British Airways Strikes A Blow For Mickey Mouse Unions
THE British Airways strike has taught us one thing. No, not that Bolshy well-paid union staff can bring down a business and ruin Christmas for the people who pay their wages. Not only that.
The shocker is that trolley dollies have a union: the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (Bassa), a branch of the Unite monolith. The head of Bassa is Lizanne Malone, “a senior stewardess and the union’s chairman”.
She “manages to conduct business from 5,500 miles away in the sizzling Californian sunshine”, earning an “estimated £50,000 a year, and is still paid, even though, for at least a year, she has not actually been working on any flights while recovering from osteoporosis in her foot.”
Is 55 degrees in the rain “sizzling”?
Well, so says the Daily Mail, which hasn’t spoken with Malone but has done some sums:
Miss Malone draws a part-time BA salary of around £28,000 as a cabin services director, in charge of the stewards and stewardesses on a flight. Additionally, she is believed to earn £100 a day for her Bassa role, taking her total annual earnings up to about £50,000.
Believed? But back to Bassa, whish boasts “membership currently stands at 10884 which makes us the largest branch of the T&GWU.” Membership is £1.09 per month. Although after the first ten seats are taken, the price rises to £45, £79.99 and £1,234.99, subject to availability.
So. Unions remain powerful. Happy days. Oh, the sweet scent of nostalgia, when the print presses ran on the whim of “Mickey Mouse” and miners were encouraged to fight the police. The big difference, of course, is that BA is private enterprise so the ultimate power lies with the customer. Farewell, BA. Collect your P45 by the departure gate…
Posted: 17th, December 2009 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
