Has Len McCluskey admitted that Unite’s actions increased the British Airways redundancies?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• chris says:

  11 Aug11 August 10:17

  As an ex ( 80s and 90s) chairman of BASSA ,Regional Committee member (South East England) and General Executive Council member (T&GWU and Unite) ,a coalition of left and right fought ling and hard to defeat the ‘Liverpool Mafia.’
  Time passed and ultimately we failed,as can be seen.
  If you think cronyism is alive and well in the Tory party,this lot make them look like rank amateurs.
  The day McCluskey stated that cabin crew/BASSA would not engage with the employer was the day their goose was well and truly cooked..

• TimM says:

  11 Aug11 August 10:29

  This is a little like the miner’s strike of the 80’s. Decisions were taken a long time before any crisis – years before. BA was gifted Covid on a plate to justify implementing what it was already going to do. Unite merely inadvertently cooperated.

  Just as with the miners, BA cabin crew have been lining up to take voluntary redundancy pay-offs because they were told the compulsory redundancy pay-off would be far less. This coercive behaviour should be made illegal, once and for all.

  All this occurs in a period when it looks like foreign travel will return to being a luxury of the rich and quality over density will matter. IAG is racing to the bottom at exactly the time when it could taken advantage of its former reputation and competed with the best.

  How long will it be before BA are employing the globally cheapest migrant workers who sleep in cupboards at the airport and survive on gruel?

  • AJA says:

    11 Aug11 August 11:08

    Oh dear. Covid-19 isn’t some dastardly plot dreamed up by BA to cull staff numbers. Voluntary Redundancy is always higher than Statutory Redundancy. There is no coercive behaviour forcing staff to accept VR. You appear to assume that travel will become more expensive ignoring the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair. For BA and other airlines who operate business class and first class cabins quality has always mattered over density despite BA actually having the most densified business class since these cabins are the revenue earners but they still have significant numbers of economy class seats in their aircraft. The trouble is that until an effective vaccine is developed the numbers travelling will be significantly down as has been demonstrated over the last 6 months. BA is doing what it deems necessary to survive. Arguing that BA will employ migrant workers sleeping in cupboards at the airport is the most ridiculous statement in a bunch of other ridiculous statements.

    • memesweeper says:

      11 Aug11 August 11:16

      > BA is doing what it deems necessary to survive

      Perhaps, but @TimM is correct that this was planned (or at the very least desired) before COVID hit. BA have adopted Churchill’s guidance to “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

    • Doug M says:

      11 Aug11 August 11:56

      Surely VR offering more than SR is blatant coercive behaviour.

      • TeessideTraveller says:

        11 Aug11 August 12:58

        Might be coercive but it is perfectly normal, most organisations (public & private sector) do it.

      • the_real_a says:

        11 Aug11 August 13:43

        Not really – there are always large numbers of people in any organisation who are ready to leave/unhappy. People who are close to retirement, people looking to to spend more time with families, people going traveling/gap years. Anytime I’ve dealt with this in the real world i have always been surprised with those who want to take the cash and run.

        • Chris Heyes says:

          11 Aug11 August 16:55

          the_real_a@ Yes your correct there will always be employees who are willing to leave/unhappy ect
          I Was one of those i decided at 20 i wasn’t going to work after 50 (my farther retired at 55 granddad 60) I was determined to beat them lol
          In fact i started planning to retire on my 50th Birthday (no matter what)
          With careful planing and saving plus lucky investments on my 50th I retired with everything paid
          Very happy 22 years retirement
          i was never unhappy at work at all, but work to live, not live to work (never worked any overtime ever)

      • Sussex Bantam says:

        11 Aug11 August 13:57

        VR is always higher than SR. By definition it cannot be lower…

      • AJA says:

        11 Aug11 August 15:24

        No.it’s not coercive. VR is often at a higher rate than SR to encourage you to take it but you are not forced to take VR – the clue is in the V standing for Voluntary.which is defined as “done, given, or acting of one’s own free will.” You choose to take VR. Statutory Redundancy, on the other hand, can be forced upon you and unless you can prove that it was discriminatory or unfair you can’t fight it.

        • Lady London says:

          11 Aug11 August 18:27

          Not much VR I’ve seen in my life is V. It’s compulsory called by another name regardless of what the offer is.

        • Doug M says:

          11 Aug11 August 18:36

          @LL – exactly. Voluntary in name alone.

    • Paul says:

      11 Aug11 August 19:08

      Delusional, the idea that BA F/J has been a quality product in the last 15 years is risible.

      Covid was not dreamt up by BA but they were prepared for a major downturn. They have always used crisis for their benefit but never before did they have combination of circumstances and the way chest as they did this time.

      After 9/11 the bullied managers into taking pay cuts only for the situation to spiral out of control when colleagues who took the cuts discovered they were working for bosses who did not. So yes BA have used Covid to their benefit. The manner they have gone about it is legal but morally reprehensible. I still think there is a need for labour reform reform and employment protection.

• James says:

  11 Aug11 August 10:33

  Off topic: can I cancel my BAPP the moment I receive the “Congratulations Dear Mr XXX, your Companion Voucher is here” email knowing that I will be able to use it when I want to (intending to keep my green Amex charge card) to pay the fees when booking?

  • AJA says:

    11 Aug11 August 10:56

    I’d wait until it actually appears in your BAEC account and then cancel.

• demi says:

  11 Aug11 August 11:02

  Mcclusky and his side kick are a joke they sold the cabin crew all three fleets down the river not for the 1st time and then in the last minutes they change there mind and say fill in the forms when it’s too LATE, and when they realised that they got it wrong they tried to jump on the band wagon with Balpa, you should have sat down yourself and did negotiations or doesn’t he know how to do that. And now what ask the staff who are left to go on strike. Mcclusky you helped no one but yourself you should ask yourself did they take redundancy because of B.A or because of the useless representation of there UNION, also how many will cancel there membership 🤔 after this fiasco.

• Supersub says:

  11 Aug11 August 11:08

  What a car crash. McCluskey has overplayed his hand yet again.
  He’s an embarrassment to anyone who cares about “the workers”.

• Chris says:

  11 Aug11 August 11:30

  Except Unite DID try to negotiate. They didn’t have to the demands of BA, which would’ve meant a majority of the staff would be fired and rehired with much lower pay.

  That is not the same as refusing to negotiate.

  This entire article is a propaganda piece for BA, to make the douchebags look like the ones that care.

  • Rob says:

    11 Aug11 August 11:38

    The bottom line is that pilots got a deal which saved hundreds of jobs and crew didn’t. Nothing wrong with Unite’s stance of not negotiating – it’s the bit where Len is now crawling to Alex and begging for the pilots deal that I find pathetic.

    • Opus says:

      11 Aug11 August 11:46

      It’s even more pathetic when you think back to the stinker he sent Alex!

• Paul Pogba says:

  11 Aug11 August 11:43

  This is the same Unite and Len McClusky that thinks payouts to Labour whistleblowers are a “huge miscalculation” and an abuse of his members donations? Never interfere with the enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself.

  • mark2 says:

    11 Aug11 August 12:26

    That reminds me that allegedly there was a plan to bomb Hiltler, but it was decided that it was in the interests of the Allies to keep him in place.

    • Lady London says:

      11 Aug11 August 18:12

      Are you sure that’s not just the British saying why they missed?

• mark2 says:

  11 Aug11 August 12:27

  Len McCluskey has handled this very badly.
  I wonder how many of the cabin crew affected voted for him at the last leadership election or (worse) did not bother to vote.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.