'Who do you support in the BA strike?' poll discussion

sindbad

Remember the T5 debacle

"BA boss who quit over scandal in line for £1.6m

· Payout comes despite claims of price-fixing
· Airline cites 'contractual obligations' for move

* Dan Milmo and Jill Treanor
* The Guardian, Tuesday 5 June 2007

The former British Airways executive at the centre of a price-fixing scandal which could cost the airline £350m has walked away from the company with payments that could total more than £1.6m.

Martin George quit as BA's commercial director in October after admitting that his department may have attempted to fix fuel surcharges with rivals.

The airline's annual report out yesterday showed Mr George left with £467,000, comprising salary, benefits and a termination fee of £263,000. He also received £356,000 towards his legal fees and a £555,397 payout from a BA long-term incentive plan. According to the report, the former executive could receive "further payments" equivalent to six months' notice, or £263,000, if he does not find another job in that period. BA confirmed that Mr George could, as a consequence, receive another payment this year but stressed the contribution to his legal fees had gone straight to his lawyers."

sindbad

BA pilots earn a minimum of £10000/ months, they should help BA in their "fight for survival" and accept Ryanair wages. so should the workers at Waterside, ( BA HQ that comes complete with waitrose, gym, massage during lunch breaks, numerous cafes etc )
BA has the highest number of non uniform staff out of any of its British and European counterparts.
there is plenty of room to save money there.
The proof? all those volunteers "stike breakers", how can they be away from their position for 3 weeks (lengh of the training it takes to be a volunteer cabin crew) and for covering the strike days and they are even flying as we speak to lock the strikers out from coming back to work. Are they not missed by their colleague at their original department? how come BA is still running without them?

MrShed

sindbad wrote: »

BA pilots earn a minimum of £10000/ months, they should help BA in their "fight for survival" and accept Ryanair wages. so should the workers at BA HQ ( Waterside), complete with waitrose, gym, massage during lunch breaks, numerous cafes etc

OK so just so I understand you.

In a total reversal, its quite alright to changes terms and salaries, as long as its someone elses?

sindbad

If the dispute was really about money and we we were in a "fight for survival" then every employee working for BA should have their wages and T&Cs aligned with Ryanair, why pick only on 1 group of workers.
but it is not about money, it's about breaking a union it's about ultra liberalism.

the irony of it all, those pilots and white collar staff are in line for the next cuts, if BA succeeds, and after them it's the rest of the UK workers
as any savings made by paying low wages won't equal cheaper tickets for passengers but bigger bonuses for fat cats

happyrichard

the irony of it all, those pilots and white collar staff are in line for the next cuts, if BA succeeds, and after them it's the rest of the UK workers

If you really think that BA will get rid of the rest of the UK workers, then it will be difficult to debate this issue with you. If they were to get rid of all of their workers, do you not think that they would no longer be in business...

MrShed

happyrichard wrote: »

If you really think that BA will get rid of the rest of the UK workers, then it will be difficult to debate this issue with you. If they were to get rid of all of their workers, do you not think that they would no longer be in business...

Judging by the rhetoric and content of his posts, I think it is quite difficult to debate the issue with him anyway.

"The end is nigh!"

sindbad

happyrichard wrote: »

If you really think that BA will get rid of the rest of the UK workers, then it will be difficult to debate this issue with you. If they were to get rid of all of their workers, do you not think that they would no longer be in business...

Sorry my mistake, I rushed writting my post and because I am uptodate withe dispute and aware of the bigger picture i assumed ( wronlgy) that everybodyelse was too
What I am saying is that there are a lot of employers out there wanting to do to their staff what BA is doing to theirs.
BA has already set 2 precedents in court regarding our Industrial action, the last on : re gentleman agreement not being contractual ( the number of crew on a longhaul flights had to be negotiated with the union, that was a gentleman agreement between BA and its union, that had been in place for decades)
Therefore some employers/companies around the UK took note of that.
They are also waiting to see if BA can break the Union and if BA succeeds then other companies will follow suit.It's gonna turn into a race to the bottom.
that's what I meant! not BA getting rid of UK workers

sindbad

MrShed wrote: »

Judging by the rhetoric and content of his posts, I think it is quite difficult to debate the issue with him anyway.

"The end is nigh!"

Judging by the contents of your posts you have absolutely no idea why BA is going through this industrial action, you are completely biased and I find it is quite difficult to discuss the issue with people like you.

I thought i could bring some more info so that u could maybe stop for a second and maybe say to yourself " hold on I should really learn more about this issue as it seems to be more complex than what the Daily Mail wrote"
but I have realized for people like you there is little hope.

But they are other people on this forum who might tell themselves that "maybe the Cabin Crew are not completely in the wrong, and i should find out more before I give an opinion"
Well I hope I got through to those intelligent and fair minded people

eva16006159

PhiltheBear wrote: »

In the first place earning the same as someone else doesn't give you a "right to strike".

In the second - BA cabin crew earn way more than their rivals. About 50% more than Virgin I believe.

So, wrong on both counts.

They do now, which obviously has no bearing on the fact that they are striking. The argument is they will not if the plans go through. Please can you substanciate better than "way more, about 50% more than Virgin" or else I cant really take you seriously. From figures that I have seen on the BBC they actually earn less than Virgin, and as neither of us have access to the real figure then how can you claim I am wrong and you are right. You really do show very poor intelligence.

eva16006159

I agree with Sindbad, far too many Daily Mail readers on this forum and in this country. Its about time people stopped being told what to think and did some research for themselves. The media are basicly telling us all to vote conservative this year so low and behold they will win.