Jun 24, 2022, 4:09 pm
Last edit by: Tobias-UK
LATEST UPDATE: 7 July 2022
British Airway's employed ground staff, based mainly at LHR. have voted in favour of strike action in respect of a dispute relating to pay and conditions. This strike ballot is valid for 6 months, and allows the unions to nominate strike dates, provided the employer has 2 weeks notice of the strike. The general tendency in the UK is for relatively short strike dates, typically a day or two, but several of them separate by several days.
Updated: 7 July/2022, no strike dates have been provided and an agreement in principle has been reached with the Unions. Two weeks notice must be provided by the unions. This means there will be no strikes before 21 July 2022. However though the ballot is valid 6 months, the first strike needs to be within 4 weeks, which is 23 July 2022. This can extended by a further 4 weeks if the employer agrees, for example to facilitate a ballot of the agreement. So that suggests there won't be a strike in July and there may well be no strikes at all for this employment group.
Those involved in this strike are check-in staff, baggage handlers, lounge staff, gate agents, some turnaround managers, and related airport staff. Cabin and flight crew are not in this dispute. LGW and LCY flights are not in this dispute. Contract ground agents - at LHR and out stations - are also not involved. Some roles can be performed by management, but it is unlikely that core activties at LHR Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 can avoid significant disruption. If flights are disrupted by strkes then usually BA allows people to move their flights to alternative dates and other arrangements (e.g. rebooking on AA). There is a separate dispute being worked through involving call centre staff and engineers, but there is no ballot at this point, so any strike is some way off.
British Airway's employed ground staff, based mainly at LHR. have voted in favour of strike action in respect of a dispute relating to pay and conditions. This strike ballot is valid for 6 months, and allows the unions to nominate strike dates, provided the employer has 2 weeks notice of the strike. The general tendency in the UK is for relatively short strike dates, typically a day or two, but several of them separate by several days.
Updated: 7 July/2022, no strike dates have been provided and an agreement in principle has been reached with the Unions. Two weeks notice must be provided by the unions. This means there will be no strikes before 21 July 2022. However though the ballot is valid 6 months, the first strike needs to be within 4 weeks, which is 23 July 2022. This can extended by a further 4 weeks if the employer agrees, for example to facilitate a ballot of the agreement. So that suggests there won't be a strike in July and there may well be no strikes at all for this employment group.
Those involved in this strike are check-in staff, baggage handlers, lounge staff, gate agents, some turnaround managers, and related airport staff. Cabin and flight crew are not in this dispute. LGW and LCY flights are not in this dispute. Contract ground agents - at LHR and out stations - are also not involved. Some roles can be performed by management, but it is unlikely that core activties at LHR Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 can avoid significant disruption. If flights are disrupted by strkes then usually BA allows people to move their flights to alternative dates and other arrangements (e.g. rebooking on AA). There is a separate dispute being worked through involving call centre staff and engineers, but there is no ballot at this point, so any strike is some way off.
BA ground staff at LHR: Summer '22 strike threat suspended after deal agreed
Jun 23, 2022, 1:06 pm
#107
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Agreed- some posturing from BA to try and avoid looking like a total capitulation but right now there is no other way for them. Even the starting positions are very close- make the 10% once-off offer into a permanent rise in pay.
BA already skewered their biggest pay and pension liabilities at the start of covid by axeing the WW fleet so I just can’t see them being willing to accept the sort of publicity and revenue loss they would get from summer strikes.
BA already skewered their biggest pay and pension liabilities at the start of covid by axeing the WW fleet so I just can’t see them being willing to accept the sort of publicity and revenue loss they would get from summer strikes.
Jun 23, 2022, 1:06 pm
#108
Join Date: Jul 2018
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Yes BA will move you without award seats actually being available if recent protocols are re-followed. More news will be forthcoming the nearer we get to the actual event assuming the strikes go ahead.
If you're flexible youre golden, if you gotta be on such a flight on such a day you may find your self between a rock and a hard place. Fingers crossed.
If you're flexible youre golden, if you gotta be on such a flight on such a day you may find your self between a rock and a hard place. Fingers crossed.
Jun 23, 2022, 1:08 pm
#109
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Wish they’d announce the damn strike dates. Just booked backup Norwegian flight LGW-ARN the day before our BA LHR-ARN booking because I saw on expert flyer that BA were only selling JYB tickets for those two days which suggests they believe they’ll need the space for reaccomodation or because one or both days will be cancelled. Flights look empty on seatmap.
Felt a bit guilty taking up space on Norwegian but it’s a necessary insurance policy because prices are going up and up and there’s no reward space available on either day: if BA or the union would just announce the dates I wouldn’t be creating follow-on problems for other people by buying tickets I have no intention of using if I can avoid it…
Felt a bit guilty taking up space on Norwegian but it’s a necessary insurance policy because prices are going up and up and there’s no reward space available on either day: if BA or the union would just announce the dates I wouldn’t be creating follow-on problems for other people by buying tickets I have no intention of using if I can avoid it…
I've had to book a back up on Ryanair. The original was LHR-DUB with Avios back up is BRS-DUB with FR, might even use it to avoid LHR
Jun 23, 2022, 1:14 pm
#110
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But panic not at the moment. It's only 3 or 4 hours since this thing dropped.
Jun 23, 2022, 1:16 pm
#111
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I agree with the person who said that this may affect them but their sympathies are with the strikers. These people had their pay reduced by 10% during the Covid period - the event that no one at that time could have foreseen was the Ukraine situation and the impact that this has had on prices of everything. Let us see whether this actually happens when it gets down to the wire. I am sure that when the dates are announced there will be any amount of rushing around for alternatives. I am sticking my neck out but I would not be surprised if BA do not reach a settlement as it will be cheaper to do so from so many points of view. Let us wait and see.
Jun 23, 2022, 1:19 pm
#112
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How many flights are cancelled will depend on who exactly walks out and when. It’s entirely possible to fly on some routes without interacting with a single staff member - OLCI plus SSBD plus self-boarding gate. Have a few managers to sort out the issues and things could move as normal. (Obviously they won’t in practice, and delays will be rife, but I doubt BA would just throw in the towel and cancel everything. It’s not as if the staff concerned are as critical as pilots, for example.)
Jun 23, 2022, 1:33 pm
#113
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I am sympathetic to the strikers but I still wish they’d just announce the dates. If they don’t announce the dates it just makes it harder for people to plan
Jun 23, 2022, 1:36 pm
#114
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Jun 23, 2022, 1:40 pm
#115
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indeed strikers’ rights are very minimal in the uk compared to almost any other European country so so unions are not going to unilaterally give up on the very few cards they hold as it would make it a lot too easy for Ba to plan.
Jun 23, 2022, 2:05 pm
#116
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But agree with the general sentiment of not panicking.
Jun 23, 2022, 2:53 pm
#119
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How many flights are cancelled will depend on who exactly walks out and when. It’s entirely possible to fly on some routes without interacting with a single staff member - OLCI plus SSBD plus self-boarding gate. Have a few managers to sort out the issues and things could move as normal. (Obviously they won’t in practice, and delays will be rife, but I doubt BA would just throw in the towel and cancel everything. It’s not as if the staff concerned are as critical as pilots, for example.)
An aircraft also could not be dispatched either without the rampers as all sorts of procedures and checklists need to be followed by humans once the doors are closed, ie, retracting the airbridge, aircraft checks and tug drivers in pushing the aircraft back from the gate area.
Jun 23, 2022, 2:54 pm
#120
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