British Airway's Strike

[modeller]

BA are going on strike yet again .
It is said their cabin crew are the highest paid in the world with the shortest hours and highest ratio of staff to customer ratio. They also have the best privileges and highest pensions.

The Union, as one would expect, disputes all this and 80% of their cabin crew have voted to strike.

The free travel concession ,which is based on length of service was withdrawn from those who went on illegal strike, and they have to start building it up again from scratch.

What needs to be done , to resolve this on going saga. ?

[smurfchops]

Greedy people. Let's hope the strikers lose their jobs. And that people fly with other airlines. BA are not indispensable and certainly not the cheapest.

[VHG]

I am afraid BA will probably go bankrupt before it is resolved.

While it is right the unions try to protect their workers, Air travel has changed totally in the last 20 or so years.

At one time it was a luxury form of travel with high tickets prices and only the well off could afford it. Now it is like hopping on a bus.

The trouble is the BA workers still want to be paid as if it was luxury travel and if they insists on it they will bankrupt BA.

I used to work for an IT company for 30 years, when IT was expensive to buy so salaries were good. Then IT dropped in price and company could not afford the high saleries.

Hundreds of people in the company I work for got made redundtant (or took early retirement in my case) and that is how life and business is.

These BA unions and workers will drive BA into the ground.

[rov1100]

The one good decision was to denationalise these airport operators. Now the real pain is only felt by the shareholders and people who work for the company. The travelling public can go elsewhere.

Now you can get to Paris by Eurostar much quicker than booking a flight maybe the time will come when the plane is only useful for long haul trips. Fewer aircraft flying overhead will be a boon to many of us.

[McMouse]

There's plenty of spare airline capacity in the world and BA cabin crew aught to wake up to the fact. They should be pleased they've got jobs and not try to bully BA into submission.

[youngmafbog]

BA is the worst airline I have travelled in. Their business class is well below the others and the staff attitude is alloof and patronising. Teh sooner this company goes out of business the better.

Uniions are pig headed, like many lefties they cant see the wood for the trees.

[Red_John]

Yes, as usual with unions they will be the architects of their own unemployment.

[TheTruthHere]

modeller when did they go on illegal strike this trouble has been going on for over a year.

// The dispute between the UK’s flag carrier and its crew has been going on for more than a year now, more than 20 days of strike //


// What needs to be done , to resolve this on going saga. ? //
Let us start by going back to // The free travel concession // When was any of the strikes illegal

You have a vote you have a strike simple.

Some people would have us go back to the old days standing at the works entrance waiting to be picked for a job.

[IggyB]

protecting workers rights and livelihoods is very important - however the position of the BA workers is difficult because as said they are at the very top of the industry in terms of pay and conditions and the industry as well as their employer has been experiencing considerable pressure to reduce margins or go under. In my opinion they should agree to some of their more favourable terms being reduced a bit in order to safeguard jobs - though I admit it is difficult to swallow when it comes to your own pay packet.

[IggyB]

I don't think the issue will be resolved because I doubt the workers / unions will acknowledge the extent of the problem until the company has been cut up and sold off or gone under all together... I won't travel with BA anymore because they can't be relied upon if you are planning in advance and if you are booking last minute are too expensive so I will be quite happy when they fold and a new business takes over

[joggerjayne]

OMG ... surely NOBODY goes with BA any more, do they?

After all their strikes last year, there's NO WAY I'd risk flying with them any more.

Give me EasyJet or Swiss, any time.

[Sqad]

I agree with JJ and UMG.....the standard of care on BA is well below other Airlines e.g Qantas Thai, Emirates and Singapore airlines.

I thought the BA strike only affected Heathrow and confined to cabin staff....have I got it wrong?

[Aqualung]

Two years ago this trouble started it was over standards not money, this trouble could have been solved without costing BA a penny

Now the trouble is about the sacking of 18 cabin crew and the disciplining of loads more cabin crew. BA took revenge on loads of staff that had taken LAWFUL industrial action last year.

Typical big brother action by BA managment , Bullying, intimidation, legal threats they will do anything but listen to their own employees.

After all this by the BA managment the workers still vote for action.

[tearinghair]

I use BA to go to USA to visit family because I started with them years ago and I'm trying to get more air miles. I've noticed a deterioration in attitude of cabin crew (World Traveller and World Traveller Plus), and when the family came over to the UK once by BA they were very disappointed at the way the boys (2 and 4 at the time) were dealt with - nowhere near as good as JAL or AA. So what with the uncertainty - will they be on strike at the time I need to go - I'll almost certainly switch next time. Employees are shooting themselves in the foot.