British Airways vs. BASSA (current Airline Staff Only)
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I believe Norrie Peterson is a sacked BASSA rep and not the individual named in the article in the Jewish Chronicle, which makes his choice of the Star of BASSA symbol even more bizarre!
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Those poor little children looked terrified and if their mother was responsible, she wouldn't bring them to such a place
I remember back many years ago when my mother was an active CND campainger being taken along to various, err, events. I think I survived the experience ok and whilst I dont think I support the mum I can understand the kids being expected and wanting to I suppose.
This isnt the worst thing we have seen in all this now after all.
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Employers must take a zero tolerance approach to bullying says trade union
From the unite website:
Amicus and DTI launch the world's largest anti-bullying project
Amicus General Secretary, Derek Simpson said:
"Bullying in the workplace can destroy peoples lives. Our project aims to tackle this problem in partnership with employers by taking a zero tolerance approach to bullying from the outset."
"One of the most effective ways of dealing with bullying behaviour is to 'nip it in the bud ' and this often involves dealing with situations informally before situations go too far and real damage is done.
Amicus and DTI launch the world's largest anti-bullying project
Amicus General Secretary, Derek Simpson said:
"Bullying in the workplace can destroy peoples lives. Our project aims to tackle this problem in partnership with employers by taking a zero tolerance approach to bullying from the outset."
"One of the most effective ways of dealing with bullying behaviour is to 'nip it in the bud ' and this often involves dealing with situations informally before situations go too far and real damage is done.
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Tactics of Cyberstalkers
Common tactics used by cyberstalkers are to vandalize a search engine or encyclopedia, to threaten a victim's earnings, employment, reputation, or safety. A repeated pattern of such actions against a target by an adult constitutes cyberstalking.
Cyber-bullying - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And what the law says about this:
1.1.10Although bullying is not a specific criminal offence in UK law, there are criminal laws that can apply in terms of harassment or threatening behaviour. For example – and particularly pertinent for cyberbullying – threatening and menacing communications.
1.1.11In fact, some cyberbullying activities could be criminal offences under a range of different laws, including the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which has both criminal and civil provision, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and the Public Order Act 1986. The age of criminal responsibility in the UK starts at 10.
* Protection from Harassment Act 1997: This Act is relevant for incidents that have happened repeatedly (i.e. on more that two occasions). Section 1 prohibits behaviour amounting to harassment of another. Section 2 provides a criminal offence and section 3 provides a civil remedy for breach of the prohibition on harassment in section 1. Section 4 provides a more serious offence of someone causing another person to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against them5. A civil court may grant an injunction to restrain a person from conduct which amounts to harassment and, following conviction of an offence under section 2 or 4, restraining orders are available to protect the victim of the offence.
* Communications Act 2003: Section 127 covers all forms of public communications, and subsection (1) defines an offence of sending a ‘grossly offensive…obscene, indecent or menacing’ communication6. Subsection (2) defines a separate offence where for the purposes of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety, a person sends a message which that person knows to be false (or causes it to be sent) or persistently makes use of a public communications system7.
* Malicious Communications Act 1988: Section 1 makes it an offence to send an indecent, grossly offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person with the intention that it should cause them distress or anxiety8.
* An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 12could be used for cyberbullying. An ASBO is a civil order which prohibits an individual from engaging in specific anti-social acts. An ASBO can be made against any person, aged 10 years or over, where there is evidence that their behaviour caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to others and where an order is needed to protect person(s) from further anti-social acts. Whether a course of conduct is anti-social in nature is primarily measured by the consequences and the effect it has, or is likely to have, on a member or members of the community within which it is taking place. An ASBO can be used in conjunction with other measures as part of a tiered approach to tackling anti-social behaviour. Prohibitions should be precise, targeted at the specific behaviour complained of, and proportionate to the legitimate aim of protecting the community from further abuse. ASBOs can be extremely effective in preventing further escalation into criminal behaviour. Breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order is a criminal offence and criminal penalties apply.
Cyberbullying - digizen.org
Cyber-bullying - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And what the law says about this:
1.1.10Although bullying is not a specific criminal offence in UK law, there are criminal laws that can apply in terms of harassment or threatening behaviour. For example – and particularly pertinent for cyberbullying – threatening and menacing communications.
1.1.11In fact, some cyberbullying activities could be criminal offences under a range of different laws, including the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which has both criminal and civil provision, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and the Public Order Act 1986. The age of criminal responsibility in the UK starts at 10.
* Protection from Harassment Act 1997: This Act is relevant for incidents that have happened repeatedly (i.e. on more that two occasions). Section 1 prohibits behaviour amounting to harassment of another. Section 2 provides a criminal offence and section 3 provides a civil remedy for breach of the prohibition on harassment in section 1. Section 4 provides a more serious offence of someone causing another person to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against them5. A civil court may grant an injunction to restrain a person from conduct which amounts to harassment and, following conviction of an offence under section 2 or 4, restraining orders are available to protect the victim of the offence.
* Communications Act 2003: Section 127 covers all forms of public communications, and subsection (1) defines an offence of sending a ‘grossly offensive…obscene, indecent or menacing’ communication6. Subsection (2) defines a separate offence where for the purposes of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety, a person sends a message which that person knows to be false (or causes it to be sent) or persistently makes use of a public communications system7.
* Malicious Communications Act 1988: Section 1 makes it an offence to send an indecent, grossly offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person with the intention that it should cause them distress or anxiety8.
* An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 12could be used for cyberbullying. An ASBO is a civil order which prohibits an individual from engaging in specific anti-social acts. An ASBO can be made against any person, aged 10 years or over, where there is evidence that their behaviour caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to others and where an order is needed to protect person(s) from further anti-social acts. Whether a course of conduct is anti-social in nature is primarily measured by the consequences and the effect it has, or is likely to have, on a member or members of the community within which it is taking place. An ASBO can be used in conjunction with other measures as part of a tiered approach to tackling anti-social behaviour. Prohibitions should be precise, targeted at the specific behaviour complained of, and proportionate to the legitimate aim of protecting the community from further abuse. ASBOs can be extremely effective in preventing further escalation into criminal behaviour. Breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order is a criminal offence and criminal penalties apply.
Cyberbullying - digizen.org
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Interesting stuff, Copenhagen, and food for thought for all forum posters! 
Presumably, if one was accused of such a thing, then it might be a bad idea to lay oneself right open by repeating what one had posted and effectively doing the prosecution's job for them?
Presumably, if one was accused of such a thing, then it might be a bad idea to lay oneself right open by repeating what one had posted and effectively doing the prosecution's job for them?
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Party poopers! BASSA have now stopped the live updates on their membership as I guess it was looking rather bad! Now says "about 10,000"! last I saw about 9,000 with have been more accurate!!
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Chaz77
That's priceless! Although it does explain the slight lack of accuracy on their other calculations. I guess if you can pull the wool over the eyes of the devoted followers telling them 9279 is around 10,000, then it makes sense that 4963 who have lost staff travel equates to 7000 strikers?
If and when another ballot becomes a reality, the current membership figures will be published then. Mind you the accuracy of those is doubtful considering so many of us still get ballot papers, newsletters etc and we left months ago.
It's not easy keeping on top of a dwindling membership is it?
That's priceless! Although it does explain the slight lack of accuracy on their other calculations. I guess if you can pull the wool over the eyes of the devoted followers telling them 9279 is around 10,000, then it makes sense that 4963 who have lost staff travel equates to 7000 strikers?
If and when another ballot becomes a reality, the current membership figures will be published then. Mind you the accuracy of those is doubtful considering so many of us still get ballot papers, newsletters etc and we left months ago.
It's not easy keeping on top of a dwindling membership is it?
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Socialist worker report
The Socialist Worker report on Monday's knees up at Kempton is interesting.
So Duncanned doesn't understand how Unite works, despite the union having been in existence for three years. What has he been doing ? Oh yes, growing tomatoes.
There was a hidden gem, namely the attendance figure given for the meeting. Now up to now I have considered that the figures being quoted in the mainstream media were well wide of the mark, but that was probably because they came from BASSA The numbers bandied ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 with some hedging their bets and saying over 1,000. Kempton publish the maximum numbers for the rooms on their web site and it clearly states 750. So it was nice to spot this in the SW report
Now the SW may well have done a bit of rounding up, but the figure does have a greater ring of truth to it than other figures being quoted.
Last bit. Sorry, just can't resist the opportunity to have a pop at BASSA. Anyone looked at the About Us page on their website recently. Really does need sorting out. e.g.
'The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) is a branch of the Transport & General Worker's Union (T&GWU) [No its not, it's been Unite for the past three years and you have the Unite logo on this page] exclusively for British Airways cabin crew.[Not true, there is a BASSA branch also for Thompson Air crew] Our membership is about 10,000,[I'll refrain from comment on this] which makes us the largest branch of Unite.[Hang on, you just said you were part of the TGWU, make your mind up]
BASSA is an active and progressive union, which is entirely staffed by elected representatives, all of whom work as BA cabin crew[um... so the branch sec has got his job back ??].'
Nice to see they haven't lost the ability to get things right.
There is some tension between Bassa and the Unite leadership. As Duncan Holley, a sacked Bassa rep, put it, “Unite works in ways we don’t understand.” He ended the meeting by declaring, “We will never give up, as people all over the country are looking to us. We will begin a ballot as soon as possible.”
There was a hidden gem, namely the attendance figure given for the meeting. Now up to now I have considered that the figures being quoted in the mainstream media were well wide of the mark, but that was probably because they came from BASSA The numbers bandied ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 with some hedging their bets and saying over 1,000. Kempton publish the maximum numbers for the rooms on their web site and it clearly states 750. So it was nice to spot this in the SW report
British Airways (BA) cabin crew will vote in a fresh ballot for industrial action—but as yet there is no timetable for the ballot.
The announcement came as more than 800 workers from the Bassa section of the Unite union met at Kempton Park racecourse on Monday.
The announcement came as more than 800 workers from the Bassa section of the Unite union met at Kempton Park racecourse on Monday.
Last bit. Sorry, just can't resist the opportunity to have a pop at BASSA. Anyone looked at the About Us page on their website recently. Really does need sorting out. e.g.
'The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) is a branch of the Transport & General Worker's Union (T&GWU) [No its not, it's been Unite for the past three years and you have the Unite logo on this page] exclusively for British Airways cabin crew.[Not true, there is a BASSA branch also for Thompson Air crew] Our membership is about 10,000,[I'll refrain from comment on this] which makes us the largest branch of Unite.[Hang on, you just said you were part of the TGWU, make your mind up]
BASSA is an active and progressive union, which is entirely staffed by elected representatives, all of whom work as BA cabin crew[um... so the branch sec has got his job back ??].'
Nice to see they haven't lost the ability to get things right.
Junior trash
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Good grief.
Because naming a well liked CSD so he can be abused at work is an entirely laudable aim. Unbelievable.
I note the solicitor obviously didn't say 'well dunc you have no case to answer and it will be laughed out of court'. He'd have told us.
Because naming a well liked CSD so he can be abused at work is an entirely laudable aim. Unbelievable.
I note the solicitor obviously didn't say 'well dunc you have no case to answer and it will be laughed out of court'. He'd have told us.
Thanks for all your messages. Have had a long chat with my solicitor today.
My view is that this is Tony McCarthy's work using David Green as the puppet - in fact I know it is as he has rung Woodley several times recently to complain about me.
The man is a bully in a suit. He screwed up Royal Mail and Walsh employed him to do the same with BA.
He dragged his knuckle duster hoppo James Ferran - brother-in-law - with him.
Previous BA managers if dead would be turning in their grave at these two hoodlums loose in Waterside.
Never mind, we are where we are.
I gather the Mail on Sunday (Walsh's mouthpiece) are sniffing around so be prepared for more pink jacketed militant crap speak and valuations of my house which so far have lurched between 450,000 and 1 million (oh I wish).
This dispute is now incredibly nasty. Our BASSA mobiles and e mails are no longer safe vehicles for communication, there is a firm suspicion BA have tapped into our coms channels.
But we will never give up. Our fight is right and it is just. Therefore it will go on in some shape or form forever.
We will still be here long after Walsh, McCarthy and Ferran depart - you have my word for that.
I would advise no one contacts me by PM on here any more - if you need to communicate go through the branch secretary e mail address but be careful.
Be prepared to accept everything you write will be read by BA.
Hi Tony.
Rgds Duncan
My view is that this is Tony McCarthy's work using David Green as the puppet - in fact I know it is as he has rung Woodley several times recently to complain about me.
The man is a bully in a suit. He screwed up Royal Mail and Walsh employed him to do the same with BA.
He dragged his knuckle duster hoppo James Ferran - brother-in-law - with him.
Previous BA managers if dead would be turning in their grave at these two hoodlums loose in Waterside.
Never mind, we are where we are.
I gather the Mail on Sunday (Walsh's mouthpiece) are sniffing around so be prepared for more pink jacketed militant crap speak and valuations of my house which so far have lurched between 450,000 and 1 million (oh I wish).
This dispute is now incredibly nasty. Our BASSA mobiles and e mails are no longer safe vehicles for communication, there is a firm suspicion BA have tapped into our coms channels.
But we will never give up. Our fight is right and it is just. Therefore it will go on in some shape or form forever.
We will still be here long after Walsh, McCarthy and Ferran depart - you have my word for that.
I would advise no one contacts me by PM on here any more - if you need to communicate go through the branch secretary e mail address but be careful.
Be prepared to accept everything you write will be read by BA.
Hi Tony.
Rgds Duncan
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Unite to consult across BA membership on union-busting
10 September 2010
Statement by Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley on British Airways:
“Unite remains committed to finding a settlement to the cabin crew dispute at British Airways, as it has from the beginning. In the course of negotiations we have offered the company everything it wanted and more in terms of cost reductions and changes in working practices.
"The company for its part has always claimed that it wanted to put the interests of passengers first. However, it has continued to prolong the dispute by insisting on collective punishment of cabin crew who took strike action with the removal of staff travel concessions, and through the draconian use of disciplinary procedures to sack and suspend crew members, including many union representatives.
"In recent weeks, these suspensions have escalated, with two reps recently suspended simply for attempting to represent other crew facing disciplinary action. Around 80 crew have now been sacked or suspended, often for the most trivial reasons.
"It is now clear that agreed procedures are being abused for purposes of trying to destroy trade unionism among cabin crew. It was my view from the start that this, not cost reductions, was BA’s real agenda and looking at the company’s recent actions unfortunately I have been proved right.
"This behaviour makes a mockery of commitments Willie Walsh entered into to ensure that disciplinary procedures would not be conducted in this way. It undermines the credibility of all company commitments and is not the action of a management looking to resolve the dispute.
"This is no longer a matter for BA cabin crew alone. If trade unionism is smashed among cabin crew, then we can be sure these methods will be extended to other groups of unionised BA employees. Indeed, broader industrial relations are already being disrupted, for example by the refusal of BA to allow cabin crew representatives to attend meetings relating to BA’s massive pensions problems, an issue we have been working closely with the company to help resolve. How on earth can this be in the interests of the company?
"I am therefore calling an early meeting of representatives of all Unite BA members to set out the facts of what is happening in the company, in particular what I believe, in the absence of any serious proposals from the company to settle the dispute, is a plan to eliminate Unite from a sizeable part of the company and weakening the position of the union in the remainder, and to discuss the need for a coordinated and concerted union response.
"While it remains my hope that an agreement can be reached with the company, BA’s conduct makes it inevitable that we prepare for other outcomes.”
Unite has around 30,000 members at British Airways.
ENDS
10 September 2010
Statement by Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley on British Airways:
“Unite remains committed to finding a settlement to the cabin crew dispute at British Airways, as it has from the beginning. In the course of negotiations we have offered the company everything it wanted and more in terms of cost reductions and changes in working practices.
"The company for its part has always claimed that it wanted to put the interests of passengers first. However, it has continued to prolong the dispute by insisting on collective punishment of cabin crew who took strike action with the removal of staff travel concessions, and through the draconian use of disciplinary procedures to sack and suspend crew members, including many union representatives.
"In recent weeks, these suspensions have escalated, with two reps recently suspended simply for attempting to represent other crew facing disciplinary action. Around 80 crew have now been sacked or suspended, often for the most trivial reasons.
"It is now clear that agreed procedures are being abused for purposes of trying to destroy trade unionism among cabin crew. It was my view from the start that this, not cost reductions, was BA’s real agenda and looking at the company’s recent actions unfortunately I have been proved right.
"This behaviour makes a mockery of commitments Willie Walsh entered into to ensure that disciplinary procedures would not be conducted in this way. It undermines the credibility of all company commitments and is not the action of a management looking to resolve the dispute.
"This is no longer a matter for BA cabin crew alone. If trade unionism is smashed among cabin crew, then we can be sure these methods will be extended to other groups of unionised BA employees. Indeed, broader industrial relations are already being disrupted, for example by the refusal of BA to allow cabin crew representatives to attend meetings relating to BA’s massive pensions problems, an issue we have been working closely with the company to help resolve. How on earth can this be in the interests of the company?
"I am therefore calling an early meeting of representatives of all Unite BA members to set out the facts of what is happening in the company, in particular what I believe, in the absence of any serious proposals from the company to settle the dispute, is a plan to eliminate Unite from a sizeable part of the company and weakening the position of the union in the remainder, and to discuss the need for a coordinated and concerted union response.
"While it remains my hope that an agreement can be reached with the company, BA’s conduct makes it inevitable that we prepare for other outcomes.”
Unite has around 30,000 members at British Airways.
ENDS
Junior trash
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We will still be here long after Walsh, McCarthy and Ferran depart - you have my word for that.
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Do hope DH's brief is not operating on a no-win , no-fee basis. Oddly enough I'm actually beginning to feel sorry for the guy. It is one thing to lose the plot, we all can fall into that trap, but to do so in such a public manner is quite tragic. A combination of extreme paranoia and over-weaning sense of self importance is dangerous.
As far as trying to rope in the other Unite members goes, I think this might be a neat move on the part of Tony Woodley to demonstrate to BASSA that they have zero support from their colleagues in other parts of the airline. Can't see many of the reps backing BASSA. He has to put the question as it is probably the only way he could go for a strike ballot that would stop the airline.
As far as trying to rope in the other Unite members goes, I think this might be a neat move on the part of Tony Woodley to demonstrate to BASSA that they have zero support from their colleagues in other parts of the airline. Can't see many of the reps backing BASSA. He has to put the question as it is probably the only way he could go for a strike ballot that would stop the airline.
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Wow, he really is losing the plot in a spectacular way! Phones being tapped? Emails intercepted? Tony McCarthy out to get Duncan along with his freemason mates in the police? That's obviously whats going on. It certainly couldn't be that a CSD has taken exception to being publically outed by Duncan as a strikebreaker, seeing other crew incited to make his working day a misery, and being threatened in private emails by a man who made the mistake of being untouchable. No, nothings Duncans fault.
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I may actually rejoin Unite just so I can tell BASSA exactly what I think of them if they do a consultative ballot. Boy are they in for a shock. A good move by Woodley in my opinion yet still managing to save the hard nose union image. May even bolster the union membership.
There was a link to the BASSA meeting at Kempton with interview with 'Star of David member' on SKY it seems to have been removed.
Can anyone tell me what the link was and how to view the item as I was so shocked when I saw it live I missed what he had to say - thanks.
Can anyone tell me what the link was and how to view the item as I was so shocked when I saw it live I missed what he had to say - thanks.
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Mr Pony
Did you also note the use of the word we in DH's post ? Clearly he thinks he's going to get his job back. He obviously doesn't realise that even if an Employment Tribunal decides that he was unfairly sacked, there is no onus on BA to rehire him. The company juts cough up a few bob in compensation and leave it at that. BASSA really, really need to sharpen up their act on the legal ins and outs. I predict that none of those staff who have been sacked are going to return to jobs in BA, regardless of any ET results. No amount of TU negotiation is likely to persuade BA to reverse any decision taken as part of a disciplinary as it undermines the credibility of the whole process.
Did you also note the use of the word we in DH's post ? Clearly he thinks he's going to get his job back. He obviously doesn't realise that even if an Employment Tribunal decides that he was unfairly sacked, there is no onus on BA to rehire him. The company juts cough up a few bob in compensation and leave it at that. BASSA really, really need to sharpen up their act on the legal ins and outs. I predict that none of those staff who have been sacked are going to return to jobs in BA, regardless of any ET results. No amount of TU negotiation is likely to persuade BA to reverse any decision taken as part of a disciplinary as it undermines the credibility of the whole process.
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I predict that none of those staff who have been sacked are going to return to jobs in BA, regardless of any ET results. No amount of TU negotiation is likely to persuade BA to reverse any decision taken as part of a disciplinary as it undermines the credibility of the whole process.
Anyway, back off to SLF now; I just wanted to keep my recency up to date on here
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Col White
Yes I did notice the 'we'. There are so many things in Dorkan's latest communication that should have been subject to edit. When I read his stuff I am reminded of someone trying to fire blancmange from a catapult.
Last edited by mrpony; 11th Sep 2010 at 13:42. Reason: too many words
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KingJulian
It might be worth checking out the legal position with regard to information published on the internet. If you publish a statement on a website or forum, even if that forum has a closed membership, there is absolutely nothing that you can do to stop someone else copying it and pasting it elsewhere. Hence, you need to be excessively careful about what you publish on forums, billboards etc. Newspapers and other media scour for snippets of information. Now obviously, they won't have your name, but they can attribute the comment to a group. There is no infringement of copyright, in the same way that if you give an interview to a paper, you do not have copyright over what you said.
If you publish a statement that libels another, then regardless of whether that statement was made on a closed forum or not, the libel exists and the person you libelled can sue you. The catch is obviously, that they have to be able to identify you. That's were the second line comes in. If you publish a defamatory statement on a website, there are sufficient ways to track you down. The ISP address you used will be logged, which will clearly identify the location of the computer used.
Re: cabin crew honouring deceased colleagues. Agree that this laudable, sadly though the way that BASSA did this was sleazy. Standing on the sidelines it appeared that the branch wanted people to wear yellow to support sacked and suspended colleagues. One of the ways that such solidarity could be expressed was by wearing a yellow flower. You could bring a yellow flower to commemorate the dead at Manchester as the flowers would all be going there afterwards. The implication given was that if you didn't attend the meeting, or attended but didn't have a yellow flower, that you were being disrespectful towards those who had died.
BASSA could have come across so much better if they had said that they were organising a flower laying ceremony on September 6th and invited all members to provide tributes. Completely separately from that they could also have had their meeting and invited all those attending to express solidarity for the sacked and suspended staff by wearing yellow. Don't you think that put that way it might have met with a better response from all the members ?
It might be worth checking out the legal position with regard to information published on the internet. If you publish a statement on a website or forum, even if that forum has a closed membership, there is absolutely nothing that you can do to stop someone else copying it and pasting it elsewhere. Hence, you need to be excessively careful about what you publish on forums, billboards etc. Newspapers and other media scour for snippets of information. Now obviously, they won't have your name, but they can attribute the comment to a group. There is no infringement of copyright, in the same way that if you give an interview to a paper, you do not have copyright over what you said.
If you publish a statement that libels another, then regardless of whether that statement was made on a closed forum or not, the libel exists and the person you libelled can sue you. The catch is obviously, that they have to be able to identify you. That's were the second line comes in. If you publish a defamatory statement on a website, there are sufficient ways to track you down. The ISP address you used will be logged, which will clearly identify the location of the computer used.
Re: cabin crew honouring deceased colleagues. Agree that this laudable, sadly though the way that BASSA did this was sleazy. Standing on the sidelines it appeared that the branch wanted people to wear yellow to support sacked and suspended colleagues. One of the ways that such solidarity could be expressed was by wearing a yellow flower. You could bring a yellow flower to commemorate the dead at Manchester as the flowers would all be going there afterwards. The implication given was that if you didn't attend the meeting, or attended but didn't have a yellow flower, that you were being disrespectful towards those who had died.
BASSA could have come across so much better if they had said that they were organising a flower laying ceremony on September 6th and invited all members to provide tributes. Completely separately from that they could also have had their meeting and invited all those attending to express solidarity for the sacked and suspended staff by wearing yellow. Don't you think that put that way it might have met with a better response from all the members ?