What a lot of twaddle!As 3 members of my family work for BA as well as two others working for another airline.None of them have ever been on strike and in fact only 3 are union members and all but one in recent years. Mainly because of the rather nasty way that Mr Walsh has directed managing methods to divide and rule.The mistruths that have been put about by BA management have amazed me.The nasty toned threatening letters sent to the family are not nice and at least intimidating at most blackmailing.After all whatever your persuasion, union membership is a hard won right for workers and there are many occupations who currently are limbless when it comes to management or employers overstepping the mark.Noticing a trend from the BA strike, Not one major newspaper or news organisation has bothered to really take a look at what this dispute is really about. They have lazily been spoon fed utter rubbish by political party machines and BA's own PR machine.It is dressed up as a survival issue, but the cabin crew know the state of BA and the industry.The real issue is ageism. Mr Walsh wants all crew over 40 out. He wants all crew on career attained grades out.He want's BA crews to be young lesser educated types who will do the job for peanusts lured by the glam novelty factor and then leave when they find that long distance travel is not so glamourous when you are doing it all the time and the money so poor that it is not sustainable.The crew do get a good deal, but the standards were high and they earned it.It was check-in staff and crew who turned BA around in the late 70's, early 80's and again who took the biggest hours and pay cuts in the shadow of 9-11.The vast majority of cabin crew members are not the stereo typical union member, in fact most are more likely to be Tory voters or LIb-dems. In the main, most are not interested in politics at all. But are interested in protecting their livelihoods.The type of management that BA currently have must have Lord King tailspinning in his grave as well as successors already not being vocally enthusiastic about the way a very happy workforce has been set at each others throats.It should not be forgotten that whilst the unions were a pain in the backside for many industries in the late 60's and 70's, British management was equally appalling.Unions may not be what they were but that is not carte blanche for management to take easy options for their own lack of skill and ability.
Anthony Waller ● 5877d