A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF…

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF… 17th February 2013 Come midnight most of us will feel no little sympathy and a very strong sense of déjà vu as the rhetoric of the summer of 2010 returns. Why? Our friends and colleagues across Iberia will begin the first of 15 days of Industrial Action in defence of their working conditions. All the elements are there for all to see from our own dispute, the rhetoric is identical. In Mr Walsh’s own words, this is being billed as yet another “fight for survival” which will last exactly and very conveniently as long as their dispute. The blue print is identical to our own experience; a proposal of change and massive cuts that people are bound to resist, the faux management regret/glee that “ they are sorry that agreement could be reached with the unions” and then Iberia will plunge into a bitter internal war, trashing their own brand and people, which in the long run, will cost more than will ever be saved by the proposed changes. The central characters may be the same but this is a different country, with a different culture, a different press and different laws.  Spain is a country where people are not embarrassed to admit to being part of a union and, that in fighting for their rights, people will not be quite so easily demonised as “1970s militants’’ by a biased right wing press with their own political agenda. Nonetheless taking strike action is a daunting step and one people will not have taken lightly, especially if they have to endure the anti union terror tactics that we had to endure. We are sure you will join us in wishing our fellow crew the best of luck in their struggle and that as individuals and fellow union members, we will offer whatever support we can, as our fellow union members offered to us during the spring and summer of 2010. You cannot crush peoples’ spirit and it is sad that Mr Walsh has not learned from the experiences of that time, the scars and divisions he left behind within British Airways will live on for years to come, probably forever. The proposed Iberia strike dates are as follows February : 18, 19, 20, 21, 22  March: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 You can use Twitter to show your support #supportiberiastaff