Jan
22
Trouble in the cabin – BA (again)
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There is trouble brewing at British Airways, after an abortive strike attempt over the Christmas period (scotched by legal moves from the company) the sabres are being unsheathed by the Cabin Crew Unions BASSA/UNITE.
Recap
BA pays its flight attendants in many cases significantly more than its commercial competitors if you look at the corrected figures after any benchmarking exercise. New hires into the cabin have for a while now been employed on inferior contracts, still reasonable given the industry norms.
British Airways at Heathrow is perhaps the most heavily unionised workforce remaining within UK civil aviation and in its current form is an anachronism. Many of the agreements for service enjoyed by its employees have their origins in the BOAC/BA of the ’60s and seventies when the landscape shall we say, was just a little different to that we see now. There have been tweaks and adjustments over the years where the wording has been modified and figures tweaked, but the real cost to the operation has simply not changed fast enough to leave the airline in a size and shape that can survive the second decade of the new millennium. Willie Walsh (or anyone in his seat for that matter, simply doesn’t have a choice. He either restructures the airline and its cost base to reflect the marketplace or he will lose the company on his watch.
BA’s cabin crew have always been a lively lot. They are generally well qualified and talented individuals who have made, particularly over the last couple of decades, a major contribution to the airlines success. They are our perhaps our greatest asset but a heavy one. The weight of their demands, in response to what are extremely modest changes in their working lives, has the potential to seriously damage if not destroy the airline. That much must be obvious after the Christmas holiday debacle.
You can imagine what this knowledge has done to the 40+ thousand people who stake their future on the continued existence of their paycheque. Willie has tapped this fear, nay rage, and asked his people to put their back to the pumps and push. Staff across the airline are volunteering to work in the cabin to keep the airline flying should threats turn to action.
An additional boost to the effort is apparently coming from the general public. The stark commercial realities that evade some of the disgruntled cabin crew are oh so real to the general public many of whom it seems are our passengers. Very significant numbers have rung the company to volunteer and join the effort. Is this true? How would I know, I just hear it within the walls and give it the credibility you assign to any scuttlebutt. In this case I hope its true, it is a dose of reality that needs to be seen and felt by BASSA and UNITE who are following a clear path on a political struggle designed to wreck a great company.
That will NOT be allowed to happen. We have some really fabulous people working aboard our aircraft but they are led by a hubristic union that seems hell bent on mismanaging itself into oblivion.