BAA strike

pinker

Unite are supposedly making a statement at around 11:00am today

mooeyitfc

I am just as concerned as the rest of you. Me and my family fly to Australia on the 29th and I will be glued to the tv today for more information. I found these links that some maybe interested in.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2007/12/19/etvirgin120.xml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7155147.stm

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23428960-details/If%20you're%20flying%20off%20for%20Christmas,%20you%20maybe%20stranded%20for%20New%20Year%20by%20airport%20strikes/article.do

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1297947,00.html

lesley1960

sturll wrote: »

You really are an arrogant selfish little man. How do you know i dont travel First Class?
All we both know is that you are a very bitter and extremely uneducated oxygen thief.
I can understand why BAA are being a bight shady in regards to your pension. Ill bet they feel ripped off paying you £6 per hour. Hell the DSS would feel hard done by paying you Job Seekers allowance!

Must be awkward for you having to come on here and defend yourself to 99% of the posters on here who despise your kind. Ill bet your boyfriend has looked over your shoulder more than once

Still, the support you have across the general public is great.

No Really.

And 99% of the posters on here represent what exactly?

Of course people who might lose a holiday might be against any strike but thats hardly any indication of public support is it

As soon as you start posting personal puerile insults you lose any credibility

lesley1960

maomoondog wrote: »

WHAT ABOUT THESE PEOPLE THEY HAVE TO WORK DURING THE BANK HOLIDAYS AND NEED TO TRAVEL BY PLANE [AS WE ARE ON AN ISLAND]

WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE AREN'T IN AN UNION AND WORK VERY HARD [WITHOUT HAVING A PENSION] FOR THEIR FEW DAYS OFF?

JUST FIND OTHER TIMES TO 'CATCH' BUSINESS PEOPLE TO DO YOUR STRIKES... IT SEEMS LIKE THEY [UNION] JUST WAITS FOR THE FEW DAYS WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO GO AWAY... :sad:

Ermm maybe because striking when no one cares wouldnt be very effective maybe?

isg1982

agghhhh!!!

would they hurry up and tell us! I dont think I can wait much longer!!!

Maestro2006

lesley1960 wrote: »

Ermm maybe because striking when no one cares wouldnt be very effective maybe?

I can't subscribe to that opion I'm affraid - surely the best people to affect with this strike would be businesses and business people, those who most NEED to travel. During the holiday season that kind of traffic would surely be reduced - thus targetting those who fly because they WANT to be with their families and loved one. Yes an inconvenience, but not necessity. If they want to target those that would be most severely affected a strike soon after the holiday season ends would dissrupt businesses and business flyers, to whom the pinch would be felt most severely (potential off of business deals et al).

Targetting people doing nothing other than trying to be with family and loved ones at a delicate time of year win't win any sympathy with the public. If anything, quite the opposite indeed bringing the publics opinion onboard with the BAA AGAINST the strike and industrial action.

Heh, after speaking with my faince she's going to fly over anyways, with the view "Oh dear what a pitty, if they strike I can't go home and have to stay a few days longer." I guess purely from a personal perspective I should therefore be backing the strike!

However, my heart and backing goes out to those that could be affected by such action.

chesterfield

vermont100 wrote: »

chesterfield u have hit the nail on the head but the wrong head .........if new entrants are stopped entering our scheme who pays for it as we start retiring.......... make your answer clear poor old sturll has trouble understanding unless u talk to him like reception class child........ oh and pete probably buying a new company tonight hes done so very well for himself and do u know how i know lol........ what a cretin

And who pays for the new members when they retire and live for longer after retiremement? Who pays for the existing people drawing their pension now? Answer - you do.

Ill spell it out for you. People are living longer after retirement, this means they draw their pension for longer, this means they take more money out of the pot than previously.

This is why the schemes are dissappearing. They are not viable for a long future.

Again, the Union leaders have certainly earnt their corn here. They have managed to get members to swallow their speel, and follow them like lemmings. I would wager that the vast majority of people taking part in any industrial action will have absolutely no understanding of why they are taking part in the first place. If pressed they may be able to repeat parrot fashion whatever lines they have been fed by the union puppeteers.

The majority will not have sat down looked at the arguments put forward from both sides and come to a reasoned decision on whether to strike or not, they will simply have read the blurbs put out from the corporation, which will have been full of financial reasoning and a comprehensive picture. This will have been follwed very shortly by an announcement to the members from the union, probably written using words and sentences one level up from cave drawings, encouraging the majority of missing links that follow them to believe every ridiculous word.

There is further reading on final salary schemes here:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/help-and-advice/advice-banks/article.html?in_advicepage_id=125&in_article_id=395462&in_page_id=90

The situation is simple. If you and others force BAA to keep the final salary scheme in place, it is an almost certainty that it will require topping up. Where exactly will that top up come from? Profits? Im sure the shareholders will swallow that. Or is it more likely that money will come from other internal savings? This will see redundancy, wage rise freezes, bonus stoppages, and a whole raft of other measures which will contribute to a much less enjoable working atmosphere for those who remain.

That will have the knock on effect of making the roles within BAA look less attractive than a role in another company - which will reduce the number of people taking employment with BAA for advertised roles. Which guess what, reduces the contributions going into the pension pot. Creating a lovely vicious circle of cost saving exercises within the company again.

Take a look at the bigger picture, and try dragging yourself kicking and screaming out of the 80s, and you may realise what is at stake here. If you can drag another luddite along with you at the same time, all the better.

Butterfield8

Here's the website link and the numbers...call yourself if you wish, I Did!

http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/System/Other.asp?NodeID=93964

For further information:

• Brendan Gold, Unite : 07970 081 526
• Brian Boyd, Unite: 07880 796 347
• Ben Middleton, Prospect : 07810 795 225
• Paul Smith, PCS: 020 7801 2820

Unite was formed on 1st May 2007 from a merger of amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G)
For further information please contact the Unite press office on 020 7611 2550

mooeyitfc

In a few minutes Unite are holding a press conference re the strikes. Watch it now!

mooeyitfc

Keep everything crossed!