[size=75:3c4bz6ak]novinite December 14, 2009

British Airways Cabin Crew Set to Strike over Christmas

British Airways cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike in a dispute over job cuts and changes to staff contracts.

The strikes are set to begin on 22 December and run until 2 January. They are expected to cause significant disruption over the Christmas period.

Cabin crew voted by nine to one in favour of the strike action, the BBC reported.

The strike could cause problems for many UK and Bulgarian tourists who use the airline to fly between the two countries over the festive period.

It follows a long dispute between the unions and BA, which is intent on cutting costs to ensure its survival.

"
It goes without saying that we have taken this decision to disrupt passengers and customers over the Christmas period with a heavy heart,"
said Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of the Unite union.

The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, a section of Unite, also said it was unhappy about taking strike action.

"
We are deeply saddened to have reached the point where we must take industrial action to get our voices heard, but feel that we have been left with no other choice,"
it said.



This could be bad news for some I was watching the news earlier and they said that those who have booked are unlikely to get any compensation if the flight is canceled because of the strike

Just got the latest update

Cabin crews have voted to strike on 22nd December until 2nd January which will effect all BA flights.

More than a million passengers were facing Christmas travel misery tonight as British Airways cabin crew announced a 12-day strike in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

Unite stunned the airline by announcing a walkout from December 22 to January 2 following a 9-1 vote in favour of industrial action.

BA said the strikes were "
completely unjustified"
, while rival airlines moved to tempt customers affected by the action.

Len McCluskey, Unite's assistant general secretary, said he hoped the size of the vote would force BA to reopen negotiations.

"
More than nine out of 10 staff are saying that what is happening is wrong - they want to be treated with dignity and respect.

"
We have taken this decision to disrupt passengers with a heavy heart and we are hoping that the company can still avoid it happening.

"
We would like passengers to be angry with the company. It is something of an irony that the people responsible for making BA the best airline in the world are now engaged in a dispute."


Mr McCluskey said the cabin crew were not "
mindless militants"
, but decent men and women who were proud of BA and did not want to bring the company down.

The strike will ground hundreds of flights and cost BA millions of pounds on top of its current losses of around £1.5m (€1.66m) a day.

The union warned of further strikes if the long-running dispute was not resolved.



Not looking good so anyone thinking of using BA had better make other arrangements.



ATB

And A very Happy Christmas to each and every one of them. (tongue in cheek)
I hope the public will go on strike and give them some of their own medicine when they decide to return to work [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes willowsend your right I wish them a merry Christmas as well when you look at what they are already getting paid and in my opinion a load of spoilt brats then I can not understand why they are doing this, this is something you would expect to see happening in a school playground its a joke but not for those who want to travel

Got to agree with you both what are they complaining about?????????????????

I would have thought in this day and age folks would be welcome of a job of any type. I bet there's thousands would love a job as an airline steward/ess.

I think your right Chris there are so many people in the uk alone who would give there right are for a job at the moment and here we have them moaning about the fact that they are going to lose one person on a flight when they already have more than the others anyway and the other thing they get paid almost twice as much as airlines like virgin I do wonder in the sense of this can only make things much worse for a company that is already in so much debt ! do that not realise that this action can only put more jobs at risk?

I think striking over Christmas and New Year, forcing people to book other airlines, etc., is putting their own jobs in jeopardy anyway.

These are hard times, a full time job, flying around the World, expenses paid sounds good to me and probably millions of others.

Perhaps this is 'The Union' raising its ugly head again?

Thought the UK was done with that years ago.

Your right Chris most people would be very happy with a job like that and as for unions you only have to look back at industrial history here in the uk and see how they have destroyed what was the heart of the industrial world British steel, Rover, the Mining industry to name but a few I'm sure some of these union leaders are hell bent on destroying that which we all rely on!!

[size=75:114ttfh7]Telegraph .co.uk 15 Dec 2009

BA seeks injunction to stop Christmas strike

The airline is to ask the High Court to prevent the walkout because of what it says were irregularities in the ballot, where 92.5 per cent of those polled backed industrial action.
Willie Walsh, BA's chief executive, said that the airline was considering taking legal action to prevent the crippling strike taking place shortly after the result of vote was announced.
It is understood that BA's legal team believes there have been a series of irregularities which would render the strike vote illegal.
They include allegations that former British Airways employees took part in the strike ballot which was triggered by the airline's plans to bring in a raft of cost-cutting measures.
The airline had set Unite a 2pm deadline to call off the strike and, having heard no reply from the union to a series of letters, said it would seek an injunction.
BA's tactics came as no surprise to a leading employment lawyer, Michael Ryley of Pinsent Masons, who predicted that the airline's legal team would pour all over the conduct of the ballot in the hope of finding grounds for stopping the strike.
"
If they could find a technical breach it would be there get out of jail free card,"
he said.
"
Ultimately the law cannot stop a strike, but it can delay a strike."
Mr Ryley said. "
He may want to play for time..
"
You can always try to pick up something. But for a court to do this is a pretty desperate remedy.
"
BA would have to come up with something pretty compelling to show that there has been an injustice here.
"
There is a long tradition of people going out on strike if they have a grievance about their terms and conditions.
"
The only way a union can be stopped is if the union has not followed the proper procedure."

If BA is successful, it would at the very least force Unite to hold a costly ballot again. If the 13,500 cabin crew reiterated their determination to strike over what it says was the imposition of new contracts, the walkout would take place at a quieter time of year.
This would reduce the huge bill BA faces from a Christmas walkout.
As a back-up to the legal action, British Airways managers have been establishing which cabin crew might wish to work normally during the strike period.
BA is considering whether it will attempt to run a skeleton operation during the dispute.
Managers are contacting staff to see if any are prepared to work during the dispute. A small minority of cabin crew are not members of Unite
There are fears that the chaos caused by a 12-day strike could continue for days after the stoppage ends.
The airline's major problem will be how to restore its timetable to normality once Unite members agree to return to work.
Inevitably the stoppage will mean that both planes and crew will be left in the wrong place once the strike starts.
As a result the disruption will continue for several days as the airline deals with the huge logistical task of getting aircraft and crew back to base, to enable the timetable to return to some form of normality.
Meanwhile a former British Airways brand adviser warned that the strike could damage the airline for a decade.
Simon Middleton added: "
This could, quite literally, kill the brand and ultimately the company. It’s little short of tragic,“ says Middleton. “If Unite really wants to protect its members then I believe it should be working with the brand, not against it.“
“BA is the national carrier after all, and its fortunes and misfortunes reflect on the international reputation of the country.
“For all our prosperity, this is not a time to damage the BA brand.“

If the BA cabin staff do go on strike, make their final destination prior to the start of their action to a far away country so when the planes and staff are grounded they are all stranded miles away from their loved ones and see how they will enjoy their festive season
This airline is said to be the flagship of the sky. It's not even flying at half-mast at present
And what about terminal 5 (a terrible place at the best of times) will that close. What are the implications there, will all the shops close, will passport control and customs close
If this strike goes ahead I am sure that it will be the end of British Airways, all caused by greed and controlling unions. I've got that off my chest

Yes me to it would be nice if they were left stranded from their family, as for terminal 5 the bigger picture is the loss of so many more jobs I think the union has lost sight of what they were set up for in the beginning you only have to look at British industry to see that as said above they are to blame for its demise, on the news last night it seems that the cabin crew were not aware of the fact that it was for 12 consecutive days another deceit by the union I would think? it was also said on the news that the union had sent out letters to its members urging them to stand by their vote so as yourself who is the culprit here

I have flown on many airlines and I don't see any difference between BA and the others.
BA's crew is the highest paid, and I have no sympathy for them at all, the company is heading for bankruptcy, and this is not the way to save them. The staff and unions obviously don't care about BA or the passengers .
when something like this happens, they should sack them all and take on people who will do their job for the pay agreed. instead oif holding them to ransome

This is the latest from the Telegraph today

British Airways strikes: fresh talks between BA bosses and union leaders

Unite's joint leaders Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson will meet the airline's bosses to try to find a breakthrough in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions.
BA said it had offered to meet the union at 3pm today, "
without preconditions"
, and Unite later confirmed that talks would be held.
A Unite spokesman said: "
We are glad that BA management has seen sense and we hope we can now move from confrontation to negotiation and get the dispute resolved."

BA is pressing ahead with a legal challenge to Unite's ballot of its 12,500 cabin crew members, claiming that some workers who had left the company took part in the voting.
A High Court case is listed for 2pm in London today.
Thousands of cabin crew are due to strike for 12 days from next Tuesday to January 2, threatening travel misery for a million passengers at a cost of tens of millions of pounds to the airline.
The news on the resumption of talks followed an admission by Derek Simpson, head of the Unite union, that the planned 12-day strike is "
probably over the top"
.
The joint general secretary of Unite said the length of the industrial action was "
unusual"
, as Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, urged both sides to hold talks.
Mr Simpson told GMTV: "
It was the decision of the negotiating team in BA. That's their judgement if what's needed to bring sense to this. It's probably over the top."

He added: "
What I would urge people to do is to get on to BA and tell them - 'negotiate'."

His comments came as Mr Brown said he was "
very worried"
about the possibility of the strike.
Mr Brown said: "
I am very worried about this and that is why I talked to Andrew Adonis, our transport minister, at six o'clock this morning. We are agreed that the different sides in this dispute have got to look outwards and not inwards, they have got to think of the passengers that they serve, they have got to think about the future of their company.
"
I know there is a legal challenge today in the courts and we have got to see what happens as a result of that, but I hope we will see the talks that are necessary so that people can have a strike-free and trouble-free Christmas."

This is interesting I found it earlier

I am BA cabin crew and I am prepared to go on strike although 12 days is a long time to be on strike.
I've been through some hardship as I recently lost my father and my mother is ill. The job is stressful and you have to leave your worries at home and be constantly nice to passengers.
I am a purser which means I manage my part of the cabin. My job is under threat as BA has taken crew members off and has already removed pursers from the upper deck and now on lower deck.
Cabin crew members are capable at doing their jobs but the buck has to stop somewhere, and if supervision is taken away then what will happen if there is an emergency?
It seems that management wants to run a premium airline on a low-cost budget.
BA's fines have run into millions in relation to price fixing, fuel, and cargo, and unfortunately it is the staff that has to suffer.
I don't think it is a coincidence that BA imposed their proposals such as the reduction of long-haul crew on 16th November. BA knew full well the union will ballot their members and that the process will take about month, and a decision to strike would be made just before Christmas.
There is little chance of career progression. I work on short-haul flights and I have been trying to get a job in long-haul for the last five years. Opportunities have significantly reduced now.
I have been working for BA for 20 years, and I have never known morale to be so low. We are all demoralised and we feel undervalued, while the fat cats get their bonuses and share options.
We are all prepared to take pay cuts but when it comes down to dismantling everything you've worked for the situation cannot continue. BA was once a prestigious place to work but it has been turned into a low cost model which is not what we're all about.
Years ago, you needed a nursing qualification and be fluent in a foreign language in order to work for BA. But now, customer service experience is low and staff only stay for a short period of time. So there is a high turn over of staff with limited experience. We are fighting not only for our future, but for new staff who are coming up.
The last thing we want to do is to go on strike, but if we give up now, the job will not be worth doing. We have to send a really clear message that we are not happy.
Lots of crew will be stuck around the world because of the strike action. But the general feeling is that for one Christmas, it will be worth it.



It’s alright here saying for one Christmas it will be worth it try telling that to those around the world who will be relying on them for all sorts of reasons including funerals and wedding and then there are those who will lose financially do they really care ? I don't think so