Dickens is our man at Christmas; the season of goodwill to all men. We all remember the young orphan Oliver asking for more. Asking for more is what downtrodden workers have always had to do to defend their livelihoods. But it seems that in today's Britain, asking for more is seen as a crime.
12000 BA cabin crew who recently voted to strike against cutbacks in staffing and changes to working practices were villified by the media and the public. How dare they ask for more! They get paid more than the Virgin cabin crew and above the London average of £24,000 for what many consider to be a cushy number with plenty of perks.
In fact in todays age of mass travel being an air steward is probably less glamorous than a waitress in a good restaurant whose working conditions are probably more comfortable and less stressful. A BA steward who voted for strike action says their wages after 23 years of service are between £29,000 - £35,000 and believes management get their money's worth.
The majority of comments from the public seem to be that if they don't like the job they should resign. 'You're lucky to even have a job' says one resentful commentator. Workers who have accepted pay cuts or been made redundant or young people who are finding it difficult to even get a job in today's recession believe that BA workers who ask for more are just being greedy and that they too should accept cutbacks to save the economy.
But is sharing the misery going to make things better for us? Why would BA workers accepting less improve our prospects? Surely, if workers in one sector succeed in defending their conditions it would mean other employers would be more hesitant about driving down conditions elsewhere. Instead of resenting other workers asking for more, we should be cheering them on because asking for more may get you into trouble but you don't get if you don't ask and it's the only way to improve our lives.
Isn't accepting less better than losing your job if your company goes bust? Not necessarily. We have to weigh up our options and take our chances. BA is not some small business outfit. It may suffer some temporary competitive setbacks but it won't go bust just yet.
Today the threatened 12 day strike by British Airways cabin crew has been blocked by a High Court injunction that deemed the action illegal because the vote included members who had already accepted voluntary redundancy. The union may re-ballot on strike action. I hope BA cabin crew will still show some fighting spirit.
12000 BA cabin crew who recently voted to strike against cutbacks in staffing and changes to working practices were villified by the media and the public. How dare they ask for more! They get paid more than the Virgin cabin crew and above the London average of £24,000 for what many consider to be a cushy number with plenty of perks.
In fact in todays age of mass travel being an air steward is probably less glamorous than a waitress in a good restaurant whose working conditions are probably more comfortable and less stressful. A BA steward who voted for strike action says their wages after 23 years of service are between £29,000 - £35,000 and believes management get their money's worth.
The majority of comments from the public seem to be that if they don't like the job they should resign. 'You're lucky to even have a job' says one resentful commentator. Workers who have accepted pay cuts or been made redundant or young people who are finding it difficult to even get a job in today's recession believe that BA workers who ask for more are just being greedy and that they too should accept cutbacks to save the economy.
But is sharing the misery going to make things better for us? Why would BA workers accepting less improve our prospects? Surely, if workers in one sector succeed in defending their conditions it would mean other employers would be more hesitant about driving down conditions elsewhere. Instead of resenting other workers asking for more, we should be cheering them on because asking for more may get you into trouble but you don't get if you don't ask and it's the only way to improve our lives.
Isn't accepting less better than losing your job if your company goes bust? Not necessarily. We have to weigh up our options and take our chances. BA is not some small business outfit. It may suffer some temporary competitive setbacks but it won't go bust just yet.
Today the threatened 12 day strike by British Airways cabin crew has been blocked by a High Court injunction that deemed the action illegal because the vote included members who had already accepted voluntary redundancy. The union may re-ballot on strike action. I hope BA cabin crew will still show some fighting spirit.
