am really delighted with all the support on this forum by all the crew, flight crew, etc

hopefully something good will come out of this all so keep up the support

and remember there always is money in the pot when it comes to virgin!!!
be safe

virgincrew99

xx

Join the union we need your support!!

Guys, having read through every single comment about your striking action/ballotting, I can only applaud you.

The airline and hospitality industry is well-known for being low paid. I get comments from passengers about us(all cabin crew) being 'Angels of the Sky' and that 'we deserve better pay' for the remarkable job that we do.

I agree.

We all knew what the money would be like when we joined whatever companies we all work for, but when there is rent to pay and for some of you, dependants to clothe and feed, a pay increase at the realistic rate of inflation wouldn't go amiss and yes, airlines do make money, even in this day and age of rising fuel prices and airports taxes etc.

I work for a LHR based airline too, I love my job, I gave up a 35k a year PA job in london to earn the £12,500 basic and about £4k extra a year in commission and flight pay.

I LOVE MY JOB!!!

We are having similar talks with our union at our airline about pay and T&C's, so I symathise and empathise with u all and support you for fighting your cause.

I'm sure you all love your jobs, so if all u VS crew go on strike outside the Queens building, a certain female (me) in my Navy Blue Uniform and hat will bring out the tea in support.

Good Luck with it all and I hope you all get the outcome that you want and deserve.

Crewchick
:ok:

xxxxxx

Thanks Crewchick!

That is a very welcome and supportive post which will I'm sure be much appreciated by the many VS users on this forum.

:ok:

thanks a million crew chick your support is greatly appreciated!!

anyone heard anymore news on pays talks its all gone quiet at the moment? management must be on holidays again....

however i did enjoy ridgeways comments on the intranet regarding the airlines postion....... we are never profitable apparently....oh and he did mention how the present problem with oil prices are effecting the company AGAIN and he even managed to throw in how US airline are making crew redundencies ......... please mr ridgeway your scare tactics are not working i am surprised you didnt mention sept 11th as another factor why virgin is going to have hard times ahead... i love the way the management give such an uplifting newsletter it really motivates everyone in the company......NOT.....

remember everyone join the union it time to take action....
happy flying

Denzil,

Since when have you been a cabin attendent?????? Or is there a hidden agenda??????

Where did real world dissapear to? i miss him:hmm:

Anyone got the latest on this. Seems to have gone a little quiet.

ohpleaaaaaassse
 

You really, simply do, misunderstand what I am trying to say.

First of all, I don't take away from the job. It's physically hard. But lets face it campers, you're not Chariman of IBM - you work on a flight. The reference to the AF flight in YYZ. Thanks to the studying that some guy / girl did into aircraft evacuation at Toulouse Uni, that A340 evacuated quick stix, due to the design of the aircraft, not 'cos of your god like training. Yes, I totally hold my hands up and say that your role was important, but, to be honest, no different from the National Express Bus 025 hitting the central reservation and the hostess evacuating the bus successfully.

It's the same thing - really it is.

So, my basic, fundamental point is.....

1) You have a great job
2) Safety - Wise, it is very important but you're not Oskar Schindler are you?
3) Have fun for a few years, get paid, take it for what it is, and piss off and get a life.
4) Seriously, it makes sense - really - it does.

I mean it - kind regards
rb
x

Oh my God real world really think you missing the point... you think our job is just a good time and really quiet in significant...? Well we dont need comments like that... we are trying to unite and get a better deal for us. We need constructive comments. you really do have no idea...You think our job is no different to the national express...we work on a plane, slightly more people, we tend to travel at rather fast speeds at a rather big height and carry a tad more fuel...and next time someone is slightly ill on the aircraft i will tell the driver to divert to the nearest hospital....you know the score on that plane we are all them passenger have... we save there lives! So real world sorry to sound childish but sod off we need constructive help to get a better deal......And for all you virgin crew...a new pay deal is going to be presented in next few weeks..I belive its going to be a increase in trip pay, 3% pay increase over 1 years and all the pay back dated to jan. We also have to vote on monthly standby.... Watch this space...

Seriously Real world i hope you realised i was joking when i said i missed you.
We are getting of track in this forum though arnt we? 'My jobs harder than your job', 'your not exactly chairman of IBM (I beleive his salary is 400k?!)' etc...
No need for it all, if you dont like these posts then dont read them, let us discuss the pay deal.

LaMostyn isnt that pay deal the same as what we were last offered? I cant remember, but i like the idea of back dating to jan.
What happens after the year, do we get another increase or is there more talks?

Im not 100% sure...Just rumor..But the last deal was 3% over three years but this time they have offered better trip pay for all ranks. but i belive this deal is slightly better than the last..I think they want us to accept monthly standbys with whatever deal they offer us and from what a can gather monthly standbys will in the long run decrease the amount of standby days we do each year. But please dont take my word for it. Its all rumors at the mo and knowing the company it wont be all its cracked up to be..Wait and see what is offered on the table first. But whatever happen lets keep fighting for what we deserve!

Not sure whats happening with performance monitoring...but its needs sorting I must be one of the longest reining juior..it simply doesent work and people keep getting over looked....

In reply to some of the other posts...
I have worked for BA for over 12 years. I feel I am fairly paid for what I do.
Some people on this thread seem to think that the job of Cabin Crew is like the Club Tropicana video from the heady days of Wham!
When our job is good... it's great.
What people in so called "normal" jobs forget is that our airline pays for the fact that we are away (yes, away, not just "at work" but, out of the country, sometimes unable to contact friends and family for long periods of time) for birthdays, weddings , funerals, kid's first days at school, nativity plays, parents evenings etc They pay for our lives.
Our job on the face of it is pretty easy, if very tiring. How many times do you hear a passenger tell you that they have just completed their 3rd longhaul flight this year and, oh.. how tired they are!!!!!
Also, if we did a similar job on the ground, when the sh1t hits the fan you can call the fire brigade, ambulance, police etc. Well, it's just us , isn't it?
Ok, major emergencies don't happen (thankfully) very often, but, we get god knows how many drunks, minor health problems, catering issues ad nauseum...
So, I wish you VS crew all the best in gaining what you deserve. SRB WANTS you to leave after 5 years so he can recruit more attractive keen young staff. He's a businessman... what do you expect?

hi all thanks for the info
have also heard the rumours recently regarding the pay apparently they want t increase the sector pay and the basic by 3% on the conditions that we accept monthly standby!!

bottom line is if we except this we are fools once again we will never be taken seriously by the mangement and once again be taken for a ride... as regards monthly standby i think this is going to be the death of our commuters... another questions is what if you only get called out twice in your month of standby your are fiancially at a loss is the company going to compensate the reduction in your basic salary and loss of allowance and trip pay the answer is simply NO !!! vote no to monthly standby

no matter what the outcome if we dont vote no we will never get anywhere as much as we all dont want to strike it looks like the only option in order for ur to succeed in getting better pay
thanks all

xx

I am a commuter and allthough i dont love the idea of monthly standby, i dont think it will be that bad. We can still call pre ops ahead to try to get a flight and if we dont manage to it will mean sitting halfway or having to stay down, but that may only happen once or twice in the month, no different than throughout the year.
Also we will get our guaranteed amount of days of after a trip, ie 3 days after lax. As for not getting called out i can honestly say i never not get called out on a standby but that could just be my luck.
I agree its not brilliant and i would rather not do it but if it happens i dont think it will be as bad as all that. I know our flight deck are allready doing monthly standby but do any other cabin crew from other airlines do them?

I'm a commuter too and I agree that it is a better option than the current situation. For the last 4 months I have had 4 days of S#1 every month which I hate! They might as well roster me in for a vile MIA or MCO because I know that's what I'll get called for! If VS can guarantee 1 month of standby per year and minimal roster disruption (allowing for operational changes or cancelled flights etc) then I'm happy to vote yes on this aspect of the pay deal.

For those crew that commute from much further afield, I do feel for you, but it is your own choice to live so far away from London and standby is an integral part of our role as crew. I hope I don't get anyone's back up when I say that but I think we need to be a bit more flexible and open to suggestion if we expect the company to offer us a better pay deal next time...

KTPxx

Hmmm i've been both crew and ground staff for VS, and whilst i genuinely think everyone deserves a pay rise as both roles are tough, disruptive to your life and tiring in their different ways, maybe a more fruitful time profit wise should be selected to ask for a pay rise.

Yes, we made a profit last year but that money has to go to re-investment to keep the company afloat.

I barely survive on what i earn but i wouldn't want to work anywhere else.

All good things come to those who wait, and we'll get our pay rise - when the company can afford it.

And as for striking - i can't believe there are people selfish enough to jepordise everyone's jobs - not just crew, ground staff but EVERYONE in the company to have a few extra pounds in their on-line pay slip.

A strike would ruin us and make us look like a crack pot airline.

Grin and bear it for now! The future's bright, the futures Virgin!

Probably... but then how much did Mr Ridgeway recieve from the airshare? Rumour has it (yes galleyFM, so as yet unconfirmed - can anyone provide any confirmation?) he got approximately ₤1,000,000 - yet crew who have been here 4 times as long a him got less than ₤1,000

Just putting things into perspective...

^ Lol i'm sure that is just Galley FM airing it's usual 'facts'!!!!

But even if it was true, i appreciate Airshare for what it is - a one off bonus every year. I'd rather have a long term pay rise!

:= :D

airshare is a complete and uttter joke no scale for long service or loyality would prefer to recieve a decent payrise in my basic

we all deserve a decent payrise its a real shame the ground staff arent standing up to the management aswell rather then loving there jobs too much... not enough money in the pot! rubbish a recent top manager from accounts told fsm's at a recent meeting that theres more then enough money to justify a payrise!!! virgin is a private company the accounts are private of course they love to tell us that we only ever make a small profit!! that helps to keep employees wages down!!
moral in virgin flying is at an all time low!!

and we are all fed up with these delayed pay talks its quite obvious why they were delayed so crew would except the ballot with christmas around the corner of course we are going to need cash!!!

vote NO

^ I think ground staff are more tuned into what would happen if we demanded a pay rise. (In fact, when i moved to the ground, i found that in general - the ground staff are more, well, grounded!) We'd simply be replaced by agency staff like they have at LGW and the outstations quicker than you can serve 300 economy meals.

It's not a 'them against us' situation at LHR - we actually get along with all levels of management. All service sector is bad pay unless you're top brass.

Some, like VS is worse than others but each company has it's pro's and cons and like i've said before i wouldn't want to work for any other other company, and i doubt neither would most crew moaning about a pay rise as they would have left already for greener pastures.

"I think we should strike asap.
The pay offer is rubbish. Only way to get a better one is to strike!
Then they will listen!"

I seriously hope you are not as naive as this post makes you sound.Management will listen if you strike?.Who really believes that.All that is going to happen is the company will loose money.That is money that could have been ear marked for a pay rise.Every time BA goes on strike then it looses 40 million pound.Dont forget the damage to its reputation! The only reputation that BA has these days is be prepared for them to go on strike.Do you really want Virgin to get the same reputation.All that Striking will do is damage Virgin's reputation and cost it money that could be ear marked for other projects.

Dont get me work-Pay for CC is rubbish and if the public know what you got paid then perhaps you wouldnt get so much **** off them.However all of you went into the job knowing what the pay was and that it would affect your social life but on the other side you get to fly all other the world getting paid for it,staying in some of the nicest hotels and get 7 free flights a year.Im not saying you dont deserve a pay rise-you do! but I think some people should ask themselves why they are doing the job? Is it because its something you always wanted to do or is it for the pay.If its for the pay then get another job as there are far better paid jobs but dont involve the travelling.If its for the travelling and the job then pay isnt everything but as I have said previuosly you do deserve a pay rise but ask yourself this question.If it was the chance of loosing your job and getting a payrise now or keeping your job,Im sure most of you would rather do the job you love than being grounded and stuck in a 9-5 job.

You're not bothered!! Thanks a lot from all the rest at VAA!!

Another well-informed and intelligent response then...

This does not sum up the general consensus of those participating in this thread!

"I am not niave! I fully realise what a strike would do - but am I bothered"

If I was you,I'd be asking myself why I was still doing this Job.From your comments it doesnt seem like you enjoy or even want to do the job any longer.

If people want to strike then each to there own if it is done offically.Just remember there are consequences for actions and if you are prepared to accept them then I wish you luck.

Are those comments about not being bothered,part of the virgin flair you hear so much about that you need to get into VAA as CC.

"To KTpops - I am stating my point of view. I never said I was expressing the "general consenus".....
Please keep your personal coments to yourself!

By the way "am I bothered" = virgin flair at its very best!!!!"

This is a public forum,if people werent allowed to post there views then there would be no Forum at all.At the end of the day-Freedom of Speech and everything.

You cant tell people to keep there views to themselves and you post yours as we could say the same to you.

Thank God you arent a general representation of Virgin Crew.

With that attitude Im sure you would fit in with the Good Old Days attitude of some BA CC.

Am I bothered=Stupid school girl:yuk:

Here Here Rescue 137!!
Besides, there is no point not being bothered if the company folds because we strike, because then we will all be out of jobs so i think we will have something to be 'bothered' about then.

I do agree with a lot of what striparella has said, however we still need to keep leaning on the company as much as we can and ALL stick together. I am beginning to think that striking may not be the answer, I know i have said before that i thought it was. it would prove to damaging to the company. Also i think we sometimes believe that we can make the company jump if we strike when we might do the opposite, We may get a slightly better pay deal but Virgin may become a less friendly company to work for as we will be the resented party for putting the company in financial dissarray/. They could make things more difficult for us, ie pre ops, crewing staff travel etc.. I also dont think it will be neccassary, im confident that we will reach a compromise somewhere, but we all have to accept that we are not all going to get exactly what we want but it will be better. Hang in there everyone. Striking should not be the immediate answer.
:ok: :ok:

P.S. Do i look bovvered? face, bovvered!!

Cheers,what Im saying is that striking should be an absolute last resort.Im not saying dont Strike.What Im saying is have it as an absolute last resort.SukiGirl makes alot of sense and I hope the hard workers amongst you which Im sure is the majority of you get a decent pay rise.

Lets not forget that this is a public forum, many of the comments could be written by VS managers or even the managers of competing airlines!!!!

As for strike action, there are plenty of other routes to take, not operating below minimum crew levels, not acting up etc, etc. The pilots put forward good arguments & got a good deal, the company tried to make an example of them (telling the CC that no money left for them as the pilots got it all!!).

I'm sure LM will get a good bonus for each & every 0.1% she doesn't give you all.

strikertworedshoes:

My point (if it wasn't obvious enough for you) was that the majority of VS crew on this forum would prefer not to have to strike. As well as causing the company's reputation a huge amount of damage, it will lose Virgin millions even if we strike for one day. I would like to think that those fighting for this paydeal care about the future and survival of this company and that is why striking is surely the last possible answer and one which should not be taken lightly.

For those who have no interest in whether Virgin Atlantic folds or not should ask themselves what they are doing working for them.

I'll certainly keep my personal comments to myself, if you can contribute something constructive to this debate.

PS "Am I bothered?" = Not constructive

Striker-Good luck to you,Just dont come running for sympathy on here when the company looses millions and has to cut back.Top of the list should be the people who strike.Dont forget you are just a number as there is no loyalty these days from companies or employees and especially with that job there is plenty of people waiting to take your place.If morale is at an all time low and the pay is **** then why do you stay doing it yourself(not anybody else,you) as you dont put up the impression that you want to do the job.I havent heard from you-I love the job but morale is seriously low and its crap but I wouldnt do anything else.

Would like to know why you still keep doing it.

I would love to know where you are getting your information from strikertworedshoes!

Crew out on the line believe that striking should be the last straw possible as the majority realise how damaging this would be to the company and in turn it's workforce.

A large number of CC aren't even in the union so how do you propose a successful strike would even be possible?

I'd rather not get into a war of words with you, but your comments seem a bit unrealistic.

Looking at registration dates then it seems Striker is a new member-OCt 2005.Considering what people say about pprune then striker could be Management for VA and trying to get a feel or someone else.I would be sceptical about anything Striker says.

I also registered in Oct 2005 as well but I have made a few posts that would also re-inforce the fact that I have nothing to do with VA.

Hi all, just wanted to add a bit to this tread, i have heard that a pay deals has been sorted out for us guys, it sounds ok. better than the last time. I dont thing that striking is the best way of dealing with things, causing virgin to lose a hell of a lot of money, and damage it rep, remember what happened to BA with the catering strike! i know that moral, is low at the moment but hey you make it your own, going to work with a smile on ya face and having a good time cost ya nothing. If ya dont like whats going on with in the company, you have a choice!! stay or go. i have work for a few airlines and must say we get it very easy. so come on stop ya moaning and lets make our working enviroment a happier place, it starts with you.
anyway hope ya all ok, and if ya gonna reply please have a constructive comment, none of these bitchy replies:D

‘you have a choice!! stay or go’ Vaboy please re-read the thread, most crew love the job in VA and it is these crew that are working hard to improve the working conditions for the rest of you. Give the cc the support it needs and the environment will become a happier place.

Take home pay for new joiners is around £750.00 per month.

Staff travel actually makes a lot of money for the company, around £4m per annum, so do not get fobbed off with ‘look how good the staff travel is’. It is good for sure, but it does not pay the bills.

I have been in the company for 10 years and you guys need all the support you can get. I sometimes wonder why anyone actually turns up for the dreaded Orlando flights.

vaboy, james7 is right. Whilst i agree about being cautious before striking. There are 7 pages on this topic and we have all heard the 'if you dont like it then leave' response more than once so you are not saying anything new and inspiring.
Besides if we did all leave, all that would happen is that new crew would come in and the vast majority would say the exact same thing as us. These concerns of crew are not going to go away because we leave.

James7, I disagree with the amount you quote for new starter cabin crew. Last month, whilst still in my probation period, I took home £812 basic salary. In addition to that I earned the following rough estimate of allowances :-

MCO $120
JFK $160
JFK $160
LAX $220

The only costs which I feel it is fair to deduct from allowances when calculating how much I "earned" in the month is the food which I purchased whilst away which probably came to $150 maximum.

Doesn't look too bad now does it ??? A basic salary of £812 and then take home allowances of $510 ....

I recently left a job earning £19,800 and the amount I earned each month was not far off this. Okay, so with the allowances it is cash in hand and not paid into our bank accounts ... maybe if VAA did that then people would start to realise exactly how much we are earning each month.

short m those allowances are complete rubbish you can clearly see that virgin has got rid of the maths test at interviews!!!

and as for the new offer which the company has put forward it is absolutely rubbish i have seen it on paper its exactly the same as the previous offer with a few figures jumbled about and anyone who decides to take it is an absolute fool!!

morale is terrible at the moment and does anyone honestly think it is going to improve i doubt it! even if we except this pay offer!! apprently our lovely CSS and FSM's are going to the majority of this payrise which they deserve greatly!!! but it still doesnt improve to any great exstent in the senior or junior ranks

my advise to any crew member is dont except this offer and i am hoping that the union feels the same and will promote crew to turn down this offer!!! the ball is in our court for a change so turn this offer down and vote NO

Calm down virgin99, your not going to get anyone on side by calling people fools. Its really unfair to bully people into what they should vote, dont forget CSS and FSMs are likely to vote for this pay deal.
Its fair enough to present facts to people and i do agree we should stick together, but i am getting fed up of getting on flights and being badgered by aggressive crew about what im going to vote and what i should vote. I am often seeing new crew being read the riot act by crew for not being in the union, and god forbid should anyone openly admit that they might vote yes.
Im not disagreeing that we need better pay, far from it and i used to feel like you. Now i am seeing to many bullying tactics in the galley and in our safety breifings!?! quite frankly i am getting tired of it, and i feel this is where low morale is coming from.
The union is also not allowed to sway our vote.

I did not totally understand what the rep told us in the briefing, but if its 3% backdated and an additional 3% in jan 2006 then its definately a step up from the previous offer. The trip pay offer is better too, although I can understand why there is disappointment at FSM/CSS getting a higher trip pay. I can say from experience at my previous airline, the differential between supervisor and crew pay was minimal - and it meant that for the extra unpaid hours I was doing (paperwork, performance monitoring etc was all done on the ground) I was essentially getting paid less per hour than crew. Perhaps it would be better to build this into the FSM/CSS salary as opposed to differing trip pay amounts?

Don't forget though, they have bundled the monthly standby AND the pay offer into one ballot this time, so think *very* carefully about ALL the implications of your vote...

Hey guys.........

Hope you get this sorted...........

For those of us that don't fly for VS, could someone give us an idea of your conditions? For example trip pay, days off after trips (not including arriving 'rest' day) etc?

Ta! :ok: