I'm due to be flying with British Airways on the 22nd and fly home on the 2nd, the start and end days of the cabin crew strike. I can't help but think that their reasons for choosing these dates is for the ultimate amount of publicity more than for the sensibilities of going on strike. Why, for your first strike do you do it for 12 days? Most other unions strike for one day here, one day there...their choice is preposterous.
And even then why are they striking at all? Not only does BA have a lot more credible opposition these days with all the budget airlines that provide good services, there is also a recession in place. Costs have to be cut. How can these cabin crew justify to themselves that they are so important that they can't survive a pay freeze. At least they have a job.
Other staff within BA have negotiated and agreed to new terms, and yet the cabin crew have not. Instead they have decided to hold the world to ransom at a time when peace, love and goodwill are supposed to be the prevailing emotions. Christmas is for families and lovers, but instead we could all be kept apart by money grabbers and selfish cabin crew, by a union looking for publicity, and I for one have no sympathy with them. I am hoping that it will be called off, but something inside me says that come the 22nd of December, I'll be arriving at Heathrow without a flight to catch, and I'll be parted from my girlfriend for the complete holiday season.
On a lighter note, I have been visiting my Dad in Cheddar for a week. One day we did the Gorge Walk, on another I took a walk around the reservoir and there are photos below. Immediately below are two photos of a Cottage Pie I made...my first...and it was delicious!
BA's philosophy will clip the wings of 747s, James.
ReplyDeleteThat's frightfully hard Cheddar, me old china, but I hope it all works out for you and you get to have a good Christmas.