The Craziness of the British Airways Strikes

Take a look on the BBC website today and you'll see the news that talks between Unite and British Airways have broken down (again!) and that a planned strike of cabin crew will go ahead as of Monday.  If your plans are going to be wrecked because of this, you have my sympathies.  The big question I must as is: "Do Unite really know what they're doing?".

The news of the upcoming strike comes as no surprise, especially seeing as the situation has been rumbling on for months with little sign of reaching a conclusion.  For once though, the situation doesn't appear to be clean-cut for either side.  Unite's allegations of poor pay and working conditions are being met with allegations (and proof) of ballot-rigging and unjustified claims; there are many out there (not just BA officials) who will admit that BA staff are amongst the higher-paid in the industry.

If you discount everything else though, and assume that the Union have a legitimate gripe, you still have to wonder whether or not they are going about things in the right way, or even whether the Union is serious about the negotiations it is entering in to.

As far as the intentions of the Union are concerned, you just have to look at today's news to see how seriously their chiefs are taking negotiations; sitting at the negotiating table Twittering updates from a confidential meeting is a sure-fire way to endear yourself to your opponents.

As well as that, a brief look at the accounts of British Airways should tell you all you need to know about why the cabin crew might not being paid as much as they'd like; over the last two years BA has posted a combined loss of almost £1bn... a sum which certainly isn't conducive to pay rises all round.

With this in mind, I really do have to question the suitability of the action that is being taken by the Union.  How do they expect to extract more money out of an ailing company by financially crippling them.  The logic would stun even a five-year-old:

Union:  We want more money

British Airways:  We've lost nearly £1bn in the last two years, we can't afford it

Union:  Well we'll strike and lose you even more money then

British Airways:  Then we'll be even less able to afford what you're demanding

If you can see the logic in this exchange, please do tell me!

According to reports on the internet, the upcoming fifteen-day strike will cost BA upwards of £100m; with under £2bn in the bank, this will be a serious hit to BA's finances and I would certainly advise against booking any flights in advance with them.

Will Unite be happy when they bring the company to its knees and end up far from well paid, but in fact at the back of the dole queue?