about the forthcoming BA strike?

[iwastooearlytobeayummymummy]

DS (11)is supposed to be going on a much anticipated school trip next week, but both outward and return dates are strike days.
I can't begin to tell you how much he has been looking forward to this trip.

DD3 (13 )is also away, at the same time, on a choir trip, but flying with another operator.

Excited at the prospect of 2 children away,and happy to leave DD2 ( 18) home alone, DH and I have booked a much needed break ourselves, first time away without the children in 5 years.

Now everything is 'up in the air', no pun intended .

Can somebeody please explain why cabin crew are so aggreived? I've had a look at BBC's overview of the reasons behind the strike, but don't really get it.I also work for an organisation ( local authority actually) that has announced a 2 year pay freeze, recruitment freeze and forthcoming redundancies. Apart from free tea bags and instant coffee I get no other priveliges.

IABU to think they've got nothing to strike over?

pinkfizzle don't get me started on sick pay/leave! I am self employed and have NEVER gone sick in 15 years! I have dragged myself out of bed on a number of occasions cos if I don't work I don't get paid - and I let people down! All self emplyed people are the same!

Quite shocking the number of sick days taken by some of those that get paid for them!

pinkfizzle, I'm a BA cabin crew.

1. not sure what the average or BA crew sickness rates are, but I can tell you this. In any other job, you'll probably still be ok to go to work with a cold. Cabin crew can't. If they did, their eardrums could break and then they wouldn't be able to fly until it has healed completely (2 months or so). This affects our sickness rates greatly. Also, before I used to fly, I'd still go to my office if I had a hand injury, for example. Again, you couldn't do this as a cabin crew. You can't even go to work with an ingrown nail.
   Hope this helps.

2. I don't know and don't care what pilots have agreed to do, but I can tell you that £8,037 plus a flying supplement (have never heard of such a thing), sounds made up, probably by someone who doesn't work for BA.

Any other questions please ask.

Can I just ask why you can't go to work with an ingrown toenail? Am just a little curious and not trying to be difficult!

pinkfizzle, the bonus-for-not-taking-sickness is bollocks too.

Doodleydoo, if you have an ingrown, infected toenail you wouldn't be able to walk long distances (through terminals, and a hundred times up and down the aisle), or use the trolley (they have pedals). Any swelling could only get worse with flying, and BA wouldn't want you to then have to go sick abroad (it would cost them extra money to send another crew member to replace you, have you treated, etc).

MABS used to be a CSD with BA by the way.

long time ago Ess, not anymore thank god! Not quite sure how that is relevant anyway,no secret tho, it's DH who has worked there for 25 years.

V interesting that Willie just reduced the number of flights being cancelled during the strike as so many crew are now saying they will not be striking.

Didn't say it was a secret. You made a point of saying you WERENT crew that's all.

I'm not going to post on here except to say this. What I earn is MY business and no one elses and I refuse to justify it to you all.

If Willie gets through what he wants to, starting a "NEW FLEET" on £11k basic plus allowances of £2.40 an hour crew left on the old one will be starved of work/income and then may "Apply" to go over as our numbers dwindle/theres increase. For me this would mean a 65% pay cut.

Is that acceptable? Whatever you earn your mortgage/outgoings/loans etc are all based on that amount. I simply couldn't afford to do it. We have been told will will not be able to go for Purser/CSD on the old fleet again either.

I understand Unite told BA 2 days ago if there proposal was put on the table again the strike would be called off immediately.
BA refused!!

As for less flights cancelled this isn't neccessarily because more crew will be working. I have heard many will be going empty with no crew and just cargo and a friend of mine in training says only 350 volunteers have been trained so far.

We will see over the weekend. Rather, you will. I'll be on the picket line.See you there girls.

Oh, nearly forgot. We were told today the biggest union in the US have said they're backing us and any flight going/leaving the states won't be touched with a barge pole. Australia have just said the same.

ess,see you there Sat! P.S. where do you park? At the football ground?

P.P.S. as from today all crew who say the word picket-line in BA premises will be suspended! My mate came back from BOM and said all the crew were saying "see you on the Piccadilly Line". Unbefuckinlievable.

I'm officially on my time off now so nough they can do. All will be revealed at the meeting Friday. I wouldn't waste my breath on here either- you need to be very careful what you say at the moment. Don't forget 36 crew are still suspended.Take carex

onestone,

Have used BA in the past and am a current member of the executive club. DH is now a silver member and we're using BA again over Easter. I have met some excellent cabin crew who have treated both my son and myself fairly and with respect regardless of where we have been sitting in the plane. I feel that their flight sales when on are very fair and also represent value for money.

I fully respect your right to strike but is this really the way forward or are you as cabin crew bound by Unite's seemingly overwhelming desire to bring Willie Walsh down. I don't think that all members of cabin crew honestly think that walking out is the only answer now.

I can see right and wrong done by both sides here and this is indeed a very bitter and long running dispute going back years. The fact remains though that this has to be solved, neither side can continue like this as the damage done to the overall business is immense and there have been no actual walkouts yet.

Do you think it will ever be fully resolved between Unite and BA or will it take someone like ACAS to bring resolution?.

Would your colleagues have really walked out for the 12 days at Christmas or was this not what was signed up for?.

I thought the Youtube footage shown on the BBC of Unite members cheering after the initial vote before Christmas was very damaging to your overall cause.

Do you accept that the people who will ultimately suffer here are the passengers who will vote with their feet and use other airlines?. It won't be your union bosses or the BA management ultimately who will fall as they will protect themselves leaving you as cabin crew horribly exposed financially.

Onestonetogo-I wouldn't count on the American unions backing you- they have more to lose in America's recession than you do.
Anyway bearing in mind the mafia links of Jimmy Hoffer Jnr and Snr I wouldn't be too proud to say they were on my side.

As for Australia sounds quite mouthy to me, and they have seen what happens to an airline with frivolous strikers, they may be less reluctant than you think to stick an oar in.

Germany well most of short haul wont be going anywhere so who cares what they say.

Sadly I think you have all been sold down the river by BASSA and Unite.
If I was in any doubt about that, this will have cleared it up nicely for me
There is a BASSA rep at Heathrow who is contemplating NOT striking because she has a CSD course starting on Monday! That to me = that about sums up how much of a damn the unions have for you.

Sorry girls - broadband's been down for the last day or so... So to catch up:

MABS - As has already been said, don't make the accusation that my DH is BA flight crew and that I'm merely giving the view from the other side of the flight deck door! He's not, (his business could not be further removed from aviation, actually).

The views I have put forward are my own (and I have managed to develop a few of my own instead of believing and then pushing the misleading stuff that used to be, and seemingly still is, being churned out by Union reps, etc)... Doing a job outside of BA & aviation AND having been BA crew, I know what a hard day's work is and it's definately not the job I did with BA.

My sister still being crew merely feeds me the latest info and I then form a BALANCED opinion. And on balance, compared with what a lot of people in other companies in other walks of life have been asked to sacrifice to keep their company afloat and keep their jobs in the current climate, BA's requirements of CC are simply NOT that outrageous.

And once again, for any strike to ever be 'successful' you need support from within your company from other workers; or you need support from the public; or you need support from the legal system; or you need political support, preferably from the Govt... and understandably in the current climate, you have absolutely no support from any of them. You really don't see how alone & isolated you are (and support from crews of other airlines living a similarly cocooned life, doesn't count as wider public support!).

As for Unite not understanding why BA's offer was rescinded !! It was very simple to understand, but to spell it out: BA said here's an offer to re-instate some of your crew numbers, but the offer is only valid if you hold off announcing strike dates. OK say Unite, we'll put the offer to our members and here are the dates we plan to strike on... Hey presto, offer rescinded!

If you really think sending the company down the pan and losing your jobs altogether is better than taking a hit on your T&Cs but keeping the company afloat, then you deserve what you get - but my sister doesn't, which is why she was one of the few not to vote for a strike, and I hope she has an airline to still work for when this all finishes...

read it properly Athomesal - I was the one accused of having a dh on the flightdeck, all i said was that my dh is not and never was! i never referred to you at all, just said mine wasn't.

God you are boring. goodbye.

That's nice ess - I hope you are not representative of the cc who are striking, as you are not doing much to improve the general publics' perception of them.

BTW have been lurking on thread as we are flying next week on BA - thankfully we haven't been affected.

We haven't found out if our flights have been cancelled yet or not. The worry about it is very unpleasant to say the least. We have always been very good BA customers in the past but we won't be booking any more flights with them. The only people who are really suffering here are the passengers but why should the crew care,its not their holidays that are ruined. Enjoy your days off work.

Sadly i think she is now mrbrightside.

well said Paulaplump, all v sad, my dd has had a school trip canx too now

dh now workin all w/e as volunteer at T5 trying to assist passengers, deep joy.

Well we'll never book with BA again just in case they go out on strike as I am sure many others won't and the cabin crew won't have a leg to stand on when they make redundancies because of the publics lack of trust in BA being able to fulfill their bookings so you they are shooting themsleves in the foot really!

Lots of people are doing reduced hours and taking pay cuts just to keep a job so I think the Unions are acting appallingly shortsightedly and need to realise that there tactics just won't work in a recession - no one has sympathy for people whining about cuts when most are happy to just to keep their jobs.

There was a travel guy on BBC the other day too who said the unions and strikers really give the people who continue to work a hard time and I find that really distasteful and typical of the old Trade Union ways.

Sorry, that wasn't aimed at anyone specifically. I'm just tired of explaining what this is all about and noone listening. All they careabout is how this effects them. I've told you all I am facing a 65% pay cut and you think that is reasonable. Incredible. Could any of you hand on heart, afford that? You are very lucky if you can.
I've been a mumsnet member 6 years now and over that time have contributed quite a lot and gained invaluable information too, like many of youI'm sure. I was proud to be a "mumsnetter". After all this, sadly, i won't be coming on here any more. I was horrified reading some of the things you all called crew just before the Christmas strike. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

I am on days off now (I am 50% so this is my non-working time anyway), but I will be supporting my colleagues on the picket line. I am proud to do what I do and would not be working this weekend if I was due to. That is my choice and one I would happily live with. I will not be treated with contempt by anyone.

I hope you're satisfied ladies.

Well,as the OP our own news is good as just heard the school have been able to re arrnge, and their flight has been consolidated into one flying out later in the day

Hopefully they will make it back OK as coming back with BA, but into Gatwick.

However I remain very concerned about the long tern ramifications for BA and all of its staff.

The anecdotal evidence on this post is overwhelmingly against the proposed action and nobody has posted to say they will book with confidence with BA again.

I feel very sorry for all the hard working BA staff whose livelihoods could now be in jeopardy

We are only thinking of ourselves? We booked with BA in good faith. I am a BA customer. I am your customer Esse. Your customers should be your priority. If you don't make your customers your priority then your pay cut won't matter because you won't have a job.

I have no sympathy at all for the crew who stike, if you are all prepared to contribute to bringing BA down, that is your choice Ess and all. My dh took a paycut and a month unpaid last year to try to help BA through 2009.

I look forward to disabled ds suffering when his father is out of a job and we can't afford his physio etc. Yes, I have total contempt for you all I assure you, i have good reason. Am happy to post it here and have told several of my RL friends who fly for BA how i feel, tho most of my RL Csd friends don't seem to be striking, but of course I only know a few.

Really pleased the school trip is now ok for you Iwastooearly.

Iwastooearly, good to hear the school trip was rearranged; but there will be hundred of thousands of peope inconvenienced by the strike. I hope that the'll understand that we're striking for very good reasons, and for us it was a last resort. We're desperately trying to rescue what's still possible to rescue in our jobs. The paycuts that the current management want to bring about will mean wages to go down by 30 to 40%, which we will not be able to survive on.
You could live on a meagre wage of £1,000 a months or thereabout if you were an 18 year old living with their parents, but not a parent with a mortgage, a car, childcare costs, etc.
It seems that cabin crew are made to pay with their own money for the management's incompetence. This has to stop!

Sorry to repeat what I've already said in this thread, but when I read MABS's post I just wonder if this person understands what the cabin crew are going through (no, obviously).
Oh and MABS, I simply cannot aford to either work for free, or take unpaid leave. I have over 37 days' leave to use, BA won't give it to me even tho it's mine. They said they'll only give it to me if I accept it UNPAID. This is even illegal.
Pity you're so full of spite towards cabin crew. Willie seems to have managed to put all BA's employees against each other, when he is the common enemy!