General Chat

IF this strike brings BA to the brink of bankrupcy .....what then? Another bail out?......I should hope not.....it's not a nationalised company......then again neither were the banks.......

From what I've read BA staff get paid more and have far superior working conditions to others in the same sector.....(I'd be interested to know if what I've read is correct though)........

I just feel so sorry for those that are going to lose their Christmas's due to this strike action.......

FAR more people are facing worse than BA Cabin crew at the mo........IE........a pittance on job seekers through no fault of their own. Times are blinky hard out there........what planet do these people live on?

Can anyone tell me exactly WHAT they think this will achieve........because from where I stand (and I've done a bit of reading up but don't have any inside info) this will most likely put them and more out of jobs ...............PERMANENTLY....BA are losing money hand over fist as it is......what are they supposed to do......carry on haemorraging money?????

The whole idea of a strike is to cause chaos, if the unions have agreed to this and fully prepared to back the staff they must feel they have a fair point, just the threat of this strike will cost BA millions as customers will panic and take their business else where, to me its means BA could be on the bones of their arse anyway .. please don’t shout at me I know about naff about politics or owt sensible.

I don't fully understand it either Hayley tbh..it's just that from a common sense point of view it seems like madness !!!

12 days of strikes during their busiest time when they're already losing money hand over fist.........it will break the company !!! then who will win !!!!

No one.

It's senseless........the cabin crew will bring down the whole company and other jobs with them if this goes ahead !!!! xx

why are they striking it must of gone to a vote, 12 days is a lot of days to strike so the members must be convinced its worth striking for..

Yep from what I've just read 80 per cent voted and of those 92 per cent voted to strike.

It's pretty unanimous.

It MAY be worth striking it may not........I don't know anyone within BA to get a full and unbiased account......but to me.....if you know the company you're working for is leaking money hand over fist..........something has to give........

OH had agreed to a pay cut and a cut in hours to try and keep his job.........and STILL that didn't work.(the union agreed to it too I have to say)

Fairness at the mo doesn't even come into it.....it's survival xx

They'll ALL be on £59 a week job seekers Diane.........rather than just a proportion of them.......

Same here Diane. The very second OH gets a job........I'll start applying.......whatever it takes to sort ourselves out we'll do. I HATE where I am now........but it's NOT our fault.........we're workers.....always have been...and we will be again and I have NO sympathy for people WITH jobs moaning at the mo. They should count their blessings.......OH was prepared to bend backwards forwards and sideways to keep his job......and even THAT wasn't enough fgs xx

Trouble is Muffy...the bosses know this and are treating the workers badly....ie....you can work so many hours for nothing + take an extra cut in pay.....if you don't like it....hard luck....try and find another job if you can.......The workers are feeling less than men and daren't complain....not because they will get less on the dole but because they feel the need to work and their pride takes a bashing.

What I would like to know is....why do the bosses choose just before Xmas to give people the push!
)
( no...not happening to us....been there and done that though

I don't know why it seems to happen more at Christmas Susan.....maybe it's to do with the companies that close down completely for 2 wks over the Christmas period.....they'll not have to pay then for staff that aren't working maybe?

I'd have a different point of view if the company was making massive profits.......but BA lost hundreds of millions of pounds for the first half of the year.........BA cabin crew are also paid better than others in the same sector in the first place !!! This is NOT the time to puff out your chest and demand your rights......BA have to make cuts and do something to plug the losses......it makes perfect sense to me. When and if they return to profit.......that's the time to kick your heels up and put a rocket up their bums.Not when they're teetering on the edge.

I feel VERY sorry for all the people that are going to lose out over this. Families that will now not see each other at Christmas time.xx

It always has been Christmas time for cuts and threats of redundancy. MY OH worked for R Xe*** fro 1973 until 1994 and every year just at the beginning of November there would be a threat of more redundancies at the end of December.

Muffy I think of you and your OH every time I read of these threatened strikes, not only is it BA but in our area the bus company S********h is going on strike in Gloucester and Ross on wye this Saturday and Christmas eve because they are getting a 2% lower rise than their colleagues in Cheltenham. The reason for this is the agreement made at the last pay rise when Cheltenham accepted a staggered rise making it more overall when the rest turned it down.

As for BA I can't believe that they can't see that no matter what the grievance, if the company is in dire straits as they say, striking is not going to help their jobs at all.

Have you ever seen a Union Boss with a brain

Hello Muffy, I work with a girl who used to work for BA as cabin crew, she gave it up (had too not by choice) when her babies will born, I asked if the conditions were better than other AL, she said she had only work for them but was still in contact with friends who had gone else where still at BA and yes BA working conditions where tons better, I asked what her opinion was of the pending strike she says " its the old school ones that cant take cut backs and refuse to the cut backs, she also had been told that BA where going to court over it as it was illegal !!!! I dont know how true that is?


Hayley Empress of Drama reporting for Ches'hire

Oooo ta Hayley. I always prefer to hear things right from the horses mouth....so it appears the media aren't making that up then ! Well done to Cheshires roving reporter lol.

Yes apparently they sent out strike ballot papers to people who no longer work for the company........though with a 92% yes vote I doubt it would ultimately have made much difference....I'm still steaming angry about it all.......absolute stupidity !!!! xx

She said that she opted to fly out of Manchester and took a cut in pay as by then she had her 1st child and it was easier, also her friend had moaned that at other Al you have to pay for your own uniforms you dont at BA she went on to tell me that BA staff where put up in the best hotels other AL make you do with places like travel lodge ,how cruel !


I also have a bod in MIA and will follow up my report after 9pm....

My name is Hayley Empress of Drama whispering sat in the bushes outside BA HO.....

........You forgot to say *now back to the studio* LOL xx

** FFS crawls from under the bush **



T'is back t'Muffy t;at studios............

*beams*

*** NEWS JUST IN ***












My bod in MIA is ruddy useless ........back to Muffy at the studio

*bangs sheets of paper on desk* (newsreader style)

*erm...............*

where is the damn autocue !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

** whispers from Bush **

Hand gestures a must muffy with pen in hand pretend to read some very important....sssssshhhhhhhh