Originally Posted by
NWIFlyer
I would have to say that BA has actually been very clever here. What they're giving away in absolute terms is relatively small, but in percentage terms the General Public - who will absolutely not understand the nuances of this dispute and the background - will look at 4.6% and consider it very generous against what they'll be getting in their own jobs.
I would suspect that if the offer is rejected and further strikes are scheduled thereafter, public sympathy will shift from crew towards BA. If the offer isn't good enough, I hope Unite's PR machine is already thinking about how it's going to project this.
Yes,
on paper, it appears like a good offer, especially for people who won't realise the context as you say. The rise in flying hours pay is almost 10%, which means that the overall offer could be an increase of around 6.3%. Also, refusing to backpay is a clever move as the longer the delay in accepting an offer, the more it may cost the crew so the pressure is on to do a deal. I do hope that if the offer is rejected, BA can act fast and find some more cash and everyone can walk away with a deal everyone can be satisfied with.