Unite boss on British Airways cabin staff strike

[Gerald A]

The strikes are set to begin on 22 December and run until 2 January. They are expected to cause significant disruption over the Christmas period.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8412523.stm

[Matt D]

What a nightmare for a company that is already losing close to $100,000,000 per month. (-GBP292M 2009 H1)

[Sarah C]

I am both amazed and dumbfounded by this action.

BA is in a dire financial position and this might be the final nail in the coffin. The cabin crew might not have a job to come back to in 6 months time if the company goes under - they seem very short sighted in their approach. The impact of this is huge - not only the million of so people travelling in that period, but people who might travel in the future. I am sure the strike won't change the BA management's position - the union needs to get in to the world of reality for any negotiation to happen.

On one hand, you have employees agreeing to forgo pay and then you have this union who wants the opposite. I understand the reasons why they are striking but they need to understand the state of the airline and the airline industry in general.

Meanwhile, the staff in all the other areas will no doubt do a fabulous job dealing with this in the holiday period, and yet cop the brunt of passenger frustrations.

[Owen H]

Sarah, why do you think that this strike is for a pay rise? Have you watched the video?

BA have been trying to unilaterally change the employee contracts, and while staff need to work with an airline in trouble, it is a fine line between that and letting them permanantly slash their conditions.

Its never good to see strikes threatened, but sometimes its necessary. I don't know enough of the details to say if it is warranted... but I'm still willing to bet that they're not striking for a pay rise... just to limit the damage the company is trying to get away with.

[David C]

As understand it , BA are proposing a cut in cabin staff levels on flights . This is surely a safety issue and not a pay issue . Safety must not, and cannot be compromised at any cost , even if it means the airline and its employees suffer financially by industrial action .

In these situations , the employer always appears to be in the right , and the employee is often castigated by the general public .. In this particular case I firmly believe that the workers have a good argument , and if cabin staffing is to be cut they should stand firm .

[Daniel F]

I don't see how it is a safety issue. The staff cuts would be in line with all safety requirements. They can not cut staff so that there is less than required by law.

EDIT: Having just read a bit more about it on the FT forums, it seems like the crew cuts apply to flights from Heathrow to bring them in line with the crew numbers for flights from Gatwick. So unless flights from Gatwick are unsafe, there is absolutely no safety issue.

[Ash W]

Originally Posted by David C

As understand it , BA are proposing a cut in cabin staff levels on flights . This is surely a safety issue and not a pay issue . Safety must not, and cannot be compromised at any cost , even if it means the airline and its employees suffer financially by industrial action .

In these situations , the employer always appears to be in the right , and the employee is often castigated by the general public .. In this particular case I firmly believe that the workers have a good argument , and if cabin staffing is to be cut they should stand firm .

You are of course assuming that they are already operating with the legal minimum level of cabin staff. But they are not, they are operating at a higher level, so any argument of passenger safety being decreased flies out the window. As far as I am concerned if an airline wants to reduce staff numbers and is still operating withing safety regulations then it is 100% an issue for management not the union.

[Gerald A]

THE Christmas holiday plans of A MILLION Brits have been saved — after a High Court judge today BANNED the British Airways strike.
Mrs Justice Cox said a ballot of 13,500 BA cabin crew contained "serious and substantial irregularities".

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...d-invalid.html

[Owen H]

Stand by for another ballot!

It has been ruled invalid because the voting procedure they used was incorrect, not because of what they stood for.

I think it would be pretty naieve of BA to think that just because they got this ballot overturned that they don't have a serious problem that they need to negotiate.

I wonder when the next vote will be.

[NickN]

Union leaders — who made the mistake of balloting FORMER staff — said it was a "disgraceful day for democracy".

Am I the only one who thinks this is the funniest quote ever?

That's just like a government using deceased people to get votes!

Just goes to show the union is desperate to make a mountain from a mole hill.

I think the BA staff should swap places with the Virgin Atlantic staff for a month and see of they enjoy the reduced pay over at VA.

Same as with the Sydney bus drivers strike today, the government has a wage increase on the table and they still strike.

Blackmail is a crazy thing!