BALPA may ballot members on industrial action
Sep 2, 2022, 4:56 am
#31
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,300
BAs head of IR has been unambiguous in his message that BA are right and just to continue the punitive measures, and that they do not need to inform us of how much of a percentage punishment they will administer from month to month until after the payroll run has been completed, we are not deserving enough of the right to know and plan in advance. His message was clear.
They are clearly angered that in order to prevent the potential of an IR ballot prior to the bank holiday they were forced to move an inch and set a percentage for the remainder of the year in order to allow talks to progress.
Talks continue but the intransigence of BA has been made abundantly clear in this weeks comms.
BA have had to remove the ability of pilots to ask the SMT questions on an internal comms medium and have removed all traces of displeasure voiced by the pilot body.
I can see a ballot looming now in the not too distant future.
Whilst no IA ballot has yet been issued, BALPA will want to exhaust every possible opportunity for BA to wake up, they choose instead to continue to pretend we enjoy and agree with this fiscal punishment. Read into that what you will.
Oct 17, 2022, 12:09 pm
#33
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,300
A very brief update on this as Im just in the process of swiping in, but the offer has been put to pilots and initial reaction is as expected after I read itthree times. It will almost certainly be rejected and I would predict an IA ballot is now a certainty. The atmosphere here is one of disbelief for those that have read it, asking each other if theyve read it right.
Oct 17, 2022, 5:02 pm
#36
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1,111
Hopefully and ultimately this leads to a fair offer for pilots. Again Id be extremely surprised if actual industrial action did materialise, BA are on a significant back foot PR wise also especially after the summer of chaos (which isnt over by any means, waiting nearly 90 mins for bags to arrive today at LHR!) and I dont think they can afford nor will let a strike go ahead. The hardline taken by Walsh/Cruz in 2020 (and many years prior to that of eroding employee relations/trust) is coming back to bite BA quite badly in the backside. Saved a few pennies back then only now to forcibly have to chalk out more just to save face and prevent further chaos and losses! Just my twopence.
Oct 18, 2022, 3:32 am
#37
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,300
It would be a drawn out process. Any IA ballot MUST be by postal vote, this means from issuance until announcement of a result is typically 3 weeks if fast tracked but more realistically a month to allow two full weeks for responses. That comes after the failure to agree process has been exhausted. The 2019 action was announced after all of this plus an injunction by BA which they lost and an appeal on that decision which, again, they lost. IF it got that far they would certainly do the same again, anything to kick the can down the road.
Oct 18, 2022, 12:45 pm
#40
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Seattle, Wash. USA
Posts: 1,532
It appears that any vote will be on the new contract: https://www.ft.com/content/e7794c64-...2-c4a1a966a3d2