BA POOR CREW AT GATWICK

LGW - A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE? 02nd August 2015 Whilst the Eurofleet review was being undertaken and with much less of a fan fare or indeed consultation, British Airways quietly set in motion plans to make significant and potentially far wider reaching changes at London Gatwick. Current crew numbers at LGW are over 1400 crew, of which over 1000 are now Unite members. It was announced earlier this year that the BA Gatwick fleet would move towards the introduction of a single supervisory grade. In other words the current roles of Purser and Cabin Manager would be ended and replaced by a Mixed Fleet style CSM role, with only one supervisor per aircraft on both worldwide and short haul flights. Crew complements would be made up of main crew and one CSM. So what does this mean in reality? There are currently around 360 CMs and Pursers at LGW. With only 1 senior crew member now required per flight under these proposals, only 240 SCCMs will be needed. For the 240 (combine CMs and Pursers) that remain, the change is intended to be significant. The current Cabin Manager contractual responsibility payment of £5,473 per year will instead be replaced by up to £2,500 per year, paid as “performance related” pay.  The exact amount each will receive will be decided every 3 months based on individual performance and on the whim of your particular manager; A run of bad flights, sickness or other `yet to be determined’ criteria, and it could end up being zero. People affected have very limited options. For Cabin managers this will mean an initial £5,473 guaranteed pay cut, however could mean up to £9000 per year could be lost when a further cut in basic salary is taken into account. The new role basic salary scale is being capped at £24,015 - (for some perspective, this is the same level of pay as the current post `97 main-crew pay scale at LHR).   Anyone wishing to move to Mixed Fleet as CSM as ‘suitable alternative employment’ has to apply and be subjected to the full selection process, with many already rejected. Standard severance has been offered, and an option to revert to Main crew but on Gatwick main crew salary with an even greater cut in salary. That this is being carried out against a backdrop of rising profitability begs the question, is this the shape of things to come? With the precarious state of the CSD role on Eurofleet and a long-standing CSL surplus on Worldwide, one does not need a crystal ball to deduce that it is more than a possibility. Five years ago BASSA forewarned that the future would look not too dissimilar and we took strike action to try and defend your livelihoods. Many listened but an equal number did not. All bar the LGW reps and a handful of members at Gatwick viewed the dispute as a “Heathrow” issue. It wasn't. It was a “cabin crew” issue. Unite’s Gatwick Union have asked us to share the communication to their members and is posted below for your reference. TO ALL LGW MEMBERS The company has today shared their intention to impose their plans on 1st November 2015 with further changes to their final proposal. Removal of the option to return to main crew for all wishing to. No guarantee of VR for all who preference it. Your only guaranteed option is a contractual change on to the imposed new pay scale.  The CM uplift of £5,473 p.a. will cease with immediate effect on 1st November 2015.  The Cabin Manager and Purser roles will cease. There will be no further recruitment in to these roles. ALL current SCCMs placed in to the proposed CSM role will be subject to performance related pay at a maximum average of £2,500p.a gauged individually against standards yet to be determined. The proposed new basic pay scale will have 5 increments and be capped at £24,015 p.a. Anyone above this level of pay will have their basic salary reduced to this sum. BA intend to mis-use the Redeployment Agreement to step reduce pay for these crew.  The Company is proposing a one-off payment of £6000 to all CMs ON CONDITION that they sign a binding agreement to relinquish ALL individual rights to making legal claims in respect of these imposed changes and their loses.  These proposals represent a 20-28% cut in guaranteed pay to crew in the senior grade. It is also a significant cut to pay for Pursers who work-up as CM under current agreements. ALL main crew seeking future promotion, including current secondee Pursers will be forced on to 2010 contacts, terms and conditions, and will be managed under the `Our Colleague Guide’. The new pay scale for these crew will have 5 increments, starting at £17,215 and will be capped at £22,000 p.a. To date, we have communicated facts and information to you without attempting to influence your view of the Company’s proposals. We have spent many hours seeking ways to reach acceptable solutions to the challenges we all now face. The Company has given only notional consideration to our responses and dismissed the rights and concerns we have raised in relation to the impact their proposal has upon our members. Your view will be essential to determine the way forward. We have again reiterated that we do not believe this to be a genuine redundancy situation, and to impose changes is a clear breach of the 2011 Settlement Agreement between Unite the Union and British Airways. We have today registered a Failure to Agree and the matter is referred to our Unite National Officer and the BA Forum. During this process, the status quo must remain. We shall be in contact again with any and all updates.