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Unite has today notified British Airways that it intends to open a ballot for strike action among Heathrow cabin crew. The ballot will open on Tuesday June 29 and close on Tuesday July 27, raising the prospect of strikes at Heathrow during the busy summer period. Is such a ballot lawful? Excluding the Gatwick crew like this? |
marchino61
This pax allocates blame for the strike as follows: BASSA - 100% BA Management & volunteers - 0% Yes some of this BA mgmt are now fixing the problem but there will be some of the old school still knee deep in Waterside. Then there is 30 years of BA mgmt AND Boards of Directors AND Chairmen who failed dismally to prepare the company for the future. They are retired (some dead) some have knighthoods and most have a goodly amount of money to see them through to the grave or the golf course. :* |
Absolutely agree Baggers.
I'd thought that perhaps LGW BASSA members had been hanging in there to vote the next idiotic IA down. But now they're being excluded. They really should resign en-masse. |
Is Gatwick crew a separate entity from Heathrow in terms of their representation by BASSA?
Is BASSA allowed to cherry pick who can vote? Interesting. |
Baggersup:
Good post. If I was a BASSA member at Gatwick right now I would be absolutely infuriated with my union. How are BASSA going to defend their actions to these members? |
Baggersup:
The problem I see regarding the PCCC relates to this line: Gatwick crew urgently need to sign up to the Professional Cabin Crew Council at www.mypccc.co.uk so that they can once again gain a voice in all of this. |
An interesting excerpt from the article in the Telegraph
Should the ballot endorse further walkouts, Unite is set to switch tactics and embark on guerrilla action aimed at disrupting BA without hitting its members’ pockets. This would mean a series of sporadic one-day strikes which, in some cases, would then be called off at the last minute. Privately union sources have admitted that their members cannot afford a series of prolonged stoppages such as the series of five-day strikes earlier in the summer. What Unite and BASSA fail to understand is this sort of threat is exactly why BA cannot deal with them with any sense of mutual trust. They aren't speaking of striking...they are speaking of using the threat of the strike to damage the airline. |
Unite still has to give 7 days' notice of any strikes. Giving notice of a strike and then calling it off would be futile. The company would have to make contingency plans and cabin crew would still lose earnings from allowances for cancelled trips unless trips were reinstated at the last minute, thus reducing their willingess to engage in further action.
BASSA is in denial. It's game over. |
I would certainly be happy to sport "backing BA" luggage tags ect in whatever form.
Whilst crew might not be able to, i see no reason why a passenger can't. |
baggersup:
I agree it was a good post. I will admit to some frustration as I believe having a reasonable face put on BA Cabin Crew through someone in PCCC would create much goodwill and assure the public that not only haven't all BA Cabin Crew gone crazy (so to speak) but that the majority wish to operate with the customer as the priority. It would go a long way in helping to restore the BA brand. That being said I do understand the risk they are undertaking and it seems they are doing much to provide a positive direction for Cabin Crew even now. |
Backing BA Merchandise
Baggersup
Why not suggest that PCCC gets merchandise made up for non-CC to purchase? That would allow pax to contribute in a small way without the dangers you referred to if outsiders donate cash. It's a purchase, not a donation. |
Regarding BASSA's supposed exclusion of LGW from the ballot: It strikes me (excuse the pun) that by excluding a large sector of membership who could sway the vote, they are in fact manipulating the ballot. On this basis the following may be useful to LGW BASSA members who are disappointed in this action:
The law also gives union members a statutory right to restrain their union from inducing them and others to take any industrial action without the support of a properly conducted ballot. This statutory right is described more fully in the section Industrial action ballots of Industrial action and the law: a guide for employees and trade union members - Regulatory Guidance. Notice of the ballot and sample voting paper for employers The union must take such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that any employer who it is reasonable for the union to believe will be the employer of any of its members who will be entitled to vote receives certain information in advance of the intended opening day of the ballot (i.e. the first day when a voting paper is sent to any person entitled to vote), as follows: * Not later than the seventh day before the intended opening day, written notice o stating that the union intends to hold the ballot; o specifying the date which the union reasonably believes will be the opening day of the ballot; o provides a list of the categories of employee to which the affected employees belong, figures on the number of employees in each category, figures on the numbers of employees at each workplace, the total number of affected employees; together with an explanation of how these figures were arrived at. However, these lists and figures do not necessarily need to be supplied in full in situations where some or all of the employees pay their union subscriptions by deduction from pay at source e.g. through “check off” or “DOCAS “ systems. In such circumstances, the notice must contain either: 1. those same lists, figures and explanations as set out above; or 2. such information as will enable the employer to readily deduce the total number of employees affected, the categories of employee to which they belong, the number of employees concerned in each of those categories, the workplaces at which the employees concerned work and the number of them at each of these workplaces. The “employees affected” are those whom the union reasonably believes will be entitled to vote in the ballot. And another little nugget that might come in handy later: An employer may re-employ a worker dismissed during strike action on whatever terms the employer chooses, providing the same terms are offered to all the employees who were dismissed. During the 3 months following dismissal, an employer cannot selectively re-employ some workers and not others but after the 3 months are up, the employer has the right to choose who he/she re-employs if necessary. |
closure
What I am struggling to understand now is how BA can continue to operate and expect passengers to have confidence in the brand (basically have trust to book seats knowing their flight will not be affected by strike action) and continue to allow BASSA/UNITE to sow this cloud of uncertainty again.
So why no closure by BA? When is the time for WW to go down the SOSR route? Surely it must be soon! |
It's very simple. BASSA have to give a week's notice of any strike. BA can simply roster non-striking cabin crew for those days and not roster those people they know are likely to strike. If the strike is cancelled, they will still have adequate cover, and the would-be strikers will still lose out on the allowances they could have earned.
They will fly 100% of LH services, strikers will lose yet more money, and eventually the will to keep missing out on both your salary and lucrative LH trips will reduce the number of strikers until Bedfont is Holley and the few remaining idiots that believe in him and MAYBE some of his BASSA rep cronies (many of whom will be off sick or flying because they don't want to lose their staff travel, oh no!). |
WasCrew. Mr Walsh has no need to take any precipitive action.
Tactically, he doesn't want to give UNITE/BASSA any fig-leaf to hide behind by issuing new contracts under SOSR. All he needs do is keep the profit making side of the operation going with those who don't strike, volunteers and soon a host of temps. This way, we makes good on his pledge to operate 100% or long haul, most of the short haul and 100% of flights from Gatwick and City. In doing this, he keeps faith with his customers and builds confidence in future bookings with the airline. By sidelining the strikers he also keeps faith with those cabin crew members loyal to BA. This would provide good PR for BA. UNITE/BASSA, straved of the oxygen of confrontation have no where to go. Those who strike this time around will probably be de-rostered for the duration of the strike period losing out on flying allowances etc. BA would have to fork out basic pay but the airline can claim with justification the needs of its customers come first and these employees cannot be relied upon to turn up when rostered for flight. Afterall, UNITE/BASSA's words regarding the taking of guerilla action will come back to haunt them. Many of those striking are "hobby-jobbers" on reduced contracts so the overall cost would be reduced commensurately. On another issue. It interests me to see the basis upon which UNITE/BASSA intend to strike this time - partly, because the airline used other staff to keep the flights going whilst Union members were breaking their contracts to strike. Is it really the case that the union feel their members can withdraw their labour with impunity, and their employer is not allowed to protect itself by taking emergency measure to keep flights in the air and serve its customers? I doubt that argument will garner much support in the current economic climate. |
A Little Light Relief
Back in the '70s, there was a NATO 'Paper War' exercise with the scenario of a confrontation with the Warsaw Pact forces. It had got to the stage where a massive airlift of men and materiel from the USA had been 'implemented.' The arriving aircraft and their cargo had to be handled by Germal civilian labour. Some bright spark Staff Officer from Camberley sent an exercise input that the Germans had gone on strike. Within minutes the reply came from German High Command:
"The ringleaders have been shot; the rest of the labour force is back at work with renewed vigour." |
I think the time has arrived to lance the boil of industrial militancy more aggressively. Surely by now BA have identified likely strikers for the next bout of industrial action. Why not roster these people on a selective basis and provide reliable backup for their non appearance?
The strikers will experience a negative financial impact both for pay and allowances and the customer can expect a proper service which pro BA staff are wishing to provide. |
Employment Law
This might be a complete red herring but under the "Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003" Regulation 7 - an Employment Business (Manpower Agency) may not provide a temporary worker to replace an individual taking part in industrial action.
Now this applies to employment agencies but I do not know how this applies to individual companies sourcing their own temporary labour whether internally or externally (if at all). bizdev |
From that other forum:
Tiramisu if you do move to Mixed Fleet, you cannot be a member of BASSA/AMICUS. |
I think there is now statement from Bassa (on the other forum) that Gatwick is now to be included in the ballot. Still not sure what the question will be thought.....
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