British Airways vs. BASSA (current Airline Staff Only)

[MIDLGW]

Hot Wings,

Check this link out and you might change your mind

Yellow ribbon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Hot Wings]

Thanks MIDLGW, I am aware of the meaning of yellow ribbons. I mean't yellow as in cowardly. Perhaps we should each send DH a white feather?

[MIDLGW]

HW,

I'm sure DH would claim some weird sort of feather allergy and try to sue us

An organisation that use yellow:

Marie Curie Cancer Care | Welcome to Marie Curie Cancer Care

Meaning of yellow flowers:

Yellow Flower - Understanding the Meaning of Yellow Flowers

Carnations: Rejection, disdain
Chrysanthemum: Slighted love
Hyacinth: Jealousy
Lily: False and gay
Rose: Friendship
Tulip: Hopeless love
(Source: WHAT ARE THE MEANINGS OF FLOWERS)

[Hot Wings]

No yellow roses then...

[the flying nunn]

Disgusting, first they seek to gain political points from the bangkok death and now they seek to politicise the the tragic loss of life in Manchester. I am so glad that I have now left the union. If that offer comes up again I will have it signed and back to the company within 5 minutes.

What next? Dancing on Lord Kings grave?

[MrBunker]

I don't post this for amusement but it certainly sparked incredulity in me. In another place someone has claimed, with a straight face, that if the strike-breakers hadn't broken the strike, then the BKK death would never have happened. That and the person claiming that BASSA's comms are a model of restraint and veracity in comparison to BA's left me not knowing whether to laugh or cry (or the latter as a result of the former).

MrB

[Neptunus Rex]

Is it not somewhat ironic that yellow sashes were first worn by the Puritan Roundheads in the English Civil War. We are now to be subjected to the indecorous sight of BASSA militants who choose an alternative lifestyle, vying with each other as to who can disport themselves in the most outrageous yellow costumes.
The farce plunges on.

[Timothy Claypole]

Mr B if you would like a laugh I suggest you check out Bill Francis' latest web chat. The same old people banging the same old drum about upgrades (how many times does the information have to be punched into these people?) and a 'too much time on my hands now I live in the Ibis' purser asking questions which your average AS-level business studies student could answer. Desperate really.

[Hot Wings]

Timothy C,
They cannot accept that the earth is round either.

[LD12986]

Another organisation to be added to the list of those involved in the vast anti-BASSA conspiracy:

2010 Winners

Not many people would choose a job in which you are regularly vilified by shareholders, the press, passengers and some of your staff, not to mention having to forego some of your pay to help the airline meet its financial targets. But that is the lot of British Airways' combative chief executive Willie Walsh as he battles to transform the flag carrier and slay its many demons, from intransigent unions to a stubbornly large cost base. You get the feeling the former Aer Lingus pilot enjoys the challenge.

Flightglobal.com users certainly believe Walsh has done a good job, voting him Leader of the Year in the Flightglobal Achievement Awards. Walsh picked up his award at a ceremony at the air show last night.

British Airways may have come along way since its days as a nationalised carrier in a highly regulated market. But in recent years it has got caught in a brutal squeeze, having to compete on short-haul routes with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet, whose costs are pared to a minimum, while on long-haul well-financed carriers from the Middle East and Asia have put pressure on BA's previously lucrative premium business.


"Every day I've looked in the mirror and said 'how did I get here?'. But I've always worked on the basis that when an opportunity presents itself, you grab it"

Willie Walsh

*

Add to that soaring fuel prices, high costs at its main Heathrow base, glacier-pace liberalisation in the transatlantic market and a spiralling pensions deficit and you have the sort of daily pressures that many chief executives would walk away from after a year or two.

But Walsh, 48, has stuck it out since joining BA from the Irish flag carrier in 2005, succeeding Rod Eddington. There have been high points, including the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5, which - despite the public relations disaster of its opening where hundreds of bags went missing - has given BA a spacious, modern hub. The airline has also launched business class only flights from London City to New York on Airbus A318s and has regulatory clearance for its merger with Spain's Iberia. In some periods of Walsh's reign, the airline has been highly profitable, but the last couple of years have been tough.

He has also made progress in reducing BA's cost base, reaching agreement with pilots over pay and conditions and cutting backroom staff considerably, something his predecessors pushed under the carpet. Militant cabin crew have been the difficulty, voting for strike action over plans to reduce staffing levels on long-haul flights. The dispute - which saw 22 days being lost to strikes and cost BA £150 million ($228 million) - has left a nasty atmosphere with some cabin crew members making personal attacks on their ultimate boss and demanding Walsh's resignation.

Such criticism is unlikely to make too much impact on the thick-skinned Irishman, who earned his negotiating stripes on the other side of the table, as a union negotiator for the pilots' union at Aer Lingus. After studying for an MBA at Trinity College in Dublin, his home city, while still a pilot, he moved into management, taking over the helm at Aer Lingus's then Spanish subsidiary Futura at the tender age of 36.


Walsh is regularly vilified, but plenty think he is doing a good job
*

From there, his ascent was rapid, becoming chief executive of Aer Lingus at 39, where he earned the nickname "Slasher" after he cut thousands of jobs and ensured the airline's survival as a no-frills carrier. His reputation as an airline boss unafraid to shirk challenges meant that four years later he was headhunted to lead BA - 10 times the size of the Irish flag carrier. He once said: "Every day I've looked in the mirror and said 'how did I get here?'. But I've always worked on the basis that when an opportunity presents itself, you grab it, and the reason I'm CEO of BA today is because I've grabbed every opportunity."

[Shah100]

Whats wrong with wearing a yellow ribbon?
It only symbalizes support for troops.

You call Bassa/Crew mentalists and militants.
Some of the comments I read on this forum, just shows comments
here can't be trusted. You seem to believe, what you want to believe.

Also how can you ban people, just for having a different opinion.

[MIDLGW]

Sha,

Bassa are not troops. People who show support for troops by wearing a yellow ribbon would not be impressed by a wayward union-branch using "their" colour to show "support" for suspended/sacked crew members.

Marie Curie Cancer Care use a yellow flower as a recognised symbol of their organisation. Many find it insulting (to say it mildly) that Bassa wants its members to wear/bring yellow flowers to the branch meeting.

What I'm trying to say here, is that this is the final insult* for me. Enough is enough, and I will do everything I personally can to make sure the yellow "support" doesn't happen.

I won't start on the MAN memorial issue, as I'm too angry right now.

*actually, insult isn't a strong enough word, but I don't want to be modded out for bad language.

Edited to add that people here don't get banned for having a different opinion. They get banned for not following the rules. You know what to do if you don't like the rules on this forum.

[Abbey Road]

So, in the Flightglobal Achievement Awards 2010, the international award for Leadership has gone to Willie Walsh!

2010 Winners

Flightglobal are the publishers of Flight International magazine. So, BASSAmentalists, is Flightglobal 'in the pocket' of WW too? An awful lot of people think he is doing the right things, except, of course, the conspiracy theorists at BASSA Central. Too bad, BASSA are in the noticeable minority.

MissM,

I never socialise with any strikebreaking crew downroute or work a position onboard where I have to look after our flight crew any longer as I find their actions to be nothing but disgusting. I have no sympathy to strikebreakers (VCC including pilots, regular crew who crossed the picket line and temporary crew) if they are feeling left out or being completely ignored as they have done nothing but prolonged our dispute.

I don't think you're missed in any way. I guess you'll just have to enjoy your lonesome existence .....

[Chigley]

Shah100

There is nothing wrong with wearing yellow to show support for the troops, but to liken it to this pointless and reckless dispute is just shallow, desperate and shows a total lack of respect for the 'real' victims of war.

You claim that comments on this forum cannot be trusted. Personally I find this a refreshing change to the drivel that is spouted on other forums where posters are shot down in flames and insulted for having a different opinion. So you clearly have total faith and trust in your union? This would be the same union that to date have:-

• told its members that they would get staff travel back in 5 minutes
• told it's members that 26 people crossed the picket line on day 2 of the strikes when there were more than that in the coffee queue in crc
• told it's members 7000 plus have been on strike when the truth is 4963 have of which 660 returned to work
• told it's members that an 18 year old p/t shop assistant has been offered CSM on new fleet when she doesn't even meet the criteria
• has lost it's members hundreds of pounds in earnings
• has lost it's members staff travel which is now costing commuters hundreds more in full fare tickets

I'm no Hercule Poirot but even I can tell from this catalogue of disasters who is and isn't trustworthy. It's a shame some of my colleagues can't see beyond the hysteria and melodrama and accept the offer while they still have the opportunity. As judging from BASSA's record to date, they haven't got a hope in hell's chance of securing a better deal!

[Chigley]

Latest from ESS

To: All cabin crew
From: Rachel Clarke and Paul Lambert, Heads of Worldwide Fleet


Recently, there has been a lot of talk of the Singapore base closing for international cabin crew.

We are writing to dispel the rumour by advising that we have no plans to close the Singapore base. We are however in talks with the SMMWU union regarding changes to terms and conditions that mean Singapore-based cabin crew would have the option to retire at 65 instead of 45, and a consultative ballot is about to start.

So, yet another BASSA scare-mongering story put to bed and proven to be total and utter rubbish! How much longer are members going to let the union insult their intelligence?

[Timothy Claypole]

Thts just what they want you to believe Chigley. In return for being forced to work to 65 the ICC will have to take a 120% pay cut, have a roster consisting of nothing but standby days and fly both short haul and long flights at exactly the same time. Failure to report for both flights will see them suspended by a vindictive bullying management when they've done nothing wrong, then they'll be put into the 1862 Redeployment Agreement and exterminated (probably by the Dalek Bill Francis).

Edited to add that I've just found the origin of the 'yellow flowers' idea. Needless to say it's one of the more frequent and intelligence-challenged contributors to a certain forum who's known for imagining things!

[MissM]

The Flying Nunn

BASSA has tried to negotiate with BA for a very long time. Obviously it's difficult for some of you to believe it because BA claims otherwise. BASSA wants a watertight agreement with BA which is something they are refusing to offer us.

Hotel Mode

Their covered earnings are only temporary. Wait three years until BA are wanting to discuss their top up payment and claim that due to change of route network the allowances have changed. If this was such an attractive offer, why did just a bit more than 1000 crew sign it?

Either way, there are over 10.000 other crew who will suffer greatly because of BA's tactics. Some of this number have backed BA throughout the dispute and this is what they are getting in return? If I had crossed the picket line, I would have been furious over BA and seriously considered whether I made the right decision.

HiFlyer14

Around 1000 of you have temporarily protected earnings. Read my answer above. There are more than us striking colleagues who are concerned about our future. Many who backed BA are in the same boat without any protected earnings.

MrBunker

Of course there's no excuse for anyone who either crossed the picket line or trained to work onboard as they have done nothing but to prolong our dispute. If every other department had minded their own business and every single crew member who actually voted for industrial action had went on strike, we never would have been here today. BA would have been grounded completely and undoubtedly we would have reached a good agreement with our management.

Some crew have been dismissed for almost nothing. It has become a Big Brother environment and it wouldn't take much to be removed from briefing and suspended for many months before your actual hearing takes place.

Antonovman

BA bringing back aircraft from the desert and WW getting a 37.8% pay rise indicates otherwise.

Abbey Road

As I said in a previous post. I haven't operated a single trip where I have been lonely downroute.

[strikemaster82]

If every other department had minded their own business and every single crew member who actually voted for industrial action had went on strike, we never would have been here today.

Everyone else saw the position and acted accordingly to save their jobs. Your actions have helped to cost the company millions.

[ranger07]

MissM

BASSA wants a watertight agreement with BA which is something they are refusing to offer us

So why do you insist on 'watertight agreements', when the rest of the staff have no such deals.

It makes me so mad! Seventies union mentality!!!

If every other department had minded their own business and every single crew member who actually voted for industrial action had went on strike, we never would have been here today. BA would have been grounded completely and undoubtedly we would have reached a good agreement with our management.

Translated...Hold the airline to ransom and let every other department continue taking the hit.

[MrBunker]

Originally Posted by MissM

MrBunker

Of course there's no excuse for anyone who either crossed the picket line or trained to work onboard as they have done nothing but to prolong our dispute. If every other department had minded their own business and every single crew member who actually voted for industrial action had went on strike, we never would have been here today. BA would have been grounded completely and undoubtedly we would have reached a good agreement with our management.

Some crew have been dismissed for almost nothing. It has become a Big Brother environment and it wouldn't take much to be removed from briefing and suspended for many months before your actual hearing takes place.

Thus exemplifying what exactly I mean by a BASSA black and white mentality. There's plenty of reasons people crossed the picket line. Many of which are that they, simply, thought you were wrong. That seems to be the bit you have the hardest time getting your head around. It's not for the rest of the world, other staff departments or even yes-voting crewmembers who changed their mind to leave you alone to have your dispute. This line's been trotted out before and found wanting in front of the briefest of logical dissections. You have elected not to believe that BA were in trouble and supported an industrial dispute. Others didn't see it your way and elected to do whatever they could to keep the airline flying.

It's akin to those calling for no voters and strike breakers to leave BASSA. Neatly ignoring the fact that what happens the next time etc etc until BASSA disappears up its' own self-glorifying fundament.

You might be in a majority within your own circle but the fact that so very many staff members in BA (and the wider public, notwithstanding the SWP an their ilk, from whom your only strong line of support appears to be drawn) didn't see it your way doesn't mean they had to sit idly by whilst you wreaked havoc on the airline. You call it minding their own business. I'll wager here and now, every one of them thought of it as their business, just as so many striking crew like to think that it's their business (the airline, in that respect). Tough basically. Don't expect you to like it but equally you'll have a long cold wait for anyone to apologise to you because, just like you, they think they've done the right thing.

I presume, in your last paragraph, you're privy to all the goings on and machinations of each individual disciplinary case where dismissals have taken place for "almost nothing"? Or have you only spoken to one party involved, at best? I'm guessing you've not been party to the evidence that BA have leading to the dismissal. A bit like so many things in other places I suspect where when BASSA say something, no-one bothers to check the quality of the evidence but when BA say something, the BASSA world cries foul, demands proof and belittles it all as spin. You singularly fail to apply the same standards of evidence to both sides of the argument.

BASSA comms, pre-approved for your convenience. Jeez

MrB