British Airways

[BABetrayal13]

On 15th June, I will be made redundant from the job I love after 15 years of loyal service. Redundancy notices are to be issued to 43,000 of my colleagues: the entire workforce. Yep, you heard right!

31,000 "lucky" former employees will then be offered re-employement on a far inferior contract that the company has wanted to enforce since 2010. For me, this would represent a 60% pay cut. Again, you heard right!

This is to be accompanied by an increase in productivity of 25%, not to mention far inferior T&Cs and, basically, a zero-hours contract.

All of this is with a backdrop of our CEO's bonus of £3.2 million in March this year; he’s been paid £33 million over the last 9 years. For the financial year '19/'20, the company I work for made a near record-breaking operating profit of £1.9 billion. I received no bonus; not a penny. Yep, you heard right!

The company I work for has the biggest cash reserves of any airline on this planet: £9 billion. During this "fight for survival", the company I work for is in the process of spending £1billion buying another airline. You heard right!

Nobody is saying we shouldn't all do our bit and take a shared responsibility approach as we ride this storm. However....! The company I currently work for absolutely refuses to negotiate. You heard right! 😡😠🤬🤬
#BAbetrayal

<strong>*Post edited by MNHQ</strong>*

I don’t work in the travel industry nor do I know anyone who does, so my comments are really just general. For a company to make people redundant and then re-employ them on inferior contracts is ethically wrong at any time, but to do it under cover of coronavirus when the news is focused elsewhere, is just rubbish. Especially when the company is very healthy financially, is making profits and is able to reward its Chief Exec so handsomely.

You’re in a very difficult situation as you probably don’t really have much choice but to accept the new deal. Will your redundancy payment cover what you’re going to lose in the coming years? We’ve consistently voted for governments who have allowed this sort of thing to happen (by not legislating against it). Poor conditions and zero-hours contracts are becoming a lot more prevalent and I’m not sure what we can really do about it. You’re right to highlight it, but I’m not sure what can really be done.

What an utter disgrace! Thankfully I dont work for them. I will make sure however, to not book any flights with this shitty company if I can help it.

Absolutely horrific and the worst example of how 'evil' and immoral capitalism can be

I will never fly with them

I will tell everyone I know

I hope you and your colleagues can remain strong and resist

I hope no one joins them as an employee in the desperate times ahead

I know someone who can help you. PM me

On 15th June, I will be made redundant

I didn't know anybody at BA had been issued with redundancy notices yet?

Ive signed

My friend also posted this today. Disgusting from BA

In Canada, West Jet has done the same. Used covid as an excuse to restructure. Sleazy.

I didn't think a company could make people redundant then re-employ for the same jobs? At least not in a specific timeframe?

My cousin is in the same position, has posted about it.

Legalities are being paid lip service....

I use to work in the airline industry. I’m afraid this latest news does not surprise me, I feel for you. The industry treats all its employees as numbers and has no social conscience whatsoever. And to think BA were the world’s favourite airline!

BA Betrayal is a campaign by the union unite against a proposal sent to all employees on 28th April “The proposals remain subject to consultation but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways’ employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them.”

The OP's text is not original - it's been doing the rounds on FB for a few days and has been picked up the that well know top intellectual paper "The Sun"

I am not defending BA nor the OP but think there is probably more to this story.

I’m so sorry- BA have been amazing with our refund so i have been singing their praises

OP, this does seem to be somewhat of a reaction for a number of reasons.

First of all, the possibility of redundancy is often responded to by fear, especially for those who have been in the same position for a number of years. However for those who have something to offer, it can just be the push they need to move on to better things.

With regards to the revised contract, those who are offered them have a choice ... Take it, or leave it. Obviously if you know you are worth more, then you will leave it, and negotiate a better deal with an employer who Can offer you what you want and deserve.

Businesses have to make decisions, especially through tough times. Remember that no matter how many years you have worked for your employer, unless you have something to the contrary in your contract, then they owe you nothing. In accordance with a mutually acceptable agreement and contract, you have worked for them, and they have paid you. That’s it. That’s where the obligations of the two of you end.

In response to your comments regarding the CEO, I’m afraid that’s nothing other than a bitter display of jealousy. It doesn’t matter how much or how little somebody else performing a different role within the company earns. That’s none of your business, and nothing to do with your entitlement, or your contract.

I do think some people feel that they are entitled to be provided with employment, either from their current employer or from elsewhere. It’s a competitive world, and those who have been fortunate enough to have been remunerated well beyond their worth for a number of years as has often been the case for many employees of larger organisations, and of course many public sector roles, are completely oblivious to the fact that the onus is upon the individual to negotiate their worth.

I generally find that when those who are indeed worth their remuneration are faced with redundancy or a revised contract, they make their choice, make the most of the situation and move on ... No bitterness, no resentment, no attempts of public shaming of the company that has provided them with a means to pay their mortgage and bills for a number of years, and certainly no jealous rants about the CEO.

Realistica11y are you the CEO of BA?

Hi OP. I just wanted to say how sorry I am for you and your colleagues. How utterly shit.

I just wanted to say though that you might want to think about setting up a petition on petition.parliament.uk/. The government's favourite "get-out" clause to not discuss a matter is that the petition wasn't created on a "government official" website.

Either way, I have signed. Best of luck.

@ DontRockTheB0at

No.

Absolute fuckers

This why it is better to set up and run and own an airline than be an employee I suppose.

If no one is prepared to work for them at the 60% pay cut then they will increase wages.

However there will be hardly any jobs in this sector due to CV19 and probably not many jobs in other sectors either so it may be better than state benefits for life. Difficult choices.

At the moment we (tax payers m any of whom are not getting a penny of furlough) are paying to keep people's furlough pay coming in even though they are in sectors where they will be made redundant anyway which is a burden not everyone is happy we are bearing particularly those of us probably facing massive tax hikes simply because we are keeping industries going that are going to go bust anyway.

I also work in the travel industry. It is very real that Covid-19 will have a long-term impact on the viability of many businesses. It is unrealistic to expect businesses NOT to restructure when it is expected to take many years to get back to last year's bumper year.

I have taken a pay cut for 6 months, and I hope I still have a job at the end of this year. I'd be very pissed off to find colleagues were on a contract that paid them 60% more than me whilst the company were asking everyone to cut costs.

The days of flying that enabled airlines to pay the levels of your contract are gone. Customers demand lower prices, fundanentally that means lower costs. Accept you've had it good for 15 years and take what's on offer, or take the redundancy payment and see what you can get from other airlines, who are all making cuts for the same economic reasons.

You mentioned the profit and cash reserves, but failed to mention that the grounding of aircraft during Covid-19 is costing hundreds of thousands of euros a week - the reserves simply will not cover the costs for any length of time without change.

@ amijustparanoidorjuststoned

A petition for what ?

When someone’s employer informs them that the business no longer needs their services, then that’s because they have made a decision based on their future plans for the business, and they have every right to do so.

Provided the employer has been remunerated commensurate with their contract of employment and has subsequently received statutory redundancy, then that’s it.

Bitterness, jealousy, resentment and petitioning are reactions to the fear of change, and will consume you.

To the OP, my suggestion would be to review the revised contract, and then do whatever is best for you. See it as an opportunity in a number of ways.

I think the real issue here is that this is almost a personal vendetta by Willie Walsh against BA staff. He has been thwarted on numerous occasions by the BA unions. This is his last chance before he retires. He was due to step down in March and retire in June but has postponed it until later this year (waiting for the share price to improve no doubt) and this is his last crack at the whip.

If IAG group were making similar cuts across all of their airlines then you could maybe understand a bit more - but they are not. The group has lots of cash and is even investing in other airlines. Yes their share price is down - but so is just about every other airline.

I don't work for BA - but I know staff who do and they are devastated.

Willie finally appeared in front of MPs after initially refusing to attend the Transport Select Committee here.

The Chair of the Committee, Huw Merriman MP, commented:
“It is very disappointing that British Airways seem determined to press ahead with devastating cuts to their workforce despite the Government furlough scheme being extended until the end of October. On the one hand, BA are happy to take taxpayers’ money from the furlough scheme which was designed to help companies avoid redundancies. Yet on the other, BA is ploughing ahead with a cull of their workforce and a lowering of terms and conditions. This is not what people would expect from our national flag carrier. BA’s loyal staff deserve better than to be treated like this.”

@FanSpamTastic

If IAG group were making similar cuts across all of their airlines then you could maybe understand a bit more - but they are not

IAG made huge cuts when they bought Iberia, reducing pilot pay and increasing flying hours, introducing Iberia Express on less favourable contracts that enabled it to run shorthaul routes at a profit whilst reducing the routes operating as Iberia. Hugely unpopular in Spain at the time, but turned the airline from loss making to profitable in two years.

That's why the other airlines in IAG don't need as deep cost cutting measures; they've already gone through it in recent years.

It's also not just pilots and cabin crew impacted at BA. Every single department is under review for potential restructuring in order to become leaner and survive this recession.

Virgin, TUI, Easyjet have all announced planned redundancies too. Do all their CEOs have vendettas against staff?

Pops up again to express surprise, again, at how the OP knows for certain he/she "will be made redundant" on 15th June seeing as AFAIK nobody else at BA has been notified of such.

June 15 is 45 days since the consultation process was triggered by an S188 sent to all unions at BA. It is more than probable something will be announced on that date, but I believe at the moment most/all unions are still in talks with management in an attempt to reduce redundancies so IMHO it's too early to come up with numbers, say who will be effected, or for an individual to claim they will definitely be laid off.

Well it does represent an opportunity, but only in the sense of shutting down the airline industry, which is necessary for the planet and everyone who lives on it.

There are more ethical ways to make that transition though, than screwing over all your staff. I suggest they start looking for jobs in the green energy industry instead.