete]

Pornpants

With all the SKY News footage available should be no problem to sort out the people who took part in that episode.
A disgrace to BA and their fellow crew members.

[HiFlyer14]

Bassa per se is not bad. A change of leadership is required.

I agree PC767, with the highlighted bit at least. I would say that you're preaching to the converted on this forum.

As you are still a BASSA member, have you posted that on the BASSA forum as well?

What steps, as a current member, have you taken to get the leadership changed?

[demomonkey]

Bassa per se is not bad. A change of leadership is required.

I think that many people would have agreed with that statement now or at some prior point. However BASSA membership has not shown any collective wish to seek a new leadership and if anything those members who are disconcerted with their union have withdrawn their membership.

BASSA seems to be on a one-way mission to paint itself into a corner from which no one can reach it including other UNITE branches, UNITE leadership, non-militant members and certainly not WW/BF.

So what else can people do apart from vote with their feet? That's why the PCCC was formed and far from being a 'closeted paper tiger' I think if you did your research you would realise that it is a very well connected and highly organised outfit.

[PC767]

I have made my views known and naturally I was shot down by the Bassa forum regulars, much the same way I am here when I state that Walsh is wrong. Neither site is really representative of either the 9000+ Bassa members nor the 40000+ Ba staff though. Both sites are frequented by opposing hardcore individuals.

How are PCCC well connected. Would that be to BA as rumoured?

Another rep has been suspended. Nicky Marcus for an alleged offence of "interfering in the employment relationship between British
Airways and its employees". That is a quote from the Bassa website of a quote uncited. I believe, in any case, that this is one responsibility of a union, in particular when a company and its employees are in dispute. It really should be clear that Walsh is antagonising the union and its members. There can be no chance of peace breaking out with such strong handed actions. Walsh certainly isn't engaging with his cabin crew and winning them round.

[Hector Vector]

The fact that another BASSA rep has been suspended shows that BA is still pursuing its policy of union busting.

We shall see how selective BA can afford to be with recruits for the Mixed Fleet being paid £11,000 plus £2.40 an hour. Somehow I feel these applicants will be the product of people who married their first cousins.

The fact that Walsh took to ACAS BA figures showing nearly 5,000 crew went on strike, is a huge admission of failure. The real number is over 7,000. He thought just a few hundred might take the plunge, but he miscalculated and his strategy of union busting has failed.

Look how much he has cost BA and as far as Walsh is concerned, the fight goes on!! Does he not know when he is beaten?

[ranger07]

The fact that another BASSA rep has been suspended shows that BA is still pursuing its policy of union busting

If 'Union Busting' means the destruction of 'a Union' that is intransigent, militant to the point where all other employess can 'go hang', refuses to accept change, puerile, ETC ETC..

THEN BRING IT ON!!

Look how much he has cost BA and as far as Walsh is concerned, the fight goes on!! Does he not know when he is beaten?

He certainly is not beaten. The board are on side, the share holders are on side, and most of the staff are on side. Staff like myself that are sick to the back teeth of BASSA and expect us to carry on taking the hit.

NO MORE!

[Hector Vector]

Temp Crew Not Good Enough For MF

PTC a temp who "Backed BA" during the strike, has just had his/her reward from Willie.....you are not good enough for Mixed Fleet. This is a page out of O'Leary's book: " crew are like lemons, squeeze them and then throw them away".

PTC I have some advice for you, join the PCCC and see how much they will do for you.

Of course most of the VCC wouldn't pass the MF interview. And they may not even have a job to go back to!! You couldn't make it up.

[strikemaster82]

HV, I assume you are the latest incarnation?

The fact that Walsh took to ACAS BA figures showing nearly 5,000 crew went on strike, is a huge admission of failure. The real number is over 7,000.

So what is the failure supposed to be? The fact that 5000 struck, or what exactly? (I don't expect an answer)

Do you feel that BA would provide false figures (from payroll I expect) to ACAS? (Once again I expect no answer)

[MrBunker]

Originally Posted by Hector Vector

The fact that another BASSA rep has been suspended shows that BA is still pursuing its policy of union busting.

We shall see how selective BA can afford to be with recruits for the Mixed Fleet being paid £11,000 plus £2.40 an hour. Somehow I feel these applicants will be the product of people who married their first cousins.

The fact that Walsh took to ACAS BA figures showing nearly 5,000 crew went on strike, is a huge admission of failure. The real number is over 7,000. He thought just a few hundred might take the plunge, but he miscalculated and his strategy of union busting has failed.

Look how much he has cost BA and as far as Walsh is concerned, the fight goes on!! Does he not know when he is beaten?

You no more know the 7000 figure to be verifiably true than you do the 5000. You are merely electing to believe the BASSA figures and disbelieve the BA ones. There currently exists no independently verified evidence in the public domain to assess the veracity of either claim. The fact that BA were willing for ACAS to assess their numbers suggests they'd be confident in their assessment and, given BASSA's statements of desire to have ACAS involved in other parts of the dispute would suggest that BASSA would trust any assessment so made by them.

You cannot prove 7,000 any more than anyone outside the 2 parties involved can disprove it and thus your post comes across as little more than rhetoric once again.

As for knowing when one is beaten, again a very subjective assessment. We'll only know who was beaten when this is over and we look back.

MrB

[mjc507]

"Walsh certainly isn't engaging with his cabin crew and winning them round."

Actually, PC767, BASSA and many BA cabin crew aren't engaging with Walsh and winning the rest of the company round. It isn't for Walsh to placate BA CC but the other way round. Walsh, whether you like it or not, is the boss and you and everyone else who works for BA are to do what you are told by him or leave. Dead simple!

"PTC a temp who "Backed BA" during the strike, has just had his/her reward from Willie.....you are not good enough for Mixed Fleet."

Well Hector Vector, many current BA cabin crew are not good enough for Mixed Fleet either. Perhaps this new lot will actually do what they are told to do and help this company survive. When some CC say that they would rather see BA go under rather for Walsh to "win" then there certainly needs to be a more rigorous process to hire crew instead of prima donnas.

[Hector Vector]

No sympathy for Temps

There is no sympathy for the Temps from Mainline crew. They have tried to mob us out of our jobs and now they are rewarded by a ruthless management. They were good enough to get Willie through a strike, but not good enough to earn only £11,000 a year plus £2.40. I think BA have done crew like PTC a favour. Go find yourselves a better job outside of the aviation industry. There is no future in BA anymore, no promotion, no pension, no job security.

Perhaps the Temps can have a bit of empathy for what it is like to be on the receiving end of this current LT in BA.