MSE News: British Airways cabin crew to strike this month

malkie76

myflyguy wrote: »

For those of you that think we all have a "good deal" I beg to differ

If you are that disappointed with your working conditions then why not find employment elsewhere ? If it's that bad a deal, why did you sign up for the job in the first place ?

~£18k is a decent salary for the UK, and I know your contract comes with heavily discounted travel and other perques which add up to a signifcant total package.

We're in a deep recession where air travel is being hit hard - why are your fellow cabin crew and your union unable to see that ?

For reference, I work for a company which made £10billion net profit last year, yet they are freezing salaries and making heavy redundancies to remain as profitable in the short term while the economy recovers. I'm free to seek employment elsewhere, but I'm realistic that there aren't too many jobs around at the moment.

Will you be happy if BA goes under and everyone associated with BA loses their jobs ?

Are you worried that BA may actually benefit from going bankcrupt in that "New BA" could offer you vastly reduced contracts and kill the pension deficit in one swift move ? Where would that leave you ? Do you appreciate your strike may actively contribute towards that happening ?

spurs_nut

myflyguy wrote: »

my two pennies worth...
Its easy to throw stones and judge when your outside looking in..
I'm actually inside, I'm one of the crew who WILL be going on strike... I could go on for ever about how we have been treated by the media and our employer have made a good job of painting us in a bad light already.!

I would say that unite and the rest of you have brought it all on yourselves.

Unites calamity of naming strike dates and then wondering why the BA counter offer deal (which fell way short apparently) was pulled!

Then it was pure comedy gold watching unite practically beg for the offer to be put back on the table. The same offer that they were advising its members to ballot against.

And you wonder why everyone is painting you all "in a bad light"

myflyguy wrote: »

For those of you that think we all have a "good deal" I beg to differ, If you have been there since the BOAC days then yeah, it may be true to say that, but those at the bottom of the ladder... fair from the truth. When I read in the daily mail I was on 34k I nearly fainted... because BA have been ripping me off, I've been short changed every year since I started. For those of you who are bothered... my P60 last year was £17,600... so I think I should get a letter in to Willie as Ive been seriously short changed! Also, Halifax would love me as Ive been trying to get a bigger mortgage for some time now lol!

!!!!!!? as if your the only one... Get a grip. The majority of this country are struggling to get a mortgage. They probably get paid a lot less than you as well but would say they are thankful they at least have a job considering the state of the economy.

If your being so short changed, Leave!!! Let one of 2.2 million who are currently unemployed take your position and would be grateful to have a steady income.

myflyguy wrote: »

this dispute isn't just about money...

yes it is.... It's about unite taking your membership fee, them claiming to be fighting for your rights. But actually they are hanging you all out to dry while they lavish it up drinking champagne and having expensive dinner parties that your all paying for. And you say BA are taking you all for a ride.

myflyguy wrote: »

its about the way crew have been bullied, harassed and treated like crap for almost a year over this now. We want an end to it as much as anyone else, We don't want to strike, but we are screwed either whether we strike or not.

You will be more screwed if you got on strike and BA become bankrupt. I can assure the bullying, harassment and being treated like crap will be nothing compared to the bailiffs and debt collectors knocking at your door.

myflyguy wrote: »

End of the line is that BA want to being in cheaper recruits, on a low hourly wage who will work maximum hours for minimum rest, (corrected the following for you) who want a career within the airline [STRIKE]and who don't want to take out a pension with BA[/STRIKE]. IF this was any other sector people would be up in arms but because we have been painted as villains on over inflated wages no one cares.

End of the rant... let the bashing begin!

The reason no one cares is people, like myself are struggling with the economy like everybody else. Yet the one break that we have been saving for is now in jeopardy because of militants like yourselves are not appreciative you currently still have a job.

That's why you have no sympathy. :mad:

Avalon_Adam

nzseries1 wrote: »

Is it just me, or do BA ALWAYS have a strike in the pipeline. It's a wonder anybody flies with them at all, ever.

It would appear that this is the way since Willy 'Smash teh unions' Walsh took control. there was a deal on the table from BA to teh Union that Unite were consdiering , then at the last minute Walsh withdrew it. the real cause of teh strike is this mans obsession with breaking unions in every airline he has headed

Avalon_Adam

d34dc41m wrote: »

just wanna say my heart bleeds for you.but let me tell you my story.

my partner and i have been togeather for 18 years and this year we finally managed to save enough money for our first holiday abroad.now ive been on a forced 4 day week for over 15 months and there is no sign of it changing any time soon.now how can you justify this.my parners holiday dates are fixed and cannot be changed so if you strike we wont have the option to change travel dates.grow some gonads and get on with your job.if you do strike however i hope you lose your job and everything you own as thats what you deserve imho

I'm not a BA employee but I think the term Selfish aptly applies to you. You stike me as a boy who has had a rough tim ebeing stuck on a 4 day week and wants to take it out on other workers. Direct your anger to where it should be , our current government and the bankers not other workers going through a similar hard time. So you may have had your 2 weeks screwed up , the BA staff are having their whole Careers screwed up

Avalon_Adam

Inactive wrote: »

No bashing from me, I wish you well.;)

It is evident to me that BA Management are hell bent on causing this chaos.

Oh and no, I have no ties with BA or Unite whatsoever.

Good luck from me too. We've had to rearrange our holiday but I dont mind . that eil peice of work 'walsh' was brought in just to provoke a confrontation and cut costs to improve profits for the fat share holders

Avalon_Adam

UnemployedAndLovingIt wrote: »

Sack them all if they strike,
as they can all be replcaed within 1hour! lol

Your ignorance of flight attendant training is probably evident in your forum name. What more could one expect from a dole bludger

Avalon_Adam

Your ignorance of flight attendant training is probably evident in your forum name. What more could one expect from a dole bludger

Avalon_Adam

The reason no one cares is people, like myself are struggling with the economy like everybody else. Yet the one break that we have been saving for is now in jeopardy because of militants like yourselves are not appreciative you currently still have a job.

That's why you have no sympathy. :mad:[/QUOTE]

Me and many of my colleagues in UKBA have every symapthy and fully support you. BA cabin crew are hardly what you call militant like miners , steel workers etc so it must of been bad for you to vote overwhelmingly for a strike.
There are alot of pathetic creatures on this thread who take the attitude, 'I'm having it hard so why shouldn't you have it hard too?'
The bankers and the world financial planners are responsible for the current economic situation, not the workers.

malkie76

there was a deal on the table from BA to teh Union that Unite were consdiering , then at the last minute Walsh withdrew it.

I don't think that's what happened. The deal was on the table right up until Unite annouced strike dates, at which point the deal was rightly withdrawn.

the BA staff are having their whole Careers screwed up

By going from 15 to 14 long-haul, yet not dropping service by getting the CSD to take a role in cabin service ? That doesn't sound like a career killing change. I appreciate there are other issues surrounding new fleet vs old fleet, but again I'm struggling to understand how that becomes career killing. A solid, hardworking employee will always excel no matter the circumstances.

Your ignorance of flight attendant training is probably evident in your forum name

I agree the 1hr time suggestion was slightly off, but my understanding is that regular training is a 3 week course. There's a fantastic good read on another forum of a pilot who has recently taken the cabin crew basic training. Very interesting to find out exactly what is included in the training - particularly the wet-landing drills!

The bankers and the world financial planners are responsible for the current economic situation, not the workers.

I totally agree, however going on strike and affected Joe Public won't do anything to alter that. It just damages the public reputation of BA (particularly in foreign markets) and will have long lasting implications on future bookings.

Going on strike and affecting the public is a militant move, however I agree we're unlikely to see the vicious scenes watched in the 80s NUM strikes.

spurs_nut

Avalon_Adam wrote: »

There are alot of pathetic creatures on this thread

You being the biggest of them all!

God knows how you managed to get a job at boarder control when you can't even manage to quote properly :question: