Unite claim cheap crew travel is a 'Human Right' - jokers!

[johnfm]

telegraph said:

But now the Unite union is planning a fresh test for European human rights legislation: it plans to use it against British Airways to force the carrier to reinstate ultra-cheap Caribbean flights for striking cabin crew.

Unite said on Monday that it planned a legal challenge over the decision by BA chief executive Willie Walsh to strip striking crew of their travel privileges – allowing them flights anywhere on the BA network for just a tenth of the usual fare.

thick moronic tt with amoeba like intellect from Unite said:

"After careful consideration, Unite believes that management's action breaches European human rights legislation," said the union, claiming 6,000 crew were affected.

BA spokesman actually living on this planet said:

"Staff travel is a non-contractual perk. Cabin crew knew if they took part in strike action they would lose their travel perks. We will defend our position vigorously."

Are these union people actually sentient beings?


I don't care either way, but I would really really like BA to find a legal (or even quasi legal) way to reorganise their Heathrow services to enable them to make the roles redundant and get rid of the lot.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/tr...

[BarnatosGhost]

A daft idea:

BA management establish a small airline (Great British Airways?) and then accedes to every single ridiculous demand from the BA cabin crew and unions, whilst allowing BA to quickly go bust and GBA to pick up all the custom that currently resents spending a penny with BA?

Once BA is tetering on the brink, offer whichever staff you like jobs, at current market t&c's, with GBA? Then let BA go to the wall. No redundancy to pay, no/small legacy costs.

Given the alternative, I'd certainly fly with sexy new GBA instead of stty old BA.

Edited by BarnatosGhost on Tuesday 27th July 10:25

[Galsia]

What BA should do is just remove perks for all employees. They could then claim that this is to save weight on flights, thereby creating less CO2 and saving the environment. The union couldn't sue them for that.

BA staff are the best paid in the business. I hope the airline does fold because ex-BA staff would pretty much be unemployable in the industry.

[blueg33]

My company builds NHS hospitals - should all my staff be able to jump waiting lists and get free prescriptions?

Unite seem to be the last of the 1970's unions. I hope they bring down BA and their members have to find jobs in the real world!

[thatone1967]

I dont fly very often, but has a conversation with a chap over the weekend who is planning his holidays so he does not have to user BA.
I have always found them excellent ( as had he) but if this goes on for much longer, no-one will have the confidence to fly with them..

[glazbagun]

I actually have some sympathy with them over this. As I understand it, Unite called a perfectly legal strike over their original issue (which I disagreed with). In return, BA have removed the companys perks from everyone who voted for strike action (or was it everyone who went on strike?). If I have this right, surely it is nothing other than intimidation of employees, aimed at discouraging them from using their legal right to withdraw labour?

Paying those who didn't go on strike a bonus in reward for their loyalty and work ethic helping the company out, I could understand. But penalising workers for forcibly raising an issue which they feel strongly about isn't on IMHO.

Is it written into thier contracts of employment that such perks are only available for staff who never have cause for Union action against the company?

[Silent1]

IIRC the travels perks are given along the lines of working in the companies interest

[ninja-lewis]

Galsia said:

What BA should do is just remove perks for all employees. They could then claim that this is to save weight on flights, thereby creating less CO2 and saving the environment. The union couldn't sue them for that.

BA staff are the best paid in the business. I hope the airline does fold because ex-BA staff would pretty much be unemployable in the industry.

Staff Travel is quite useful for airlines as it fills otherwise empty seats and of course as a perk it keeps the staff onside normally.

The union aren't actually claiming ST is a human right; rather European law says you have the right not to be punished for taking part in a lawful strike (UK law is limited to dismissal in such cases). But I understand BA have already gone through a similar case with spanish ground staff a couple of years ago. The court case is also another opportunity for BA to argue it wasn't a lawful strike. Unite will need a seven figure sum to fund their case and it'll take ages before the case is even heard by the courts. Meanwhile commuting strikers will have to continue paying for normal price tickets from SA, Spain, Australia, wherever to LHR/LGW - how long will they be able to keep that up?

The funny thing was when BA removed ST the strikers were all "who cares", "we don't need ST", etc. The really funny thing is that the strikers created a group called Crew Defence, because Unite were dragging their heels over ST, and intend to take BA to an industrial tribunal claiming that removal of ST is racial discrimination!

[Bonefish Blues]

If I was a BA worker my main concern would be protecting my pension tbh, not bleating about my travel bungs.

When last assessed its pension liability exceeded its market capitalisation by c.5bn.

[MacW]

glazbagun said:

Is it written into thier contracts of employment that such perks are only available for staff who never have cause for Union action against the company?

The perk isn't written into their contract at all, BA can withdraw it or reinstate it at will without the decisions entering into any kind of legal arena.

[alangla]

BarnatosGhost said:

A daft idea:

BA management establish a small airline (Great British Airways?) and then accedes to every single ridiculous demand from the BA cabin crew and unions, whilst allowing BA to quickly go bust and GBA to pick up all the custom that currently resents spending a penny with BA?

I read somewhere (pprune.org.uk I think) that this isn't possible - basically the landing slots at Heathrow that are currently allocated to BA would have to go out to open tender if BA ever went bust and BA can't sell or transfer them to any other airline. (though they seem to be able to loan them to the charter lines operating their flights during strikes) The result of this would be that your new GBA airline would be left with the slots at Gatwick and whatever it could grab from the auction of the Heathrow slots - it would more than likely end up about the size of Virgin Atlantic or BMI.