Cabin crew at BA are gonna strike again from 18 May

[BLOCK F]

Can't believe they are going ahead with strikes.They will have virtually no support from the media or the public.Reckon they are on a loser....I damn' well hope so!:US:

 

[bhaexpress]

Sack the bastards, and employ people who do not have a job, and would bite thier right arm off for one.

Not quite that simple sadly, the flight attendants need to have a certain level of training for legal reasons. However, given the current economical climate and the fact that their company is losing money hand over fist you have to wonder just what semblance of intelligence these strikers have. They must think that if BA goes tits up that the government will bail them out like it did when they were privatised. Can't see that happening again, especially when they earn considerably more than their competitors staff. Nobody though TWA and Pan Am would fail did they ?

 

[arfer guinness]

If you check the BBC web site then you'll see Easy 10 was more or less correct.

People aren't asking the BA crews to be on par with the lowest paid in their industry, they're just pointing out how greedy and selfish the crews are when they are one of the best paid in the industry. No job cuts nor pay cuts - hardly a reason to strike over. Take into account their previous travel perks that they have never paid tax on and it really shows them up as the bunch of left wing tossers they really are. To think that people are correctly complaining about tax evasion in Greece when BA staff are avoiding paying tax as well !!!!

As I've said, not knowing the full story I can only give opinions. I don't know anything about the non payment of tax you say about but I do however have a good friend who works for BA. He tells me the crew have accepted redundancies, they are leaving in their droves, they do not want compulsary redundancies. Like many people BA workers have had a 2 year pay freeze, air fares like everything else has continued to rise with inflation, therefore their earnings are worth less. BAs problems hasn't been its staff, it is the management. The T5 fiasco and the £350 million fine for price fixing amongst other things has put BA in its current position. Because of their work pattern many cabin crew are able to live throughout the country and even Europe, therefore Willie Walsh taking away their travel concessions isn't stopping them going on holiday it's stopping them going to work. Willie Walsh is a bully, who despite going without 1 months pay last year is still taking all his share bonuses. 81% of cabin crew who voted agreed with a strike, this is not a whim there is more going on then most people realise.

 

[bhaexpress]

As I've said, not knowing the full story I can only give opinions. I don't know anything about the non payment of tax you say about but I do however have a good friend who works for BA. He tells me the crew have accepted redundancies, they are leaving in their droves, they do not want compulsary redundancies. Like many people BA workers have had a 2 year pay freeze, air fares like everything else has continued to rise with inflation, therefore their earnings are worth less. BAs problems hasn't been its staff, it is the management. The T5 fiasco and the £350 million fine for price fixing amongst other things has put BA in its current position. Because of their work pattern many cabin crew are able to live throughout the country and even Europe, therefore Willie Walsh taking away their travel concessions isn't stopping them going on holiday it's stopping them going to work. Willie Walsh is a bully, who despite going without 1 months pay last year is still taking all his share bonuses. 81% of cabin crew who voted agreed with a strike, this is not a whim there is more going on then most people realise.

Won't fly I'm afraid, I used to work in the airline industry and BA staff (especially Heathrow) have always been paid well and thus have a very high and frankly unjustified opinion of themselves. Everybody has to tighten their belts so why do BA staff think they're any different. Many BA passengers will go with other carriers and I doubt whether many will return. It's pure insanity so when they have taken their company into receivership I hope they enjoy being on the dole.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Why on earth would anybody in their right mind book a BA flight from here on in? It's crappy enough having your plans disrupted by snow and volcanic ash without voluntarily adding another prat-fall to your plans? Virgin go long-haul just about everywhere BA go, and short haul there's plenty of choice. Time for BA to go belly-up and pass unloved into history methinks

 

[The Spanish]

Everybody has to tighten their belts

not only that they have had to fold their trays away and return their seats to the upright position.

 

[bhaexpress]

not only that they have had to fold their trays away and return their seats to the upright position.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Like many people BA workers have had a 2 year pay freeze, air fares like everything else has continued to rise with inflation, therefore their earnings are worth less.

Welcome to the real world - many many people have had pay freezes. They are still being paid the same - no direct pay cuts - so how are their earning worthless. Willy Walsh needs to get the airline to make money or they'll all be out of a job but these cabin crew seem too stupid to realise that.

 

[arfer guinness]

Welcome to the real world - many many people have had pay freezes. They are still being paid the same - no direct pay cuts - so how are their earning worthless. Willy Walsh needs to get the airline to make money or they'll all be out of a job but these cabin crew seem too stupid to realise that.

Not worthless, worth less. If inflation increases by 3% a year and your wages don't you have a cut in your pay in relation to what it will buy. I agree most people have had apay freeze not only BA. If Willie Walsh wanted to get BA back on its feet he shouldn't have overseen £1/2 billion of moey wasted as I've described.

 

[dougdeep]

Greedy bastards. If you don't like your pay and conditions then apply for a job elsewhere.

 

[arfer guinness]

Greedy bastards. If you don't like your pay and conditions then apply for a job elsewhere.

BA crew like their pay and conditions, that's the problem, BA want to change them.

 

[Padders]

They'll be earning a lot less than Willie.

Willie is provoking the union by sacking strikers and union reps. He wants the union to strike and lose, in order to break the union in BA, and then push through whatever changes to T&Cs he wants.

 

[Beach Hut]

BA cabin crew are acting very badly in all of this as they are far better paid with better t & cs so this is a stupid decision that will cost them badly.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

I have a friend who is a flight attendant for ANA(a Japanese airline). Several times a month she does long haul flights to Europe or America. When she does the Europe route she has to work with B.A crew. She has very little positive to say about them、unfortunately. She says they're lazy, rude, unhelpul and kind of snobby. Her least favourite co-workers.

On the other hand, the one time I've flown with B.A I found them o.k. No problems at all.

 

[bhaexpress]

I've flown with BA quite often, they are no better or worse than most but frankly never have been my first choice and never will be. The selfish attitude of their cabin staff now has made that a certainty. I find that the service on American, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern carriers to be cheaper with no loss of service and in fact quite often superior. When they start losing their jobs they'll get no sympathy from the vast majority of people.

 

[beorhthelm]

...I do however have a good friend who works for BA. He tells me the crew have accepted redundancies, they are leaving in their droves, they do not want compulsary redundancies.

if people are leaving anyway, why are they striking over redundancies? sounds like you are getting the full picture or your freidn doesnt really understand either.

Willie is provoking the union by sacking strikers and union reps. He wants the union to strike and lose, in order to break the union in BA, and then push through whatever changes to T&Cs he wants.

probably. but some have said here that those terms are already in place in pther parts of BA, its just the Heathrow crews that have a peachy little existance in the industry. if BA lose, none of them will have a job, BA will get brought out or merge with a foreign airline.

 

[User removed 4]

It does make me laugh, the way some of the more left leaning comrades on here are slagging BA staff off because it's inconveniencing THEM! Whereas they would support heinrich himmler if he were a striking miner/steelworker/railwayman etc

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

As I've said, not knowing the full story I can only give opinions. I don't know anything about the non payment of tax you say about but I do however have a good friend who works for BA. He tells me the crew have accepted redundancies, they are leaving in their droves, they do not want compulsary redundancies. Like many people BA workers have had a 2 year pay freeze, air fares like everything else has continued to rise with inflation, therefore their earnings are worth less. BAs problems hasn't been its staff, it is the management. The T5 fiasco and the £350 million fine for price fixing amongst other things has put BA in its current position. Because of their work pattern many cabin crew are able to live throughout the country and even Europe, therefore Willie Walsh taking away their travel concessions isn't stopping them going on holiday it's stopping them going to work. Willie Walsh is a bully, who despite going without 1 months pay last year is still taking all his share bonuses. 81% of cabin crew who voted agreed with a strike, this is not a whim there is more going on then most people realise.

So let me gets this right, they are using a 'perk' to finance there travel to work as some live in Europe ....

A friend is a stewardess at Gatwick, she and her colleagues have no sympathy with the Heathrow lot, they consider them lazy, rude, overpaid pricks. That is the polite version. HA flight from Gatwick to Florida has two staff (sometimes three) less than the identical flight from Heathrow, it's always been like this and she doesn't have an issue (I believe that Virgin have similar manning levels). In her view the Heathrow staff are taking the p*ss, especially has some of them are now asking the non-union staff to support them even though the non union staff haven't got the heathrow perks!
The bottom line is that BA are in it's last legs, it will go south if they don't all muck in together. Willie Walsh is a prick, in a sucession of pricks that have 'run' BA, but on this he is correct.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

It does make me laugh, the way some of the more left leaning comrades on here are slagging BA staff off because it's inconveniencing THEM! Whereas they would support heinrich himmler if he were a striking miner/steelworker/railwayman etc

I suspect you'll find that most people can't/won't support the unsupportable.

 

[User removed 4]

I suspect you'll find that most people can't/won't support the unsupportable.

With the way some on here try to defend labour's record, i have to disagree.