In the ongoing dispute between British Airways bosses and the Unite trade union, the latter are trying to uphold the 'right to strike' as well as reach an agreement that satisfies their members over work/pay (and now perks) issues. If a proportion of the staff want to hold their bosses to ransom -- a move which in this economic climate the cabin crew know full well will irrevocably damage the good name of the airline and possibly even bankrupt it - then that's their prerogative. If they feel strongly, it is a free society and no one should deny them that right. What no one is focusing on though is the right and treatment of those members to not walk out if they balloted against industrial action in the first place.In truth, the reason this strike has not been resolved and why Willie is holding so firm is not really about the right to strike OR about the agreements, it is instead about eradicating the militant bullies from the airline once and for all and on this point I for one am totally behind him and his team.
I used to work for British Airways as Cabin Crew and I still have friends there. Some of them did not vote for the strike and do not want to strike but in order to carry out their work, they have to go to a special reporting room with blacked out windows They have to make this trip out of uniform, in case they are identified, and they can't take their car to work as it may identify them. Staff who have crossed the picket lines live in fear of the reprisals from Union Members. It is reported that one employee had S for Scab etched on their car, others have received intimidating messages and phone calls and even received threats of poisoning . Many of those who didn't strike report ostracisation at some level. All this greatly affects their health and well being.
If this was happening to your child at school and they were being bullied what would you expect the Head to do? Why,to round them up and expel them all of course and it should be no different at BA. They have already suspended many staff and sacked at least seven for intimidation but sadly the culture of 'jobs for life' at BA has led to many of the more senior employees and union members being totally out of touch with the real world and has engendered a breed of employee who really are revolting in both senses of the word. The problem is now systemic and I believe it is this that the BA Management know they need to eradicate once and for all and why they are holding out.
In his open letter to the Unite members Tony Woodley has the audacity to state:
You have stood up and stood strong for your rights your dignity and your pride in the face of a bullying management and a malicious Tory media.
My message to you this morning is I know it is difficult but stay strong, be brave. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t let the unfair abuse get to you.
The idiom 'Pot calling the kettle black' springs immediately to mind!
It is over 20 years since I worked for British Airways and quite obviously, although the world has moved on, the Unions just haven't - and I know more about this than most.
My run in with the militants wasn't over a strike but over a flagrant breach of safety and standards (a breach that could have seen the entire crew who I was working with that day get dismissed). This was when I first got a taste of what these bullies can be like. I decided not to report the incident in question to management but I did voice my worry and disapproval to the Purser in charge. When back at base, unbeknownst to me he took it upon himself to cover his back and made mention of it to management. I was then called in asked if it was true and I then spoke up in the spirit of honesty and truth. It led to a huge brouhaha as the offending crewmember was ( quite rightly) immediately suspended. What I hadn't expected was that the far older and militant Purser who had many friends in BASSA would deliberately finger me as being a Whistleblower amongst the Cabin Crew workforce and instigate a whispering campaign to cover his own back.
For over 6 months I was subjected to exactly the treatment that those who choose to go against the strikes are being subjected to now. Whereas they have some comfort in numbers, it was me against the militants and I have to say it almost broke me. I had my suitcases stolen or hidden on numerous occasions, received intimidating phone calls and messages, my crew file where all paperwork was left was repeatedly stolen, one 'militant' walked out of the briefing room when he heard my name and refused to fly with me, others moved seats on the crew bus and treated me like a leper. I couldn't park my car in the carpark etc etc. I was never given a chance to put the record straight as no one would give me the time of day to listen. On layovers whole crews would mysteriously be washing their hair or not going out but I would later discover that they had all met up in the bar. The phrase, 'Soul destroying' just doesn't cover it. It still hurts to recount it.
Despite being a fully paid up BASSA union member, the union would not support me or put the truth to the membership on my behalf but instead threw their whole weight behind the suspended crewmember. The management however were fantastic. Only they knew the truth and they backed me to the hilt. They sent out a warning letter to the entire workforce about the severe consequences of intimidation but it was only when my flat was broken into and then, when I was in a hotel abroad and got repeated nuisance calls throughout the night, that we all decided enough was enough. A tribunal was arranged in which my own Union represented the suspended employee but gave me no support.
In the tribunal the then Head of Cabin Crew, Val Gooding, sacked the Crewmember. For fear of retribution I was given the advice to move departments on a one year secondment until it had all died down or given the option of one years paid leave. I took the latter moved to America and then resigned from the job without ever returning. I was devastated as I was coming up to a decade of roaming the world with BA ( I had been with other airlines prior to them as well) and I loved the job.
If while reading my story you consider all those who are in this position of being called a Scab (or whistleblower) at BA right now - and will be long after it is over - and imagine this happening to you or your loved ones, you'll realise what needs to change. The bullies who still work at BA - many are still there even from the days when I was there - need to be rounded up and ALL the militants need to realise that this behaviour is just not acceptable in today's society. 'Do unto others as you would have done to you'. For this reason, I hope that every decent human being will voice their support for Willie Walsh and the BA management and help eradicate this underbelly of society from our National carrier and indeed from British industry. We need change and that change starts with each one of us taking a stand
