Travel Perks
So, it has come down to travel perks.
10,000 British Airways cabin crew have gone on strike today on behalf of around 1,400 of their colleagues whose travel perks are being reduced - no longer do the people concerned (and their families) get flights or first class tickets - at a huge discount.
Now this is not what the strike was about - originally at least.
The strike began over staffing levels and pay - but with British Airways posting record losses of over £500 million - the reality is that the company has to live within its means.
The union, Unite, appears to have accepted the company's need to address its business costs - yet at the eleventh hour one of its Joint General Secretaries (Tony Woodley) makes a theatrical plea:
'Reinstate our members travel perks - and the planned strikes will be called off'.
The sticking point is no longer some noble cause or vital principle - but has become the perks of a small group of members - whose interests are being raised above everyone else involved in the dispute.
Unite knows that a strike ballot would produce a very different result if the question was - "Do you want to take 20 days of strike action to protect the travel perks of less than 15% of the members?"
So the union has its priorities all wrong.
Unite is making itself look foolish - just as its other Joint General Secretary (Derek Simpson) did by 'Twittering' his thoughts to the outside world - while sensitive negotiations were underway.
Unions are often conservative not radical organisations - preoccupied with preserving the status quo.
On equal pay the unions put much more effort into looking after the big bonus earning, traditional male jobs - organising strikes and nationally funded campaigns - while the interests of many low paid women workers took second place.
The final issue in the British Airways strike is now clear - travel perks are not even a contractual matter - so put the question to another ballot and see what the members have to say.
10,000 British Airways cabin crew have gone on strike today on behalf of around 1,400 of their colleagues whose travel perks are being reduced - no longer do the people concerned (and their families) get flights or first class tickets - at a huge discount.
Now this is not what the strike was about - originally at least.
The strike began over staffing levels and pay - but with British Airways posting record losses of over £500 million - the reality is that the company has to live within its means.
The union, Unite, appears to have accepted the company's need to address its business costs - yet at the eleventh hour one of its Joint General Secretaries (Tony Woodley) makes a theatrical plea:
'Reinstate our members travel perks - and the planned strikes will be called off'.
The sticking point is no longer some noble cause or vital principle - but has become the perks of a small group of members - whose interests are being raised above everyone else involved in the dispute.
Unite knows that a strike ballot would produce a very different result if the question was - "Do you want to take 20 days of strike action to protect the travel perks of less than 15% of the members?"
So the union has its priorities all wrong.
Unite is making itself look foolish - just as its other Joint General Secretary (Derek Simpson) did by 'Twittering' his thoughts to the outside world - while sensitive negotiations were underway.
Unions are often conservative not radical organisations - preoccupied with preserving the status quo.
On equal pay the unions put much more effort into looking after the big bonus earning, traditional male jobs - organising strikes and nationally funded campaigns - while the interests of many low paid women workers took second place.
The final issue in the British Airways strike is now clear - travel perks are not even a contractual matter - so put the question to another ballot and see what the members have to say.
