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Post by EspadaIII on Jun 24, 2022 16:22:56 GMT
You might expect me to decry all these strikes and potential strikes that are taking place or will take place this summer. I am not impressed by the stance of the Union given that the sort of waste clearly evidenced in the industry, would be not be permitted in the private sector. But the staff are not overly well paid although I think the strike is premature. There are so many jobs available out there that compulsory redundancy for some would actually be a blessing for those same people, who could end up earning more than they were. However I have huge sympathy for the British Airways workers who are now working flat out to maintain a service and are being denied the money that was taken from them in 2020.... and then you have this nonsense... Airport boss gets huge pay riseTalk about stuffing the workers. What an embarrassment! and a stupid mistake. How can this be reasonable? When Covid hit and before Furlough was a thing, I told my staff that everyone including me and Espadrille were having a 25% pay cut. There was going to be pain but we were in it together. No one would be paid under the minimum wage and if we could justify more we would pay it. Thankfully Furlough arrived but we still paid everyone at 100% of salary and because of that we had unstinting support, such that we were able to pay some reasonable bonuses in the November pay packet last year. Whilst a fixed ratio of lowest paid to highest paid people in a company does not work, the excessive pay rises on the back of 'we have to pay market rates to get the best people' should be translated down the ranks. Without the cleaners and drivers and secretaries, the bosses would have no businesses to run and draw a salary from. I now need a rest and recover my usual blue tinge... |
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Post by dixinormus on Jun 24, 2022 17:48:39 GMT
Post-Covid (huh?!) people aren’t returning in droves to the crappy low-paid jobs that they lost, and fair play to them. I guess that the answer will be immigration and imported cheap labour…
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Jun 25, 2022 4:30:40 GMT
Esp wrote: "I am not impressed by the stance of the Union given that the sort of waste clearly evidenced in the industry, would be not be permitted in the private sector."
I thought the railway franchises were privatised. What I don't understand is these franchises then being used as vehicles diverting public money to private entities.
That looks like a failed model if private franchises need propping up. Can it really be considered privatised ?
I think there are parallels between the BA case mentioned and the railways. BA reduced remuneration and will not reinstate it, every year rail prices go up for the end user which are not then translated into some kind of even pay rise for those providing the service.
The trigger being 40+% increases to domestic unit costs of gas and electricity plus the increase in food due to diesel increases adding to the cost of transporting goods. Not everyone can absorb those increases as the Government is telling everyone to by not asking for pay rises. Something's got to give.
Edit: If you're working full-time and reliant on top up benefits to make ends meet chances are you're not in a position to absorb these increases.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jun 25, 2022 8:28:21 GMT
Esp wrote: "I am not impressed by the stance of the Union given that the sort of waste clearly evidenced in the industry, would be not be permitted in the private sector." I thought the railway franchises were privatised. They were, by Cecil Parkinson under John Major in 1994. And it was done in a way designed to fragment the industry and make taking it back into public ownership too difficult to be worth the attempt. Since then, of course, we’ve had the failure of Railtrack and its replacement with the quasi-public Network Rail, plus the necessary interventions to replace failed train operators, giving us the muddled picture we have today. Waste is a favourite theme of the rightwing press — whether it’s supposedly in the civil service, the NHS or wherever — along with the seldom-challenged but plainly wrong assumption that the private sector is a paragon of waste-free efficiency. In the case of railways or airlines, there are bound to be duplications and redundant systems for safety; nobody complains about the mostly unnecessary spare engine on an airliner, and some still fret that there aren’t two more. In my private-sector business, it’s OK to postpone a meeting because Tina is sick or Tony has to go to Parents’ Evening and nobody else can do what they do. Imagine that on the railway: “Don’t worry, chaps, we can check the signals tomorrow instead, when Usman is back. It’ll be fine. Probably.” There’s also the myth of ‘private-sector efficiency’, sacred in the Thatcher era and foisted on us ever since. Even if what’s called ‘waste’ really is, is UK private sector management the solution? The UK’s poor position in international productivity league tables suggests not. (Only little Canada and stagnated Japan do worse in the G7, with Italy roughly tied for fourth.) So I’d hesitate to trust such managers with anything more. They’ve had nearly 30 years with the railways and the results are plain to see. |
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Post by dixinormus on Jun 25, 2022 16:17:24 GMT
When will an airline stop chasing the low-cost race-to-the-bottom model and start to offer a better product for a few quid more? They could probably pay their staff a bit more then.
Or is it all about providing better returns to shareholders every quarter, to the long term detriment of the product and its employees?
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Jun 26, 2022 9:56:27 GMT
Airlines will stop when that market dries up. There are two customers for that model, the day traveller with hand luggage only and the low budget holiday maker.
As some low budget travellers may no longer have the funds to travel some, who previously paid a bit more for package deals, may drop into the DIY holiday market. It will still exist as long as people view a summer holiday as a right.
There is still the option to pay a national carrier if that's the service you want, you just need to be selective as some operate as budget airlines disguised as a national carrier.
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Post by EspadaIII on Jun 27, 2022 10:06:18 GMT
"There is still the option to pay a national carrier if that's the service you want, you just need to be selective as some operate as budget airlines disguised as a national carrier."
Brussels Airlines for one. Makes easyJet service look lavish.
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