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, 10:00 am
#91
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,198
I can usually see the arguments of both sides in a labour dispute but in this case BA management are 100% in the wrong. Hopefully they will quickly come to their senses. Surely the relatively low cost of settling the dispute must be better than the reputational damage to the company from a summer strike.
Jun 23, 2022, 11:11 am
#92
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: BA Gold, AA PLT PRO, AGR, Strawberry (Nordic Choice), Marriott Bonvoy
Posts: 4,240
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…
Jun 23, 2022, 11:58 am
#98
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Oxford (&Western Isles )
Programs: BA GGL, CCR; RyanAir MillionMiler :( ;
Posts: 754
Jun 23, 2022, 12:21 pm
#99
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: living near Malaga
Programs: BA Gold , Mucci recipient. Coffee Drinker, Blue Sky Thinker
Posts: 2,108
Jun 23, 2022, 12:30 pm
#101
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: living near Malaga
Programs: BA Gold , Mucci recipient. Coffee Drinker, Blue Sky Thinker
Posts: 2,108
Jun 23, 2022, 12:39 pm
#104
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: living near Malaga
Programs: BA Gold , Mucci recipient. Coffee Drinker, Blue Sky Thinker
Posts: 2,108
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, 12:40 pm
#105
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL, BA Amex Prem, Amex Plat, Hilton Diamond, Sir Crazy8534 de l'ordres des aides de Pucci
Posts: 4,430
I’d be highly surprised if BA didn’t back down for this and agree something with the unions. Like how BA had an “upper hand” against unions during 2020 with the so-called “fire and rehire” redundancy consultations, at this point in time BA are almost completely at the mercy of unions. If a strike were to go ahead it would be absolutely disastrous financially for BA just as it predicts returning to profitability by next quarter! If a strike does go ahead, then that would probably curtains for Doyle too in the process.
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.
