"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: