British Airways vs. BASSA (current Airline Staff Only)
 

Hi - I'm a cabin crew volunteer (not a pilot), due to report for standby for the first time today. Over the last 48 hours I've been in contact with many of my volunteer coleagues, and they inform me that very few of them were allocated flights due to regular crew reporting for duty.

I hope to be able to update later, when I've seen for myself what's really going on!

A lot of volunteers have been reporting for their rostered flights and been replaced by regular crew as they arrive. Cabin crew have been instructed to report for their original rostered duties (or they'll be "on strike") and are being placed on standby to depart on the next appropriate trips.

Some volunteers have flown but most have not been needed. Pilot volunteers are being stood down first so you have more chance of flying than they do.

Hello, I,m a SH pilot with BA.

In order to form a constructive view point over BA v BASSA, could I humbly suggest that everyone reads the company ESS mail bulletins, in parallel with, the UNITE missives.

From Martin Broughton
 

From FT.com - a subscription website hence the quote rather than a link.

JT

Back to business
 

What effect is all this really having on our business?

I have been closely watching a staff travel round trip opportunity to the USA, outbound on 2nd April, returning 17th April. Over the past 5 days here's what has happened (fact!):

The 2nd April departure continues to book healthily, as I would expect, with a net addition over 5 days of more than 50 passengers.
Conclusion: customers are sticking with us when they know there will definitely NOT be a strike.

The 17th April departure is dead in the water. Net increase in bookings is too embarassing to be told.
Conclusion: while strike threats continue with uncertainty, customers are no longer willing to take a chance.

My take-out: if we can get this nonsense behind us quickly then we still have a business. If it drags on.....................who knows?

I hope both sides get back round the table soon.

Had another go at working last night. Reported mid-evening for XXX (Africa) and the CRC was pretty busy (100+ cabin crew and 50+ groundstaff / managers). Everyone seemed in a good, but slightly reserved, mood with most just talking more quietly than usual. I got the impression that this was sort of in recognition of the severity of the situation and the underlying tensions. Many crew worried about the reaction of striking "friends" when they found out.

Spoke to a few managers and support staff. They said that the attendance figures were slightly better than yesterday (55% vs 52%) but that they had no chance of predicting how many crew would turn up for each flight. For example, only 3 turned up for Saturday's HKG (lucrative trip) whilst some of the African destinations (not lucrative) had almost full complements. Work that one out!

Anyway, we had more than enough cabin crew, so 3 of us were reallocated duties (back to the hotel for me) and one volunteer pilot was sent home - with 3 of them operating. I left just before the briefing started for real and as there was no CSD or PSR, the most senior crew member was asked to work up - with no notice. I hope she was ok as she looked a little shell-shocked.

So, I add my voice to those than can confirm that crew are coming to work and that things seem to be running well. One thing that I think is a shock to the crew that do turn up is that all the B777's are going with 8 crew only due to the reduced service and need to man as many flights as possible. I could see the stirrings of "but we can't do that" in the eyes of one or two but then acceptance seemed to kick in and no-one actually voiced an objection.

Finally, crewing are waiting until literally check-in time to see how many crew have reported and then allocate / send home the CC and volunteer pilots as required. This takes up 10 minutes of your normal briefing time.

sparkoflife
 

As HF as said it's a bit hit and miss...I operated a Long Haul Flight to a Top Secret destination a long way from Heathrow yesterday..none of the volunteers ( a mix of pilots and groundstaff) were bumped, they were all used - and judging by the passenger comments on disembarkation they did a very good job.

I hope that if you do get "used" :\ you get a good trip.

Does anyone know what has happened to the rosters of those who have already been on strike? Have they been wiped? :eek:

Nutjob

Self explanatory, I suspect!

A lucrative HKG, probably completely crewed by more senior cabin crew, who are more likely to be staunch BASSA supporters, attempting to play BASSA's game. My guess is that the majority of the no-shows will have 'pulled a sickie'. Unfortunately, whichever way you look at it, strike or sickie, they have shot themselves in the foot - by-bye lucrative anything! As 'BASSA believers' they may just have relied on the obvious (to everybody else) nonsense coming from the Unite/BASSA camp, and it will now come back to bite them.

The African destinations will have more of the junior cabin crew, who are facing a rapid realisation that BASSA's remit is to look after the senior lot, to the detriment of all others. These junior personnel are used to doing the non-lucrative trips, so no big deal for them, and they have probably seen through the juvenile bluster that pours weakly from the Unite/BASSA camp.

C'est la vie!

No-one seems quite sure. Most strikers seem to have had XXXX placed on their roster for all these strike days but reports are unclear as to whether that has extended into MBT's on non-strike days.

A few strikers have tried their staff travel and HAVE been able to book tickets.

Saying that, I'd doubt roster clearance or ST blocks are BA's priorities at the moment.

People who have been on strike and missed trips have started being re-rostered for duties after Phase One.

On the GMTV poll this morning public support for Cabin Crew seems strong.

Either that or it's all over the BASSA forum to urgently vote in favour.

it started at 90:10 against now its nearer 50:50

Register ur vote will only take a sec

Do you support the strike by British Airways cabin crew? | Polls | GMTV

Mod Edit - POLL CLOSED

Wiped rosters for all strikers?
 

It seems to me that if BA think they can run an almost full program with minimum crew on each jet then they WILL wipe the rosters of all the crew that have been on strike. When news of that gets out, very few will strike next weekend IMHO.

The board's strategy is as much about culture change in BA as anything else.

Unfortunately for the individuals concerned, IMHO those who have not backed BA will not be coming back to work at BA. :eek:

For some reason, the poll appears to have vanished (or been pulled).... It shows up in search results, but not as an actual page.

And again, those who have been on strike are already being re-rostered for duties after the strike is over (Phase One, atleast).

This link has been posted on the Bassa and Crew forums.

I do wish we'd be allowed to see a completely unbiased poll on this issue.

Eddy,

I agree, I have no problems with it being posted on these sites, but its hardly an unbiased vote when some posters on the Bassa/Crew Forum have posted instructions on how to clear the cookies on your computer and vote again and again!!

Eddy,
Perhaps you could expand on that for us? I have heard some rumours that striking BA staff would not be allowed to return to work between the the 2 sets of strike dates. Haven't seen it confirmed by the company, but it has been hinted at.

Do you know if strikers from this weekend are being rostered to work within the 4 days (Tuesday to Friday) between the announced strike dates? Or is this for after the second 4-day strike period? Those that have been confirmed as strikers, or currently 'sick', are going to have a devil of a time getting to work if they use BA flights from other parts of the UK, or Europe, or further afield.

It will be interesting to see whether BA cancels staff-travel tickets, issued prior to strikes being announced, for those strikers and sickies hoping to travel this week or next! I suspect BA probably will.

Meal Chucker,
Sadly, this sort of 'underhand' behaviour is becoming known as the modus operandi for BASSA and Unite die-hards. They appear incapable of doing anything above board. With their case being so weak, one can perhaps understand why, but that doesn't make it right. Dishonesty has, and is, being revealed at many levels amongst the tub-thumpers.

Public Opinion
 

Public opinion IS important. If the perception is that UNITE are winning the battle then it will embolden and encourage them. People who are undecided about whether or not to strike may well be swayed into inaction by this perception. The opposite is also true. If enough people are persuaded to stay away then UNITE will win and BA will be grounded.

I am not a BA employee, I am a pilot. I wanted to make some observations. Heathrow (at least it was yesterday) was awash with red, white and blue aircraft. Mostly parked up between the runways at the eastern end of the airfield. There are also some parked around the T5 stands - some 3 aircraft to a stand. As we took off last night there were lots of aircraft parked at T5 but most seemed to be wet leased. There is a lot of rhetoric coming from both sides and I suspect that the truth lies, as it always does, somewhere in the middle. My company is carrying enormous numbers of BA customers all over the place and doing everything they possibly can to keep them. The point I am trying to make is that no matter where you stand on the issues involved the strike is having a massive impact on BA and it's reputation around the world. I hope that a resolution can be found but given that both sides have taken to the trenches with their tin hats on it is difficult to see how that is going to happen. At least in the near future.

I'm afraid I'm not in a position of being able to do so.

Since day one of the strike, I haven't seen another change to my roster. News of rosters being filled in for duties after these three strike dates comes from a friend of mine who I trust implicitly.

Flicking between Sky and BBC, the message seems to be that the strikers have the upper hand. I'm hearing what I know to be untruths from Unite, but very little to refute them from BA. I agree wholeheartedly that public opinion is important, and the public is getting the message that BA is in trouble. However, it remains to be seen what action BA will take over the next few days...

Sky News Please tell me the chap in picture 19 of 50 isn't wearing a t-shirt with Willie Walsh's face super-imposed over a picture of Adolf Hitler....

Eddy,
That is what I am trying to get clarified. Does your friend say that these rosters are being "filled in for duties" for Tuesday-Friday this week or is it for after the second strike period (Saturday 26th - Tuesday 30th April). Forgive me, but you haven't yet made that entirely clear - perhaps ask your friend again? Thanks.

And, yes, that T-shirt has been done to make WW look like Adolf Hitler. That chap wearing it, if he is a BA employee, is going to be toast when this is over. He won't have a job with BA.

Bear in mind that the 'crowds' we keep seeing at Bedfont are not all cabin crew - lots of their family members and friends have been dragged in to swell numbers.

Not entirely sure, AR, and cannot get in touch with my friend. But I believe it's for this week.

Not entirely accurate and somewhat misleading
 

Abbey Road commented:
Statements like this are not an accurate representation, BA Cabin Crew rostering is not a bid system and there is a very effective roster equalization program in place that levels the “playing field” over a rolling 14 month period. Despite feeling that one has a rubbish roster very few people can actually demonstrate that when they ask for an audit of their past roster.

Any given HKG or NBO would have a reasonable cross section of crew seniority rostered. The more popular trips HKG, BKK, SIN, CPT etc are frequently requested by individuals or groups quite legally a couple or so times a year depending on grade up to a max of 4 for a full time CSD.

It would be naïve to deny that after roster publication that there could be a little selective sickness or discrete allocation of unfilled positions to certain individuals but in the main the system is pretty solid and well regulated.

One final thought, and this is tongue in cheek to make a point.

BASSA/UNITE have reduced their figure from 90% support yesterday morning to 80% today as the level of support from their members, that would be 8,800 out of 11,000 members. As someone who was not required to swipe in over this period, UNITE has therefore assumed that I am supporting the strike so I look forward to getting my £30 per day from them together with the other 8799 members, total £264,000 per day. Personally, I am more than happy with the current arrangement that I have with BA.

On the Sky News Website
 

The union has this morning claimed that more than 140 BA aircraft were standing idle at Heathrow, but this figure was disputed by a Sky News source which said it was closer to 36.

You could'nt make it up...or could you?:\

The CRC is busy with real Cabin Crew (Not volunteers). UNITE's press releases are understandably saying the opposite - This is a war and war requires propaganda, but as far as 'covering the operation' goes, BA contingencies are working remarkably well.

What the press are failing to appreciate is that very few people stuck with BA over the strike dates, so it is quite understandable that hardly anyone is flying with us at the moment. I foresee a considerable increase in flights out of LHR next weekend, judging from the number of Cabin Crew who cannot back BASSA's foolish stance.

I would also urge anyone who has been on strike that they are tight lipped on their return to work. BA is taking any threatening and bullying behaviour very seriously. Do yourself a favour and keep your mouth shut as no-one outside your BASSA forum 'enclave' backs your action. I will be operating as a skipper on Wednesday and if I get any sniff of trouble I will off-load you.

Right Engine
 

Eloquently put, hope your colleagues have a similar stance!

I wish they'd send a news chopper up to get pictures of all the planes at heathrow. That way we could put these ridiculous rumours to rest. And regardless of what side of the argument I'm on I cannot abide lies in a quest to garner support. These rumours, as with those about the number of people reporting for wrk, are absolutely enough to influence decisions. And those spinning these lies should be ashamed.

I think it is appalling that you are posting such a thing. The strike is perfectly legal and it is every employees democratic right to withdraw their labour.

to bacabincrew
 

The point Right Engine is making is off loading any one causing trouble, fair and valid me thinks!

BY telling people to 'do themselves a favour and keep your mouth shut' is a quite clear threat

Yes it is, and we all need to bear in mind it is also every employee's democratic right to go to work, and they also have the right to work without being bullied and/or harrassed.

Wiggy

I agree with you totally - people live and stand by their own decisions, however being threatened not to 'open your mouth' or be 'offloaded' is great CRM for moving forward isn't it?

Right Engine/BACabincrew
 

After all the usual life & death stuff, my number 1 priority will also be to protect strikers and non-strikers from each other.

bacabincrew, I fully agree that you have the right to withdraw your labour, but you have absolutely no right to bully or harass those who chose not to strike (and vice versa, of course).(Not suggesting YOU would, of course, but this is the subject RE was referring to).

I agree with Right Engine, I will off-load with very little provocation indeed.

dave747436
 

Dave

I agree with you the bullying (from both sides) during this dispute is unacceptable - however it is going to be discussed on-board - that is a fact that you cannot get away from.

I do not think that intimidating crew to 'keep their mouth shut' is the right way of doing things - I would much prefer a decent Captain come into the briefing room and say something along the lines of 'dispute over for now, lets get on and do a professional job and keep the rights and wrongs for your own time - not whilst on-board'.

bacabincrew
 

From conversations I have had at work over the last 24 hours there's no doubt that many who crossed the picket line, for whatever reason, are very scared about being identified because they fear retribution from the Union hardliners. BA have already told the senior managers on board, the Flight Crew, to be on the lookout for intimidation. Whilst I wouldn't use the terminology Right Engine used I know where he's coming from and I think it's only fair to point out that people need to be very careful what they say in the near future.

It sure is going to continue to be difficult for some time, I have no idea how or if we are going to reconcile the various factions - it may not be possible. As you say the issue of CRM, moving forward, is going to be fraught with difficulties.

wiggy
 

Thanks for that post - very well put, and as I said earlier - I agree that bullying is not acceptable - it does however work both ways