BA Cabin Crew strikes are on the cards

[chrissw]

I'm not sure if this is in the right forum, but no doubt the mods will move it as they see fit. In any case, if this happens it will affect a potentially large number of SLF:

British Airways cabin crew to strike - BBC News

[ExXB]

Sleeping in their cars because they can't afford the petrol to drive home? Surely that can't be a common occurrence?

[fincastle84]

Here we go again, Unite strikes again. Fortunately mixed fleet only make up a reasonably small % of cabin crew.

Both Unite & the mixed fleet crew members have been happy with the terms & conditions for several years so why strike now?

Surely it couldn't be anything to do with left wingers cooperating with Aslef etc to cause a "Winter of Discontecnt"??

[Basil]

Surely it couldn't be anything to do with left wingers cooperating with Aslef etc to cause a "Winter of Discontecnt"??

Could be a bit of that but Mixed Fleet is not at all well paid.

[RedhillPhil]

How much is "not at all well paid"?

[HZ123]

Aren't many many jobs "not at all well paid"?

[KelvinD]

The BBC article tells us "just over £12,000" plus £3.00 per hour flying pay.

[Metro man]

But it's the perfect opportunity for the girls to marry a pilot and be set for life.

[chrissw]

OK, so factoring in the alleged £3/hour flying pay, your gross income might be about £18,000 per year.

I personally don't think that could be called "well paid," considering the responsibilities, requirements and what you have to put up with day by day.

I know I would have trouble keeping body and soul together on such a salary. Perhaps I'm just fortunate though. (No irony intended).

I think to claim that Unite have been "happy" for several years is not a reasonable or logical conclusion. There comes a time when matters become intolerable. To take the nuclear option of striking has to remain a last resort rather than it being the very first thing that CC do. I'm sure they are quite aware that every open job vacancy even for mixed fleet is massively oversubscribed, which does nothing for the strength of their position even when considering a strike.

[T250]

I'm sure they are quite aware that every open job vacancy even for mixed fleet is massively oversubscribed, which does nothing for the strength of their position even when considering a strike.

What's the actual turnover of staff though. Maybe publicising those figures would drastically bring the oversubscription down.

[Basil]

Mixed Fleet
As Mixed Fleet Cabin Crew you will have the potential to earn, on average, a reward package of between £21,000 and £25,000 per annum. This comprises of a starting salary of £12,192 per annum, an hourly payment when you are flying, bonuses for achieving your performance targets and commission for Inflight Retail sales. Annual leave starting at 30 days per year rising to 34 days per year.

Detailed job description .pdf

Anyone know if the £3/hr flying pay is to cover food or is food now inclusive at the hotel?

[ExXB]

I gave up on BA some years ago. But this is just another reason to avoid them.

[easyflyer83]

We initially lost quite a lot of crew to mixed fleet but that was stemmed once crew realised it wasn't such a great deal. Ironic that joe public actually think that low cost crew earn very little which is far from the truth. Not to mentioned with little nightstopping their pay is pure remuneration and not expenses. The fact that joe public automatically believes that BA crew are all well paid won't help their cause. That said, the mixed fleet contract isn't great and something needs to be done to address the issue.

[PDR1]

Your contempt for the customers is clear, but how about putting some sourced numbers on those claims?

It has to be said that in any situation where thousands of people ARE banging on the door for those jobs on the current terms, the case for forcing an improvement can't be seen as a strong one...

[Basil]

Deviating slightly; at least one union leaves no doubt about motivation:

RMT President: . . the key aim was to overthrow capitalism and bring down the Tory government. 'If we all spit together,' he said, 'we can drown the bastards.'

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by Islandlad

Not a single one of them was forced to apply let alone accept the offer. If noone applies for these jobs the salary will go up. They do and it hasn't.

Have you been reading the Mike Ashley Book of Industrial Relations ?

[KelvinD]

Not a single one of them was forced to apply let alone accept the offer

Well, there can be grounds for saying that. On the other hand one can say that people applied based, in part, that they had £25,000 salaries dangled in front of them. Then they found £12,500 was more typical.

[PDR1]

If they feel they can command more, is anyone forcing them to stay?

[T250]

The roles were advertised as £21-25,000 pa.

This is incredibly inaccurate and untrue. £10-12,000 pa. is more commonplace and hence the issue.

How would you feel if you applied for a job advertising £30,000 but as soon as you start you find they're only paying £20,000. Quite a substantial difference for anyone.

[Andy_S]

One would have thought that the applicants would have read the contract conditions before they signed on the dotted line.