Unite at it again

[dubai_phil]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7940889/Airports-face-threat-of-strikes-as-workers-back-walkout.html

 

The pay rise they've been offered is measly.

 

Their Union actions cost the airlines and the airport operators millions and then they say that the employer BAA having lost 950mil in the past 15 months is being measly.

 

Man, I would LOVE to smoke some of what those guys doo

[Smirking_Saint]

They won't have a job soon, then who will they strike against ?

[Colinjb]

They've been offered a pay rise at a time when most employees are grateful to be holding station.

 

On that basis alone, f**k 'em.

[Deano6]

W@nkers. Just c****.

 

"strike action is the last resort to stop our members' living standards falling for the second year in a row."

 

Why should they be immune to the economic realities of the last 2 years?

[Robsk II]

It ****es me off when unions act on retarded cases. They have an obligation to take on individual cases, too, at pointless cost of time and money, when they should have the wit to tell hlf the people making claims against employers to **** off. I still believe the idea of a trade body is a good one, but christ is it ever badly done most of the time.

[solentstars]

i see the angry brigade are out in force again:lol:

[CB Saint]

I think Unite have a real problem. They are a very widespread Union - the result of the merger of many smaller unions. Therefore there is a good chance that when a strike action called Unite is involved. The more Unite is involved with strike action the more the public perception will be that the Union is militant.

 

Now each individual action may or may not have merit, however there will come a time where a group of workers are genuinely hard done by and are not taken seriously because of their association with Unite.

 

Unite should think long and hard about their long term strategy before they end up hurting the very people they are supposed to represent

[buctootim]

The Telegraph are hilarious. Totally different slant on profits depending on whether its a company reporting them in the business pages, or workers asking for a cost of living rise.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/7279920/BAA-profits-boost.html

Edited 12 August, 2010 by buctootim

[Saints Mad Si]

I appreciate that promises were made last year and dont seen to be kept but this is the second time I will have been affected by these strikes, firstly at Heathrow and now I have a flight booked to Edinburgh from Southampton on the 24th and the first strike could start on the 23rd!! Its really starting to annoy me and affect my earning potential with commission etc.

[Smirking_Saint]

When are they planned ?

[Saints Mad Si]

When are they planned ?

 

Possibly the first starting on the 23rd August but there is a possibility to do it over the bank holiday weekend which will **** a lot of people off.

[thefunkygibbons]

Sack them

 

and then see how many people will queue for their jobs

[Thedelldays]

I know a cabin servce manager for another operator..which is the same sort of thing as cabin service director ofr BA...when she was telling me the difference in their pay and perks...I was shocked..

 

how the BA lot can even think about striking on what they are on is unreal

[Hatch]

I know a cabin servce manager for another operator..which is the same sort of thing as cabin service director ofr BA...when she was telling me the difference in their pay and perks...I was shocked..

 

how the BA lot can even think about striking on what they are on is unreal

 

 

This is not about BA.

[dubai_phil]

I know a cabin servce manager for another operator..which is the same sort of thing as cabin service director ofr BA...when she was telling me the difference in their pay and perks...I was shocked..

 

how the BA lot can even think about striking on what they are on is unreal

 

Woosh

 

My point on the Op was more along the lines that I have many friends around the world who have been made redundat or downsized in the past two years, and I know many people here who have either had their BASIC pay cut by up to 30% or simply not been paid for months.

 

It's the reality of the global recession.

 

Unions exist to protect the rights of their members and there are many evil and imbecilic managers and employers in the world. However, when you see a company losing near on 1 billion and then a demand for a pay rise - it just seems so 1970's. You can almost see the Unite guys driving to their office in platforms and Oxford baggies and listening to The Bay City Rollers & Slade in their cars.

 

Now their POINT that the airline business IS recovering may well be valid, so why on EARTH are they not fighting to get their members a share of the FUTURE profits? Wrap that pay demand up into bonus payments or profit share agreements, don't think anyone of us would have an issue with that. But demanding pay rises when many, many people are fighting to keep their jobs or company's running, and when in the REAL world it is plain for anyone to see that the recession ISN'T over world-wide yet.....

 

Dumb, archaic and narrow minded

[Verbal]

Dumb, archaic and narrow minded

 

Or: the unions, especially powerful ones like Unite, are accidental capitalists. Fighting to maintain pay levels are quite a useful component in a recession, paradoxically, because consumption is such an important driver out of an economic mess. If the bosses had their way en masse, they'd accidentally destroy everything. Wages everywhere would be cut to the bone, consumption would crash, and hey presto, Karl Marx was right.

[EastleighSoulBoy]

I appreciate that promises were made last year and dont seen to be kept but this is the second time I will have been affected by these strikes, firstly at Heathrow and now I have a flight booked to Edinburgh from Southampton on the 24th and the first strike could start on the 23rd!! Its really starting to annoy me and affect my earning potential with commission etc.

 

I'd presume that the Unite action is precisely because their earning potential is being affected? Hence their legally chosen action?

 

Oh! but how dare they!

 

Last post of the day.

[Thedelldays]

This is not about BA.

 

I know..it is about BAA...i was just making a point about unite in general

[Viking Warrior]

Its not only Unite who are quing up to strike Unison and GMB are next in line and are sharpening their ballot paper pencils.

expect a winter of discontent ahead

[Verbal]

Its not only Unite who are quing up to strike Unison and GMB are next in line and are sharpening their ballot paper pencils.

expect a winter of discontent ahead

 

Great! We'll all be better off.

[The Kraken]

Its not only Unite who are quing up to strike Unison and GMB are next in line and are sharpening their ballot paper pencils.

expect a winter of discontent ahead

 

If you think this is bad, wait until the Olympics is right on the radar; you'll have every two-bit union from here to kingdom come threatening mass walkouts, the country will come to complete standstill.

[lloydie]

They should just be glad to have a job!! Moaning ***ts!

[dune]

I support this *threat* of strike action because it will not lead to a strike. It will ultimately lead to BAA (a misleading name given it's a Spanish owned company - therefore i say **** em) having to give it's workers a decent pay offer. Even in the current climate a 0% rise in fiscal 09 followed by a 1% rise in fical 10 is measly. It's not the workers fault that this Spanish owned company bit off more than it could chew with it's expansionist spending..

[Fuengirola Saint]

They should just be glad to have a job!! Moaning ***ts!

 

Yeah, they should be grateful that those nice capitalists gave them a job eh?

Edited 13 August, 2010 by Fuengirola Saint
typo

[dune]

n.b. I should add that i'm flying from Birmingham in September (not a BAA airport) but if I wasn't and there was a strike at the airport I was using my view may be slightly different.

[rocknrollman no2]

They should just be glad to have a job!! Moaning ***ts!

 

Yeah because what ever their conditions,hours of work ,or low pay,those lucky workers should be so grateful to have a job.How dare they want a reasonable wage.Meanwhile those in charge get more money,bigger bonuses,bigger payoffs(usually when they have been ****e in their jobs),and all this while the government bail out the fat cat bankers and also continue to give themselfs massive pay rises.

No wonder this countrys gone to pot.

[dune]

Yeah because what ever their conditions,hours of work ,or low pay,those lucky workers should be so grateful to have a job.How dare they want a reasonable wage.Meanwhile those in charge get more money,bigger bonuses,bigger payoffs(usually when they have been ****e in their jobs),and all this while the government bail out the fat cat bankers and also continue to give themselfs massive pay rises.

No wonder this countrys gone to pot.

 

You forgot to add 13 years of Labour in your explanation for this country going to the dogs.

[rocknrollman no2]

You forgot to add 13 years of Labour in your explanation for this country going to the dogs.

 

How about the 18years of Tory rule before that?Remind me who was in power when we had black Wednesday?

[CB Saint]

Yeah because what ever their conditions,hours of work ,or low pay,those lucky workers should be so grateful to have a job.How dare they want a reasonable wage.Meanwhile those in charge get more money,bigger bonuses,bigger payoffs(usually when they have been ****e in their jobs),and all this while the government bail out the fat cat bankers and also continue to give themselfs massive pay rises.

No wonder this countrys gone to pot.

 

What are you talking about. The coaltion ministers have taken a 5%pay cut and a pay freeze for the length of this parliament.

[rocknrollman no2]

What are you talking about. The coaltion ministers have taken a 5%pay cut and a pay freeze for the length of this parliament.

 

Thats nice of them.

Didnt the MPs give themselfs a 50% pay rise the year before and (if memory serves me right),a 30% the year before that as well?

[trousers]

How about the 18years of Tory rule before that?Remind me who was in power when we had black Wednesday?

 

Can we also count the years/decades/centuries before that too?

 

Bloody Romans.

[dubai_phil]

Back on topic and away from Politics for a moment.

 

Due to the overspends by the last lot of lunatics running the asylum there are going to be tens of thousands of people losing their jobs in the coming months. These people will then have problems paying their Domestic Bills, leading to less money going round and round meaning small (non-unionised) businesses will see less money coming in leading them to cut jobs and round and round it will go.

 

During the Autumn those tens of thousands of job cuts will include a great many with whom the "Public" feel great sympathy and who they (of whichever Political persuasion) view as critical (Not just some gung ho RAF type chappies but the Nurses Firemen etc etc etc)

 

Those job cuts NEED to be challenged by the Unions - for example why fire 10 highly trained engineers for example when they should/could just fire one incompetent fat cat at the top of the business?

 

The Unions protecting those JOBS will need Public Support, rather than the meh lazy ****s attitude most had towards Unite's last efforts to "protect workers perks".

 

Unions striking while families of those still in work are wanting to travel on their Holidays is simply playing into the hands of those who believe all Unions are evil Commie Bstds.

 

When entering into a "War" the last thing you should do is to pick the wrong things to p1ss off the public (who's support you need).

 

This action IF it goes ahead will simply harm some other Union later in the Autumn fighting for something that REALLY could hurt people or society IF it went unchallenged.

[CB Saint]

Thats nice of them.

Didnt the MPs give themselfs a 50% pay rise the year before and (if memory serves me right),a 30% the year before that as well?

 

April 2007=£61,181

April 2008=£63,291

April 2009=£64,766

April 2010=£65,738

[dune]

MP's receive a pittance as does our Prime Minister. GP's, and bureaucrats receive more.

[Wilko]

I don't really get the whole 'they should be grateful to their employers for giving them a job' attitude. That's just tosh.

 

People who own companies will always try to take the **** out of those who work for them. That's just the way it is. As long as the shareholders are OK, that's all that matters.

 

Well done to the workers for standing up for themselves.

[CB Saint]

I don't really get the whole 'they should be grateful to their employers for giving them a job' attitude. That's just tosh.

 

People who own companies will always try to take the **** out of those who work for them. That's just the way it is. As long as the shareholders are OK, that's all that matters.

 

Well done to the workers for standing up for themselves.

 

What a load of guff. My business is nothing without the people, I know that and that is why I treat them fairly. Any manager / owner smart enough will also know that.

[aintforever]

What a load of guff. My business is nothing without the people, I know that and that is why I treat them fairly. Any manager / owner smart enough will also know that.

 

I expect the owner of the iphone factory in China said those exact words shortly before the 10th person killed themselves.

 

In today's world an employer's idea of "fair" is pay them as little as you can possibly get away with, not what they deserve.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

MP's receive a pittance as does our Prime Minister. GP's, and bureaucrats receive more.

 

GP's are worth it Dune.

[dune]

GP's are worth it Dune.

 

Of course they're not worth as much as the leader of the country.

[CB Saint]

I expect the owner of the iphone factory in China said those exact words shortly before the 10th person killed themselves.

 

In today's world an employer's idea of "fair" is pay them as little as you can possibly get away with, not what they deserve.

 

Unsurprisingly I disagree. Firstly you cannot compare China to the Uk, there are entirely different (I am totally against the working conditions in china which seem to be no better the a 19th century workhouse).

 

Most employers I know try their best often with limited resources (especially in today's economic climate). I can only comment from an SME perspective, but unless you respect, reward and develop your staff then your business will never reach it's potential. Also if you do not treat your staff fairly, invariably they leave or worse still become negative influences within the organisation. The impact to a business of these things happening can be massive in a small business. So by treating your employees well you get a motivated loyal workforce that will improve shareholder value.

 

That all sounds a bit like it came out of a textbook but my experience it's true. That is why I disagree with the premise that all employers are out to get the employee.

[bridge too far]

Breaking news - industrial action called off.

[dune]

Breaking news - industrial action called off.

 

It was never going to go to a strike as I said. Unlike with the cabin crew this dispute was all about the workers rightly expecting a decent pay rise which the Spanish owned BAA were always going to have to give ground on.