• The post you are reporting:
   
  Sounds like six of one and half a dozen of the other with management and unions equally to blame.
  
  Willie Walsh has seen industry negotiations from both sides. He was a pilot who was a tough union representative. He then changed sides and went on to run Aer Lingus where he was known as Slasher Walsh for the number of jobs he cut.
  
  Now it would appear that he is trying to reduce the power of the unions by hiring non-union cabin staff at minimum wages and keeping them on separate routes from the unionised staff.
  
  It is tempting to play the old dinosaur and equate this with the union strife of the seventies in the motor industry etc but those times are long gone. Lord King privatised British Airways and made it into one of the most profitable carriers in the world. This is the airline we are considering today, not its nationalised forerunner.
  
  There is nothing wrong in taking pride in a national carrier and it is to be encouraged. The constituents of British Airways were BOAC and BEA, and the staff of long haul BOAC used to refer to it as "Bullshit Overcomes All Competition." Short haul BEA stood for "Back Every Afternoon."
  
  There is an element of ageism in all this. BA cabin staff are noted for wrinkly trolley dollies as they serve for far longer than their competitors. Having a constant turnover and an endless succession of nubile trolley dollies on minimum wage is tempting in more ways than one but always going for the cheapest option to compete with all the other airlines doing the same is the way to reduce safety standards to those of the lowest common denominator.
  
  I hope that they resolve their differences as I want to see British Airways go from strength to strength and strikes are self defeating for all concerned. Apart from this, the future looks promising with the link-ups with Iberia and American set to reduce costs whilst the airline retains its separate identity.
  
  P.S.
  
  Can the title of this thread be changed? This confrontation has nothing to do with BAA, the British Airports Authority.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason