BA Cancel Strike

Hi,

From the BBC,

the BA Strike is ON - Jan 29th to 31st

( I'm due to fly back from Budapest via LHR to EDI on the 29th ( Club Europe)

Regards

TBS

Originally posted by The_Banking_Scot
Hi,

From the BBC,

the BA Strike is ON - Jan 29th to 31st

( I'm due to fly back from Budapest via LHR to EDI on the 29th ( Club Europe)

Regards

TBS

Oh deep joy I'm off to IOM on the 1st[:I]

According to Reuters its only Sunday cabin staff going on a three-day strike and as the strike is scheduled for 3 days from Monday 29th to Wednesday the 31st then it should not affect flights at all.
Reuters report

Mind you I think though that the Reuters website may have a grammatical error.[V][|:)]

I think it was reporting "Sunday" (ie: today) that cabin staff are going on a 3 day strike... but still no good news for anyone whose trips must go ahead on the afftected dates.

Yes, I also think they mean that it happened on Sunday, not Sunday CC.

VS.

Originally posted by VS045
Yes, I also think they mean that it happened on Sunday, not Sunday CC.

VS.

Yes I did get the true meaning but just could not resist pointing out the poor grammar for a change[}:)]

[Decker]

Well Flying out on the 27th and back on the 3rd so phew!

Originally posted by The_Banking_Scot
Hi,

From the BBC,

the BA Strike is ON - Jan 29th to 31st

( I'm due to fly back from Budapest via LHR to EDI on the 29th ( Club Europe)

Regards

TBS

Pooey - off to NYC on the 29th, on VS but now I guess it will be packed to the rafters ...

I am also flying 27th so a phew from me also......

See what happens when you dance with the devil...

Paul

Oh Great-

Outbound work trip booked on 29th to Basel, Guess when the return is? Yep, 31st!! The question is, do I rearrange now (no fee for rebookings-which suggests BA reckon things will probably happen) or wait in the hope that ACAS can avert the action? (the work side can probably wait, but I'm invited to a posh celebration banquet at top Swiss restaurant on the evening of the 29th).

My last BA Basel flight was cancelled on the morning of departure (not due to fog).

It was interesting to hear Willy Walsh on Weekend Business on Radio Five last night - he is adamant that they value the crew and that this can be resolved by discussion. They also had their reporter Steven Cape discussing the union's reasons - there are obviously 2 sides to every story and some interesting points cames out:

BA's sickness days was 22 per person per annum, since Walsh arrived its now 12 - national average is 7-8

Staff feel that they are "bullied" on their return to work because they have to do a return to work interview.

Cabin staff get £10,500 on entry to the company ( excluding any perks or weightings etc)The union say this is below the "poverty level"

The changes the Union want have been costed by BA at £37 million

90% of cabin staff voted in the ballot with an overwhelming majority calling for strike action - this is high in industrial dispute ballots!

BA say they have "contingency" plans in place to alleviate the strike.

Interesting stuff eh?

I'm due to fly back to work on the 31st, but I think I will hold off a few days before I rush in and change tickets.

Iain

Originally posted by MarkJ
Cabin staff get £10,500 on entry to the company ( excluding any perks or weightings etc)The union say this is below the "poverty level"

hmm interesting.....

When i worked for BA as a Passenger Service Agent that was my first wages back in 1997 so can see that nothings changed then.

[honey lamb]

To add to people's woes, a friend in Canada who is due to fly over here in February forwarded this email recived from BA's business division:


From: "British Airways On Business"
Reply-To: BritishAirwaysOnBusiness.674p4fy0f.gw@b ... sob.p0.com
To: "Alison
Subject: Proposed Cabin Crew Strike
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:27:40 PST




Dear Ms XXXX,

The Transport and General Workers Union's (T&G) cabin crew branch has announced that it is planning industrial action on January 29, 30 and 31; February 5, 6 and 7; and February 12, 13 and 14.

We would like to assure you that we remain committed to resolving this dispute through continued talks. We have today asked an external mediation service to assist us in taking this process forward with the T&G.

In the meantime, all British Airways flights continue to operate normally.

We are currently assessing the impact any potential industrial action will have on our flight schedule, in the event that a strike does take place. We are working as quickly as possible to confirm our plans for the affected period. If any of your employees are due to travel between January 29 and February 16, we understand that they may wish to change their plans. As a result, we have introduced a policy that enables you to rebook flights for a different date.

We understand that this is an uncertain time for our customers. We would like to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to make sure that disruption is minimised in the event of any industrial action. To enable us to reach your travellers with the latest travel information before their flights, we recommend that all bookings contain passenger contact details (mobile number, email address). Travellers should visit Manage My Booking at ba.com to ensure their details are up to date.

We hope to make full information available regarding the first period of action from Wednesday, January 24, and will update you accordingly. With this said, if we have to make flight cancellations as a result of this industrial action, we will publish a comprehensive policy that will cover rebooking, rerouting and refund options.

You may be able to make changes to your booking via the Change Booking facility on ba.com.

If you are unable to make changes to your booking on ba.com, you can call British Airways or contact your travel agent.

If you are in the US or Canada, you can call us at 1-800-AIRWAYS. In the UK you can reach us on (freephone) 0800 727 800.

For the latest information on the situation, please go to the latest flight news pages on ba.com.

Thank you for your support during this time.

Sincerely yours,

British Airways

Brilliant, My alternative date to fly back was supposedly the 12th Feb but now that is scuppered as well[:?]At this rate I could be off work for 3 weeks:D

Iain

Originally posted by MarkJ
Cabin staff get £10,500 on entry to the company ( excluding any perks or weightings etc)The union say this is below the "poverty level"

So I guess EVERYONE on less that around £6 per hour working around a normal 35-37.5 hour week needs to become part of a union and protest for more money then?

It is not a great salary I grant you, but jobs are advertised up front about how much you get paid. You can't really take on a job and then moan about the pay.

If they promised something else and then dropped it or didn't move it up as promised then that is a different thing.

I had 2 weeks off just before Christmas and I got offered a driving job (I thought is was going to be a call chauffeur job but it was delivering parcels) for £6 an hour. I turned it down. What I didn't do is to take it on then go on strike as this equated to a figure below the poverty line.

Paul

[Scrooge]

Agreed Paul.

I am not going to get in a fight with crew over this, but as you point out it is known up front what the pay will be, hell the union negotiated the wage for you.

However my understanding is that there is also the issue of sick time, I wish I had a job that allowed me 12 days sick time with no action being taken.

Also on the wage issue it should be noted that this is the base wage, there is also the per diem to factor in as well.

[Decker]

Erm the dispute isn't about that - it seems to be WORSE than that - they get 12 days and they're saying that they don't want time they take as sick to class as sick if it's a kind of sickness that would compromise their ability to do their job. So I have conjunctivitis and stay off sick I don't want that to count towards my 12 days.

The entry level pay is a part of the dispute - hence the T&G reps refernece to "the poverty line".

They also have a big complaint about the "return to work" interview!! We use it in our business as a matter of course but BA staff say they are being bullied!!

I spoke with FC this morning, and as you might expect the nice lady commented that things were getting busy on VS as people transferred over ... guess it'll be busy next week!

Originally posted by iforres1
Brilliant, My alternative date to fly back was supposedly the 12th Feb but now that is scuppered as well[:?]At this rate I could be off work for 3 weeks:D

Iain

BA are really pi**ing me off. I have tried to book alternative dates to get back to work on days that there is no industrial action and they have blocked/cancelled the flights on their system for these alternative dates. [:(!]
So where is the flexibilty in offering their customers to change their dates?

Latest is that the T&G have deferred the start of the action by 24 hrs - may be a hopeful sign of resolution, but doesn't aid the level of uncertainty for pax.

Originally posted by Decker
Erm the dispute isn't about that - it seems to be WORSE than that - they get 12 days and they're saying that they don't want time they take as sick to class as sick if it's a kind of sickness that would compromise their ability to do their job. So I have conjunctivitis and stay off sick I don't want that to count towards my 12 days.

While I do have sympathy with the crew, either you're sick or your not. When you get into the kind of game you're describing it's clear that the 12 days are not sickies at all but taking the P.

Yesterday on LBC they were talking about the intricacies of what the sides are defining 'conditions' not being part of the 12 day sick day 'entitlement' (???!!!) including, at one extreme, ingrowing toe nails or blocked ears.

Equally, for this to have reached a stage where 96% vote in favour of strike action clearly this is at the rank-and-file level, not just a few militants causing trouble. There is something very, very wrong at a management level for them to have misread the feeling so badly. The cost of regular frequent strikes such as that being projected (three days per week for the next three weeks) must surely cost more to their bottom line and stock value than a solution.

Cheers, Howard

To be honest I kind of hope they will defer the start by a few more hours as this may mean I can't get home from Orlando at the end of next week and have to stay there for longer. Then surely I can take more time off work without it being classed as holiday....

Paul

[mitchja]

Just received this email from BA:

Dear Mr Mitchell,

As you may be aware, the cabin crew branch of the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) has notified British Airways today (Wednesday January 24) that it has decided to cancel the first day of its planned strike (Monday January 29).

Strikes are still scheduled to take place on Tuesday January 30 and Wednesday January 31 followed by 72-hour walk-outs beginning on Monday February 5 and Monday February 12.

We would like to assure you that we remain committed to the pursuit of a negotiated settlement.

If the T&G does not call off the rest of its strikes for next week we will announce tomorrow (Thursday January 25) details of our flight schedule for the first period of action. We will update you with this information as soon as it is available.

We understand that this is an uncertain time for our customers. We would like to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to make sure that disruption is minimised in the event of any strike action.

Flights operated by our subsidiary, BA Connect, franchise partners BMED, GB Airways, SunAir and Comair as well as flights operated by our codeshare partners with a BA flight code and flights between Manchester and New York JFK are unaffected by any potential strike action (* for more information please go to the bottom of the email).

If you are due to travel between January 29 and February 16 we understand that you may wish to change your plans. As a result, we have introduced a policy that enables you to rebook flights for a different date.

If you are currently holding a booking for a flight departing on Tuesday January 30 or Wednesday January 31 and wish to gain a refund you should contact us. If you are in the UK you can call us on 0800 727 800 (freephone). If you are calling from outside the UK, please click here to find contact details for your local British Airways office
http://ba.com/contact

Alternatively, if your booking was made through a travel agent, you should contact them directly.

In the event of strike action we will publish a comprehensive policy that will cover re-booking, re-routing and refund options if flights are cancelled.

You may be able to change the date of your booking via the Change Booking facility on ba.com. Please visit
http://ba.com/mmb

For the latest information on the situation, please go to the latest flight news pages on ba.com
http://ba.com/lfn

Yours faithfully,

British Airways

------------------
Flights which are unaffected by potential strike action
------------------
Flights between Manchester and New York JFK
BA1502 and BA1503

Flights operated by British Airways subsidiary BA Connect, with flight number between:
BA1504 - BA1999
BA4000 - BA4249
BA4320 - BA4449
BA7600 - BA7949
BA8700 - BA8770

Franchise carriers (GB Airways, BMED, Loganair, Sunair and Comair) and flights operated by our codeshare partners with a BA flight code, with flight numbers between:
BA3320 - BA3329
BA4250 - BA4319
BA4500 - BA7599
BA8200 - BA8299
BA8450 - BA8497
BA8771 - BA8999

Regards