BA Strike

[flip_flop]

Can somebody explain to me what's happening please? (I haven't really been paying that much attention).

If I understand correctly, BA offered a deal, which was refused - Unite then wanted to accept the same deal, but BA said it was no longer available.

I also understand that BA Cabin Crew are well paid when compared to the cabin crew on the likes of Virgin and others.

So, what is the dispute about?

[VHG]

At one time air travel was a "luxury". People paid hundreds of pounds to fly somewhere and expected meals and free drinks while on board.

Companies like BA were "cash happy" so could afford to pay their staff a good salary.

Then people like Easyjet and Ryanair came along and allowed you to fly "no frills" for far less than BA charged. These companies cut costs to the bare bones, and so can charge low prices.

BA have been losing BIG money for years so need to reduce costs or they will go out of business.

One way to reduce costs is reduce salaries, bonuses, stop over allowances etc and increase working hours

Some BA staff, and Unite, are against this, hence the stand off / strike.

(yes Virgin staff earn about half what BA staff earn).

To be honest if they carry on like this BA will be bust by the end of the year (and to be honest I blame both sides).

[Gromit]

BA made an offer and then withdrew it an hour later. Unite did not get the opportunity to agree or disagree with it. So if the Union had balloted its members on the deal and accepted it, BA would not allow them to accept the deal.

Barmy.

[tamborine]

Airport staff want higher pay for less.....lots of Polish filling vacancies - they work more efficiently for less.

[R1Geezer]

In short, BA need cut costs and increase efficiency or they are down the kazi. Unions hate that and believe that money comes out of thin air. QED

[Prescott]

Well done R1geezer - you got it in one !! The union are trying to hold BA to ransom, and if I were Willi Walsh I would sack all the strikers. There are plenty of people out there desperate for work and it is very cynical of Unite to hold a strike in the current economic climate.

[modeller]

gromit I understand the sequence of events were :

1. BA made an offer subject to there being no strike.
2. Unite called a strike.
3. BA therefore withdrew the offer.
4. Unite asked for the offer to made again but would not call off the strike.
5. BA said No ! You have called the strike before asking
your members about the offer.

Even if, as Unite claim the offer was not conditional on no strike, the fact that Unite went ahead with calling a strike AFTER the offer was made showed that the leaders were not prepared to endorse it.