British Airways cabin crew union, Unite, has decided that it cannot recommend the latest deal  and put it to a vote among its membership.  Now it wants more talks with British Airways.

And I would like to offer this:  That’s bargaining in bad faith.

When you are the leadership of a union and engage in talks that result in a proposed agreement and you agree to put it to a vote, you damn well put it to a vote.  You don’t change your mind and then ask for more talks on threat of another strike.  Being weak and changing your mind just damages the process for both sides.  If your membership doesn’t like it, they won’t vote for it.  The outcome is the same but it’s an outcome that results from an appropriate course of action rather then a cowardly one.

I didn’t like BA’s punitive moves against the cabin crew and I did think that gave Unite the upper hand somewhat.  Now I think they’re both behaving atrociously and contrary to the spirit of what it means to negotiate a resolution.  One thing I can’t criticize British Airways for is being cowardly and indecisive.  Unite loses the upper hand here and goes back to wallowing in deep mud.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax