Industrial Action - the BA Dispute

Industrial Action - The BA Dispute

British Airway's future could hang on the outcome of talks to end the dispute over electronic clocking on cards, the airline's chief executive Rod Eddington has said.

BA's reputation with customers has been badly dented after wildcat strikes by its staff stranded about 80,000 passengers last week.

The strike resulted from the starting of a new clocking on—clocking off system called ‘ATR’. An Amicus (union) representative, who did not want to be named, claimed that by introducing ATR, BA was taking the first step towards introducing a network of electronic systems, known as Integrated Airport Resource Management (iARM). The employees fear is that under iARM the employers will take the data from the ATR to restructure workers’ rotas, and introduce annualised hours and split shifts - for example, getting people to come in for two hours, going home for two hours, then coming back in again. At the moment, staff know their rotas about three months in advance. They're able to swap shifts and plan family commitments, such as childcare and holidays."

The new system will also mean that under ‘annualised hours’ a worker may work 10 or 15 hours a week during quiet times, but then have to work 40 hours or more a week during busy months such as July and August and around Christmas.

Group Work

Divide into 3 groups. Group One representing the management side, Group Two,AMICUS (the union representing the workers), and Group Three ACAS (the government funded service that tries to settle industrial disputes). Each group will be involved in Collective Bargaining with the other parties in the dispute.

The first step is for each group to decide on their negotiating position. You will want to cover issues such as pay increase, the clocking on scheme, flexible working, annualised hours, amount of bonuses, holidays, redundancies etc. Make a careful note of what you want in each of these areas, and be prepared to say why your demands are reasonable.

Then the employers and employees meet together, with ACAS listening in. Both employers and Unions will present their sides case, and listen to the others sides arguments. Once each side has listened and responded, then meet in your group, and adapt some of your demands, so to move towards resolution of problem, and avoid strikes.(You may take the view that some things are too important to change – in that case do not change them).

The ACAS members will listen to both sides and then give advice to both sides to try to encourage settlement both sides are happy with. After two or three rounds of meetings between the sides and if all else fails ACAS will impose their own settlement on both parties.

Note

BA have offered a 3% pay rise, and need to make further redundancies to reduce their costs. They are currently loss making, and the recent terrorist threats have reduced passenger numbers, also low cost airlines such as Ryan air, have won customers from them. Further pressure has come from rapid increases in fuel costs and the fall in passenger numbers due to the recession.

On the other hand the workers have seen many job losses in recent years, changes in working conditions that have meant longer hours, and below inflation pay increases. Employees feel insecure about the future, and have seen senior executives within BA receive large bonuses, and pay increases.

The role of ACAS is to help settle the dispute, so those of you in this group listen to the arguments put forward by both sides and try to bring them closer together, after all further strike action could have serious long term effects on BA and it’s employees