British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow vote for strike action – other groups set to follow

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• Mike says:

  23 Jun23 June 17:43

  As always “if you don’t like the pay you get – get another job”

  • Ken says:

    23 Jun23 June 17:52

    Of course in the real world you could just try collective bargaining with the threat of strike action to improve your conditions.

    Internet blowhards soon back down.
    BA have zero chance of winning this.

  • Rhys says:

    23 Jun23 June 17:53

    And they are. Which is why BA really needs to pay up, or they’re going to have no staff left…

    • Jonathan says:

      24 Jun24 June 01:26

      I think what has become even more clear post-pandemic is that you pay your staff to physically do a job and you are also paying them for their industry knowledge. If anything goes wrong staff have the experience of previous incidents to resolve matters quickly. The morale these days seems to be that anyone can do the job, hence we have kids barely out of school in the job with only a training manual as experience.

    • NigelthePensioner says:

      24 Jun24 June 08:02

      Never mind no staff; if they carry on providing the “premium” service that they currently do, at the extortionate prices they are charging, they will have no passengers at all and will therefore need no staff!
      When will BA management wake up to the fact that BA “leadership” is atrocious and that IAG appears to be just a unnecessary junket creaming off huge amounts of cash. Its more like an extortion racket than a serious or necessary business!

      • JDB says:

        24 Jun24 June 08:26

        I would appear that you haven’t read either the BA or IAG accounts nor understand the BA pension problem.

  • Brian says:

    23 Jun23 June 19:37

    If BA’s customers don’t like the strike then they can always fly with another airline

• chrism20 says:

  23 Jun23 June 17:59

  Can’t say I blame them tbh.

  That five nights at the Premier Inn in Rhyl that we booked as a joke back up back in December when Omicron was kicking about is now starting to look like the most astute move I’ll have made last year.

• Tom says:

  23 Jun23 June 18:19

  This will likely impact several work trips and two city breaks away I have planned but you know what… good for them. They’re about 20% down in real terms so fully support this action. BA management need to play fair on this, a one-off 10% bonus to those who took a voluntary pay cut to support the business during difficult times is beyond insulting.

• Charlie says:

  23 Jun23 June 18:43

  BA have treated their staff terribly for a while now – just watch that documentary that they themselves endorsed which features their cabin crew training.

  Now they are gouging their customers’ eyes out on flight prices and blaming Brexit for not being able to hire. Come on.

• Super Secret Stuff says:

  23 Jun23 June 18:59

  BA really do like “How badly can we damage our brand this month?”

  • ChrisC says:

    23 Jun23 June 19:33

    Like cost cutting it’d part of their DNA.

    • JDB says:

      23 Jun23 June 22:08

      It sort of has to be part of their DNA – BA has to compete against LCCs, ME/Asian airlines, effectively subsidised European airlines and US airlines all of whom have massive structural advantages. LCCs have no legacy pensions (BA starts the year at minus £300m to plug historic pensions) and modern IT (BA has the same IT issues as legacy banks and it is desperately difficult to fix; it’s not just money – ask TSB), US airlines have consolidated essentially into three global airlines plus one big domestic and via Chapter 11 have been able to shed many legacy costs issues. They use the uncompetitive domestic fares (not a lot of 9.99 fares there) to subsidise international fares like US investment banks do on international fees. ME/Asian airlines have totally different non legacy cost bases plus massive government support/subsidies.

      The aviation sector in the UK (airlines & airports), and BA as the flag carrier get incredibly little political (from any party) or financial support compared to other countries.

      BA does an awful lot wrong but they really do have a tough gig if people want them to be successful/profitable which is obviously essential if you want them to invest in new aircraft, products and service. The unions have never been willing to work with BA like say they have with the car industry to modernise and negotiate balanced deals that give both sides an upside in progress.

      • Thywillbedone says:

        24 Jun24 June 06:42

        A virtual monopoly position at the country’s largest airport is a ‘tough gig’ …I’ve heard it all now!!!

        • JDB says:

          24 Jun24 June 07:38

          BA’s “monopoly” position at LHR is little different to that enjoyed say by LH/AF/KL and many others around the world at their hubs. If you were to look at the accounts of BA and other carriers mentioned in the original post, you would understand the position better.

      • Lady London says:

        24 Jun24 June 15:17

        No sympathy whatsoever on pensions. They should have funded according to their commitments each year with extreme safety margin. An individual saving for their pension or investing in the stock market is told to keep paying in regardless of interim valuations.
        Instead like a lot of large employers they took pension holidays and now the chickens have come home to roost

        Sadly though those chickens on pension valuation liabilities won’t stay roosted for long. BA will slide out of this as inflation massively reduces the valuations employers have to sponsor. So BA should stop whining about pensions costs now.

  • Aston100 says:

    23 Jun23 June 19:41

    Yes but in reality I think many people don’t care and will continue to use BA if they are the most convenient option.

• Aston100 says:

  23 Jun23 June 19:40

  I support this.
  I did not support the one by the pilots a couple of years ago.

• Andrew J says:

  23 Jun23 June 19:44

  Normally I don’t support strike action as it doesn’t align with my politics but this one I am on the side of the workers – reducing pay during the pandemic and then not increasing it again now it’s over doesn’t seem right.

  • Harrier25 says:

    23 Jun23 June 19:53

    Agreed, this seems to be a very different situation to what’s going on with the railway workers…a strike I do not support whatsoever.

  • grex9101 says:

    24 Jun24 June 07:16

    Ah, it doesn’t align with “your politics” usually.
    I’ve not heard that way of saying “I’m an asshole” before..😂

    • Londonsteve says:

      26 Jun26 June 12:01

      LOL. Totally. I never cease to be amazed by the degree of rigid support people can exhibit, both pro and contra, on the basis of some nebulous political ideology. Surely one applies critical thinking on the basis of the facts as these present themselves, not what a political party is telling you is right and wrong?

• Track says:

  23 Jun23 June 20:49

  As a traveller – hard to support this but Heathrow check in staff morale is below the floor.

  But this level of excessive bonus 5million to CEO plus allowances — is a strong incentive not to hold IAG stock.

  • Track says:

    23 Jun23 June 20:52

    Let me extend the comment, Luis Gallego (and several hundreds of other CEOs) is not the type to receive a premium for charisma and leadership as say, Elon Mask.

    CEOs are paid as Hollywood stars but don’t have to do the emotional and basically public service leadership work. This kind of excessive CEO pay does not add to the brand value of the company (unlike with Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Steve Jobs of the world).

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