I can understand why BA cabin crew have voted in favour of strike action. Anyone who has worked in a heavily unionised workplace knows how divisions between management and the workers can become so corrosive.
What I fail to understand is the scenes of jubilation amongst the BA staff when the result of the ballot was announced. There were yelps of joy and arms aloft as though they had just achieved an historic victory. Surely anyone who voted for strike action did so with at last a slightly heavy heart, knowing the damage a strike would do to their company, customers and reputation.
I am also surprised by the incompetent response from BA’s management. They have known this strike was on the cards for weeks, if not months, yet they are acting as though it has come as a complete surprise to them. The latest news is that they are to re-enter talks with Unite and there is a good chance strike action will be avoided.
Yet the response has been far from coherent. There doesn’t really seem to have been a Plan B. One minute they are taking legal action, the next they are looking at re-scheduling flights. All the while ticket holders are left in the dark. As a customer who has BA tickets booked over the strike period, I have received no communication from BA since the strike was announced on Monday. No email, no phone call, nothing. It’s not as though they didn’t see it coming.
