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The more often lazy journalists copy from each other (or from BA's press release?!) the dysinformation that the avarage annual income of a main cabin crew member is 29.000 GPB, it doesn't make it true at the end, does it? Proper research and investigative journalism seem to be a lost cause in this country. But agitation and self-righteous finger pointing, unreasonable envy and an unhealthy obsession with class (even in the 21 rst century) are obviously still very popular. Nobody talks about the 650 Mio GBP in fines for price fixing or the huge loss due to speculating fuel hedging Willy Walsh and his mislead management is responsible for? No, it is much easier to digress and put the blame on the work force which is fighting for their future livlihood. (The latter has an avarage annual income of 16.000 GBP by the way.) Well, you will be next. The pilots? The managers? Or YOU? A strike actually happens when workers are depreciated and proper management fails.

- Bettany, devon, 19/03/2010 00:53
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BA cabin crew get £30000 plus a year. Our front line soldiers in Afghanistan get £17400. So who should be going on strike?

- John Bell, Nottm UK, 17/03/2010 19:55
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Clair Smith from London - I am going to have to ask a really dumb question. If BA is indeed such a horrible place to work, this strike will hardly change it much. Why not quit and try your luck working for Virgin or someone else instead?

"Proud British company" is heading for the 2nd straight year of major losses in the year when, as CAA tells us, airtraffic is down most since WW2. This strike is not only losing BA current business - it's the future business that BA is not going to get (travellers hate uncertainty) which is going to hit the hardest. At this pace there may be not much left soon, apart from pride.

- Legal Immigrant, City of London, 17/03/2010 19:30
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Steve C London.I'll refresh your memory .After Aylings fiasco over the tail planes,BA (Ayling)decided to impose AND BACKDATE pay cuts/new starter rates/new contracts .July 1997 cabin crew went on strike for 3 days (well,5000 went on the big sickie,and stayed off for days, weeks and months).BA's operation lost (their figures) £125m ,the operation took months to stabilise.
Imposition,bullying ,threats,isn't this how TUs are portrayed,..except this was BA,BA management used video cameras on the picket lines.The press slated BAs tactics for weeks.
Marshall sacked the General Manager,the Ops director and soon after Ayling had to go.
Must be a general election coming up.Harriet Harman supports Gordons statement fully,yet her husband is a Deputy General Secretary of...UNITE.
Cynical,me!!

- Chris, berks, 17/03/2010 19:02
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Go in to a shop and the assistant refuses to sell you something if you dont offer the price of the item. The cabin crew are in the same position . They are refusing to sell themselves unless they get the proper wage or whatever it is.
T H

- Thomas Hayes, Bradford UK, 17/03/2010 18:56
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David White from Lancaster - when you add up your "greedy bankers" numbers, don't forget to include CI and PI taxes paid to HMIRS over the go-go years. Bummber that the go-go years also wound up being the 'spend-spend' ones, isn't it? Will Unite cost you much? Probably not, apart from - possibly - one airline. But that cost will be borne by BA employees and shareholders, so your talk is free. Will Unite contribute as much in CI and PI? I don't think so. Shall we do T-accounts?

- Legal Immigrant, City of London, 17/03/2010 18:53
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Unfortunately, I know for a fact how much BA cabin crew are suffering, I know first hand about how the company is abussing its power by intimidation, bullying and harrassment. Picking in some, suspending for no reason to create fear and how the crew do not have any freedom of speech. This whole thing has the only objective of break up the union so they are free to do whatever they want, so crew are fighting for their jobs, something anyone will do in they were in their shoes. All of you who are so quick to judge, should know all the facts and do not believe all the propaganda set out there by a huge press dpt. And all of you who critizise without know must be their own bosses otherwise, I am sure you will be very happy to have have all your conditions and rights removed from one day to the next after loyal years earning them. BA management are getting to unbelieveble measures to silence the voice of the crew, hard to believe this happens on the 21st century and from hands of a proud British company like BA. Shame on you BA management!!! PS: For all those which job it is to keep writing trash about the crew just be careful because you are next on the list!

- Claire Smith, London, 17/03/2010 17:28
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I would rather see a political party supported by unions rather than supported by a bunch of greedy bankers...I wonder if the Unions are going to cost us £250 billion

- David White, Lancaster, 17/03/2010 11:10
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AS an ex BA employee who did 12 yrs with the company and finally had enough, i am glad that someone finally has the guts to stand up to the management. i know it will disrupt many people, but someone has to stop BA turning into another low cost carrier. i am in full support of the cabin crews, just wish someone had stood up to the greedy management (Bob Ayling) years ago as BA used to be a great place to work and fly with.

- Steve C, London, 17/03/2010 10:05
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Teamsters support the Unite Union.

Gordon Brown diverts £4million to Unite; Unite adds £11million to the Labour Party electioneering funds.

The some people try to suggest we live in a democracy. A democracy will never happen in this country until candidates are selected by their constituents and all electioneering funding comes solely from within the constituency that they wish to represent.

- Ian B, Reading, England, 17/03/2010 08:07
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To Jessie Janes
Do you not get it, the majority of the public are against you. You can't achieve anything if Britain doesn't support you. All you've done is annoyed the public and ruined holidays.

- Clare, London, 17/03/2010 08:06
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Those who belly ache about the 'overpaid, greedy, selfish' cabin crew are very often those who form an opinion based on hearsay rather than fact. No, I am not travelling anywhere this coming and weekend and yes I feel desparately sorry for those whose travel plans may be disrupted but I am in full support of all the hard working crew who have been pushed by Mr Walsh into the corner they find themselves in. That support does not extend to the pilots. The bullying and harrassment of staff is shameful. The cabin crew staff are not allowed to voice their concerns because they know full well what the disciplinary proceedings against them will be and I applaud Jessie Janes for having the courage to comment above. So, to those who feel so anti the strike, please, take the time to try and find a member of BA cabin crew and ask them 'Why?' If you can find someone brave enough to speak up, I think you may just find some understanding of the position they find themselves in AND your views on Mr Walsh somewhat changed.

- J. Hill, Dorset, 17/03/2010 07:22
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I totally support the cabin staff. It is the management of BA that is overpaid, greedy and selfish. So many of the crew are at risk of loosing their livelihood. I don't think this will happen to Willie Walsh. Perhaps he could show some Irish goodwill on Saint Patrick's Day and reopen negotiations instead of heaving like a little Hitler.

- Mary Pearson, Birmingham, England, 17/03/2010 06:54
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Jesse Janes London UK....

I am a BA employee and in no way recognise the company as you are portraying it...it is you and people like you that will ruin this airline for the other 30,000 employees...judging by your reteric you have no idea what you are striking for...take a good hard look at what
you are doing...and when you have no job go try and find your UNITE shop stewards...you won't, because they will have moved on to the next gullible lot of workers......

- Gary, Surrey, 17/03/2010 00:14
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And what does the 11 million pounds of Union members subscriptions given by Unite to the Labour Party Buy.
Will it be Lunch at the House of Commons or Two Peerages in the Lords. Either way the losers will be the BA staff Unite represent. Wake up boys and girls, the climate is not with you, it will only end in tears and more dissatisfaction. It seems that your Pilots through Balpa struck a deal with a prospect of gain.

- Mike, France, 16/03/2010 21:37
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I can feel the tide turning, BA have already cancelled 59% of their flights out of Heathrow on Saturday, the strike has already broken BA and it hasn't even started yet! About time someone stood up to the fatcats!

- Stefano, London England, 16/03/2010 20:56
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Cabin Crew have worked proudly for this airline for ten, twenty, thirty or even forty years; whole families have followed in this profession of serving passengers though generations. We have seen are airline decimated by the sheer greed of management. We have offered pay cuts, pay freezes, and agreed to everything that Willie Walsh wants. But it is not enough for him.
He has colluded with price fixing and had fines imposed on BA amounting to 500 million pounds, the Terminal 5 debacle cost 100 million pds.. and yet he still wants to break his employees .. the face of the airline.
He will move on and has secured himself another job. But what about us? British Airways will be just another cut price cheap airline.. and not the premier airline it once was.
he has spent millions on trying to break our strike and still refuses to come to the negotiation table..
We do not want to ruin anyone's holiday or trip of a lifetime, but if you cannot talk to bosses .. if all they do is threaten and harrass you .. and we have been bullied, threatened and many crew are frightened to speak then all we have left to do is withdraw our labour.
We are hoping that someone will make him see sense.. somewhere. It should also be noted that the public do not hear our point of view because we are forbidden to contact the media and can face instant dismissal. Therefore he has silenced us. In writing this i am taking a massive risk - but still felt it worth it.

- Jessie Janes, London UK, 16/03/2010 20:03
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So Unite say that BA bosses are becoming increasingly macho. I thought it was Unite who decided to go on strike. Don't get much more macho than that.

- Stephen C, London, 16/03/2010 18:35
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Have just received notification that my flight to Amsterdam this weekend with BA has been cancelled. If the overpaid, greedy and selfish cabin crew continue to bite the hand that feeds them perhaps they'll all be out of a job fairly soon. There's lots of other airlines around...

- John Bursby, Royal Tunbridge Wells, 16/03/2010 00:50
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i was in the coal strike in 60s it did no good we lost a lot of money in wages you can never make it up.
i asked at a union meeting if the union big boys were going to do with no wages they said no it seems you strikeyou lose wages but union chiefs get full pay

- James Dick, philippiones uk spalding lincs, 15/03/2010 07:19
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OMG, Brown intervenes ! That is a recipe for disaster. Has he ever intervened in anything that was a succeeded ?

- Bernard Ex Pat, Myrtle Beach SC USA, 15/03/2010 05:29
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