[Anonymous]

[VintageKrug]

Feeble turnout and feeble cabin crew support for this rejection of BA’s Final Offer.

Time for the Board to play hardball.

[MartynSinclair]

Hi VK

The news item I heard which included an interview with a cabin crew employee, confirmed that the only outstanding issue were the staff travel concessions. According to the person interviewed:

1. The tax and airport duty is the same

2. The price for the shorthaul “get me on duty” flights are maybe 10% cheaper

3. The benefit is that the ticket allows “Standby ” which standard passenger tickets do not allow.

I guess that there is a bigger benefit for long haul staff travel.

Would a fair solution be to reinstate teh staff travel for shorthaul – thereby allowing staff to at least get to work on time and then reinstate the full staff travel to those affected say after 6 – 12 months. That way both sides would appear to have the “win” but best of all strike over.

I know the employer needs to show strength and the union (ittesepctive of what you feel about them) has to support its members……..

would the above seem a way forward – or is it just too simple. BA desperately needs some “good staff morale” – surely a resolution to the dispute would start that process.

[Potakas]

I think there is another issue here and i hope that you will be able to answer my question.

How is it possible for ~50% of the cabin crew not to proceed to the ballot? Have they been bored of all the union things? For sure, i don’t believe that they don’t care. There must be a reason here.

Secondly, how is possible the Union that represents democratic principles to be able to take decisions on a YES or NO ballot with 27% ?

Regards

[NTarrant]

Sorry Martyn but 73% of staff accept the offer, there is no going back. Your solution may sound like a nice idea but it just stores problems for the future.

Its time to move on

[Potakas]

Unite’s reaction to cabin crew’s rejection of BA’s revised offer…

20 July 2010

Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, said: “Willie Walsh’s attempt to browbeat his employees into accepting his deal has failed miserably. For the fourth time in this dispute, cabin crew have given BA management the thumbs-down in a ballot.

“In a free vote – without any recommendation from the union – only 15 per cent of crew accepted the deal that Willie Walsh claimed would be resoundingly accepted.

“BA cannot build industrial peace on such a flimsy foundation.

“This is a wake up call to BA. If Willie Walsh wants to lift the spectre of strike action from his schedule once and for all, he must come back with an offer acceptable to more than a tiny minority of the cabin crew. We are ready to talk.”

From the 73% that didn’t reject the offer we came to the 15% who accepted..

[PaulTolley]

NTarrant – “Sorry Martyn but 73% of staff accept the offer, there is no going back”.

That is not simply not correct. Not voting is not the same as accepting the offer. There maybe many reasons why a member might not vote, just as someone might not vote during the general election – it doesn’t mean they would all have voted for one party.

I’m not trying to defend Unite here, just questioning your statement.

[VintageKrug]

It’s a feeble result for the Union, and they lack any democratic mandate to carry this forward to Industrial Action.

Further, cabin crew would now be striking outside the protected period and so any withdrawal of labour would be a violation of the T&Cs of employment; they would risk being sacked (a fact Unite/BASSA is keeping very quiet about).

With 100% of services operating from both Gatwick and London City Airport, in the last strike and 100% of longhaul flights operating from LHR if any further Industrial Action is called, I really think that the Union is in a very weak position to bargain.

It is noteworthy that as far as I can see BA Management are not commenting in the media on the result; they regard it as irrelevant.

It’s really sad that BASSA’s incompetent leadership have lead its membership down the garden path, lost their staff travel benefits and ended up with a Final Offer significantly less beneficial to them than the original offer made, and now risks its own members jobs by inciting them into further strikes.

——–

On the point of concessions on staff travel, MartynSinclair, indeed WW did offer a compromise, suggesting that if Unite accepted the penultimate offer, that staff could have staff travel re-instated but with loss of seniority. In my view even that was overgenerous, and should at the very most have been restricted to one “get me to work” route for those who live away from London.

In fact even that was rejected by BASSA in their usual all-or-nothing approach to negotiation.

I am pleased the Board and WW have stood firm and am looking forward to a resolution, though it seems Unite are stirring up secondary action as they are also behind the BAA Ground Handlers’ strike plans.

Time to bring back Maggie! 😉

[NTarrant]

The 73% Paul have a choice, in exactly the same way as people who don’t vote in elections. In the case of BA, those that didn’t vote are therefore in acceptance of what the company wants. The can exercise the right to vote against by being a member of a recognised trade union, for what its worth.

People that don’t vote in elections, general or local, accept what they are given. They also had a choice but failed to exercise that democratic right.

The turnout of the vote says it all.

[Author]

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