SR Home Ballot Result Strike Dates
BA Staff Strikes - The Facts
2600 British Airways staff have voted for strike action over pay. To maximize pressure on the employers, they have chosen possible strike dates to coincide with the August Bank Holidays.
We can be sure that the press, TV and radio will be full of witch-hunting articles denouncing the GMB and the workers concerned - who are mainly check-in staff. The facts are simple:
Check-in staff earn around 12,500 pounds a year - much less than many of the holidaymakers and other travelers they are dispatching. Cabin staff earn similarly ridiculously low wages. Many of the workers concerned are women, trying to balance difficult shifts with domestic responsibilities. In the last four years their pay has increased by 4.1%, while prices have increased by 7.3%. In real terms they have taken a pay cut. BA sacked 11,000 workers in the said period. BA profits have increased by more than 50% in the last three years.
When the media launch their attacks on BA staff, they are attacking a low-paid and super-exploited section of the workforce - as usual.