[Andrew66]

Good point seasoned traveller , the typical blurb from these type of businesses , let’s be honest if you don’t give a toss about your employees what hope for the customers ? It’s all about getting as much from your staff with as little outlay as possible , keep their pay low , make them beg for a 2% pay rise , strip their pension benefits etc etc , expect them to keep the company growth going , let them cope with the customers who are fed up with the cost cutting measures .
It all seems now to be offering as little as you can get away with for both employees and customers while the guys at the top get big bonuses on the profit the they make . Nothing wrong in making a profit , but the balance is all wrong .
Do we really expect run of the mill politicians to do something about this culture ? It won’t change .

[TCSH11]

[quote quote=774181]There’s something wrong at BA when a member of mixed fleet crew earns less a year than Wee Willie earns in a day. This is exactly the sort of thing I understand Theresa May will target and the sooner the better. It stinks of injustice and greed.

I hope the crews concerned do strike and I hope their colleagues across the other BA fleets join them. There’s only strength in them sticking together.

[/quote]

I would like to say a huge thank you for this posting, and would also like to apologise for any thing I might have said that either upset you or angered you. I can see from this post that you do in fact respect us crew (unfortunately in this day and age this does not often happen) and for that I am very grateful. Maybe if next time you fly, and I am operating, we will get to say Hi

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=774372]Taken from the advert…. These statements made me smile, or grimace….just a bit

No wonder the crew are pissed off (putting the pay issues on one side), when BA make statements like those below but the crew see the actual day to day reality.

Customers are at the heart of everything we do at British Airways

to make great things happen for our customers

with customers at the forefront of your mind.

taking care to provide experiences that set us apart from the competition.

[/quote]

To be fair, BA is good at this one 😉

[CathayLoyalist2]

Having watched several “Undercover CEO” episodes and the utter surprise/shock the CEO not only found on his/her travels but the bewilderment on the faces of the senior management team when given the feedback I wonder if WW would have a) the courage to out one of his less recognizable colleagues into such a role and b) whether he would be prepared to make positive changes based on negative feedback?. I made a comment in a previous post that the markets probably love him because of the profits but if that is achieved at the expense of customers and employees then in my book WW is a poor leader, if I can call him that.

[Londonfrog]

I will go as far as to predict that this will only get worse with the UK economy turning back to Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism as a result of the June vote.

[summerfly]

I’m 100% behind the crew on this occasion. BA’s crew is what sets it apart from its competitors, but lack of investment from BA in its frontline has become very evident in recent years with deteriorating service standards. Whilst most of the MF crew I have encountered are dedicated and trying to do a good job, the lack of experience really lets the inflight experience down and is a safety concern. The problem seems to be continuous with a high turnover of MF crew, which given the conditions and basic pay is inevitable. Being a fair and generous employer is the very minimum I would expect from an airline, after all, their staff have my life in their hands.

[TheLion]

It’s truly disgusting in every way what WW, AC & co have done to BA. The way they treat their poor, hard-working staff infuriates me. I agree with pretty much every comment on here along those lines, yet hold out little hope that things will change under this odious management team. This is a poignant example of the ugly side of capitalism.

[MartynSinclair]

@TheLion and others – I am interested in how you would steer the ship. What would you do differently and how would you sell your thoughts to the owners of BA, the shareholders?

Its easy to say its “disgusting” and as a Gold passenger and a shareholder, I do not entirely agree with the way the service is deteriorating. But exactly how would you steer the ship and justify the numbers on the accounts..? How would you deal with the “poor hard working staff”. Could you justify the wage rises and increase in employee benefits…

Looking forward to hearing your views and ideas…

[AMcWhirter]

British Airways cabin crew have just voted in favour of strike action.

Should the strike go ahead the BBC reports that it would take place after December 21.

Unite union will meet in the coming days to finalise strike dates.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38319538

[farmerslodge]

Surprise surprise – they haven’t had a strike for a while, can’t let southern rail get all the headlines – totally determined to destroy the airline, very little public support for such action.

[JohnHarper]

I would like to wish those crew members who have been driven to this by the culture of greed at the top of BA all the best and I hope they succeed in their efforts to get a sensible settlement.

Perhaps it should be linked to Wee Willie’s salary. As they currently earn less in a year than he does in a day perhaps they should be looking for an increase of at least 100% on their basic and far more for flight pay.

[AnthonyDunn]

Farmerslodge #780939

You appear not to have read the previous postings on this topic.

In advertising “Mixed Fleet” cabin crew jobs, BA has made claims about levels of pay which, it appears, are not being honoured. Were this to be a product that you or I purchased, we would have a right to complain and/or seek recompense under the Trade Descriptions Act. In the case of workplace remuneration, things are not so clear cut. Could employees and/or Trades Unions sue BA management for misrepresentation and dishonesty in setting our rates of pay that few (if any) MF crew achieve? I am not an employment lawyer so cannot say.

It is quite a stretch to assert that MF crew are “determined to destroy the airline…” when they are being paid at levels that require many to work second jobs. It’s worth noting that whereas BA used to be an airline to which many aspired to work for, owing to its pay and T&Cs, it now pays LESS than even locos such as Ryanair or Easyjet. A quite astonishing reversal.

And then to assert “very little public support for such action…” To conflate any potential MF strike action with the shenanigans taking place on Southern Railways is misleading and regrettable. Let us be clear that, at least for the time being, working people in the UK retain the right to withdraw their labour – if statutory requirements regarding consultation and strike ballots are adhered to. Are you proposing that this right is removed? In which case, what kind of authoritarian state are you proposing?

John Harper: with you 100%

[DerekVH]

According to FT only 10% of staff actually returned their ballot paper (1519 out 15000 staff)! Sorry, I now realise that only a fraction of the 15,000 staff were balloted!

.

[JohnHarper]

[quote quote=780939]Surprise surprise – they haven’t had a strike for a while, can’t let southern rail get all the headlines – totally determined to destroy the airline, very little public support for such action.

[/quote]

Actually Mixed Fleet have never had a strike and as for destroying the airline, well they won’t be able to exceed the efforts of Wee Willie and his side kick Cruz on that score.

Anthony Dunn – you and I agreeing – we must be right 🙂

[goldaviator]

[quote quote=780970]According to FT only 10% of staff actually returned their ballot paper (1519 out 15000 staff)! Sorry, I now realise that only a fraction of the 15,000 staff were balloted!

.

[/quote]

Its a little unclear how many Mixed Fleet crew there are, but figures sit at around 1800 to 3000 (depending on who you believe)

For arguments sake, if you say that there are 2500 MF crew and 79% voted in favour of industrial action, thats less than 2000 who could take part in the strike. Take from that those that are rostered leave and training and days off, I can’t really see the disruption to the overall service being that much especially if BA uses other areas of staff like pilots and engineers to fill in like they did in the last crew strike. The rumour mill at BA is already suggesting that staff are being rostered training to be able to work in crew positions should industrial action go ahead.

I do feel for the Mixed Fleet crew, they are badly paid and in my view overworked and hope that they manage to improve their conditions and pay from this……I doubt that BA will give in though.

Lets hoping my flight to Cape Town goes ahead next week….think I may have dodged the 7 days notice of industrial action….phew!

[Author]

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