[canucklad]

[quote quote=997402]British Airways. E1.92B in profit in 2019. Up to 12,000 staff to be made redundant and the majority of the remaining workforce told they will have to sign zero hours style contracts with all previous T&C’s ripped up.’[/quote]

So BA adopts the Sports Direct business model, it can’t come as a surprise that Walsh & Cruz drink at the same bar as Mike Ashley 1

What I don’t get, is that whilst I’m getting reasonably positive messages about future travel popping into my inbox from other airlines on my mailing list, the noises and actions BA are taking, and publicly airing are just not compatible with reassuring potential future custom !

It’s a rather dangerous game that they’ve brought upon themselves. Sowing doubt into your future existence through continual negativity and probably getting close to a snowballing effect is simply corporate suicide ! Total Bufoons in charge, didn’t they pay attention to the mess that FlyBe got themselves into ?

I’m beginning to regret doing (at the time) the morally right thing and not taking a refund but rather moving my flight dates.

3 users thanked author for this post.

DerekVH, K1ngston, speedbird1969

[Roa1]

CathayLoyalist2

Briefly, the answer is YES. But to “ZERO” hours contract NO. Zero hour contract ONLY applies in small business in the private sector. Either, face dismissal by virtue of redundancy and accept re-engagement under a different contract, and accept transfer of some “continuity of employment rights” to new contract. This type of situation has been happening all the time, and I am surprised the Unions don’t seem to remember that several decades ago, British Airways had “outsourced their IT” abroad to save costs. This is could be where, in my opinion, the “trade unions” ought to be less intransigent in their negotiations with BA, rather than the current “gung-ho” approach criticising and threatening to take the employer to court.

In most redundancies; an employer terminates employment contract because it considers a redundancy situation exist where business, or part of it, is shut down completely, or shut down at a specific location or the requirement for employees to do work of a particular kind has reduced or come to an end. it doesn’t matter if the Company is still partially operating. The employer has a legal duty to “reorganise and restructure” the company and make it viable preventing it from going into liquidation. This is one of potentially “FAIR” reason for dismissal. There are many case laws supporting this view.

Some brief notes on redundancy pay; applies to those worked continuously for 2 years,
the amount depends on the contract up to £30,000 tax free (the Company CANNOT arbitrarily change the old contract),
Statutory redundancy pay is capped at £15,750.

1 user thanked author for this post.

CathayLoyalist2

[Roa1]

My first sentence got a bit muddled! “Legally, a “Zero-hour” contract is where the employer is “NOT OBLIGED TO PROVIDE ANY MINIMUM WORKING HOURS and the WORKER IS NOT OBLIGED TO ACCEPT ANY WORK OFFERED”. With this type contract; a business like BA won’t get started, let alone employ ‘000s of highly trained, skilled and professional and administrative work force, regulated by Statutory legal provisions. Zero-hours, my foot!

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CathayLoyalist2

[capetonianm]

Walsh & Cruz drink at the same bar as Mike Ashley

Please let me know where that bar is so I can strenuously avoid going anywhere near it, unless it were to perform an illegal act!

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DerekVH

[SimonS1]

The “foam” incident is now being reported as sabotage by a disgruntled employee….

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11549442/british-airways-planes-sabotaged/amp/

1 user thanked author for this post.

K1ngston

[capetonianm]

BA come out of this smelling of ……. definitely not roses. Interesting that there’s no mention made of Cruz attending the hearing it’s all about Walsh.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/transport-committee/news-parliament-2017/impact-coronavirus-on-uk-transport-aviation-evidence-session-update-19-21/

The first evidence session on May 6 will comprise separate panels covering consumer rights, airport operators and representatives from the airline industry. As the UK’s largest airline, British Airways (BA) was invited to give evidence and face questioning.

BA refused to attend explaining that Willie Walsh, the Chief Executive of its parent, International Airlines Group (AIG), would be unavailable due to a board meeting. It was made clear that no other representative would be made available.

Subsequent to this response:

IAG announced plans to make 12,000 of BA’s 42,000 workforce redundant and vary the terms and conditions of BA staff who retain their jobs;
IAG took out a EUR1 billion loan, guaranteed by the Spanish Government (having previously stated that it would administer ‘self-help’ before applying for Government aid and being critical of competitors who had requested state-assistance); and
An investigation has estimated that airlines, including BA, are sitting on £7 billion of passenger refunds and offering future travel vouchers rather than returning the cash as consumer rights require

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ASK1945

[capetonianm]

Willie Walsh pushes on with 12,000 British Airways job cuts

IAG boss claims that government plans to force returning passengers into quarantine have ‘seriously set back recovery plans’ for airlines
By Oliver Gill 14 May 2020 • 1:09pm

British Airways is forging ahead with plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant despite ministers’ decision to extend the furlough scheme.

Willie Walsh, boss of the airline’s parent firm IAG, lashed out at Boris Johnson over plans for a 14-day quarantine on travellers entering Britain – saying they have wrecked industry hopes of a swift recovery and made huge job cuts inevitable.

In a letter to MPs on the transport committee, he welcomed the extension to taxpayer-backed furlough scheme “to breathe some life into a dying economy” but added that it will not stop BA axing a third of its workforce. The carrier is also consdering abandoning Gatwick Airport.

Mr Walsh wrote: “However, we must act now to secure the maximum number of jobs possible, consistent with the reality of a structurally changed airline industry in a severely weakened global economy.

“I want to confirm therefore that we will not pause our consultations or put our plans on hold.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/05/14/willie-walsh-pushes-12000-british-airways-job-cuts/

[SGJNI1961]

There is a report on Head For Points this morning which sets out the terms of the new crew contracts. No reason to think it is not accurate. Two pay grades, everyone goes everywhere and the salary for the lower grade is £24,000, depending on how it is calculated. Sounds pretty good for BA, not so good for crew. However there is an interesting remark in the comments about legacy crew pay and terms vs eg a police officer. Suggests crew only work 3 or 4 days per month for similar pay!???
As ever, look forward to hearing what rferguson will be able to share with us at what must be a very stressful time. It would be good to know what the other large airlines pay for comparison. Anyone know?

[Johnnyg]

l also read this first thing, it is typical WW, but the comments some contributors have made are horrendous. Denigrating cabin crew is one thing but the stupid and crass remarks regarding take the money as there are plenty of other airlines defies belief.

No doubt in a couple of years when there is some normality returned to the sector, gilets jaunes Cruz will have an enhanced pay out for restoring BA to great profitability.

What an horrendous, but expected, situation for all the crew.

[DerekVH]

I would assume that part of WW’s retirement package will be free flights for life – I hope he is not planning a lot of travel on BA, if he does I would suggest he has nothing to eat or drink during the flight!

1 user thanked author for this post.

ImissConcorde

[Stowage222]

Derek, he hasn’t been allowed to do that on board for over 10 years!

3 users thanked author for this post.

ImissConcorde, FaroFlyer, DerekVH

[capetonianm]

When one considers what Cruz and Walsh have done to the airline industry in general it would be gratifying to think that they might have to live out the rest of their lives being scared to travel on a commercial passenger flight.

Unfortunately with the payouts they will get for their incompetence and disgraceful treatment of staff they’ll probably be able to afford private aircraft.

[Roa1]

SJNI1961

The £24,000 seems to be the “BASE” rate, meaning it is the basic minimum starting salary under the revised terms and conditions of employment. The other benefits (cash – allowances and in kind – travel perks) likely to be transferred to the new contracts, under the “continuity of employment” protection rights. So, based on that minimum figure of £24K, employees with seniority and other circumstance would receive higher salaries from that minimum basic, on an incremental scale. This is my interpretation from that report. Assuming, that is the case, then surely it’s better to accept the new contract than face the inevitability of mass unemployment, joining the dole queue or facing economic ruins and perhaps an uncertain future. This is a terrible time for those who have lost their livelihoods, and struggling to make ends meet.

I had just read that Lufthansa employees (not sure their professional background) are taking a 43% pay cuts, Air Canada 50%, and other airlines in the pipe line!

[capetonianm]

Thanks Roa1 for that informative and insightful post, and if BA are doing as you say, it makes sense to do it that way. However, it ignores the elephant in the room, the trashing of 12,000 jobs and the livelihoods of those people and their families. Unemployment creates a spiral of poverty, negativity, and distress.

[Roa1]

capetonianm

The post I had submitted today to which you responded has disappeared from the screen! I can’t understand why that had happened! But I agree with you on the loss of those 12,000 jobs. I had that experience once and shall never forget it! Meanwhile, the daily numbers of job losses and the recession that is about to hit us is going to cause further hardships and misery, all because of this “Wuhan” virus!

If the BT is unable to retrieve that post about the BA’s restructuring, I could have another go writing from memory!

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