Deep Politics Forum

Shucks - Wide-boy Willie Walsh Wills Wild Wage Withdrawal.

Is it too naughty of me to suggest that foregoing one months salary of £61k (annualized at three quarters of a milion quid), as opposed to staff foregoing one month's salary from a yearly take-home amount of £15k (or thereabouts) is not only heads-in-the-clouds stuff, but actually a very cynical move at this time.

Wicked Willie can easily forego his canapes and Bolly for a month -- and cut back on his entertaining expenses (Royal Ascot's out - or is it?), but others can't as easily pare back to just baked beans three times a day. Or can they?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8102862.stm

Quote:BA asks staff to work for nothing



British Airways is asking thousands of staff to work for nothing, for up to one month, to help the airline survive.

The appeal, sent by e-mail to more than 30,000 workers in the UK, asks them to volunteer for between one week and one month's unpaid leave, or unpaid work.

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh has already agreed to work unpaid in July, forgoing his month's salary of £61,000.

Last month, BA posted a record annual loss of £401m, partly due to higher fuel bills and other costs.

'Fight for survival'

BA has said that hundreds of staff have responded positively to the request.

But some employees and unions have condemned the plan, saying improvements in the management of the airline were a bigger priority.

Indeed cabin crew and baggage handlers contacted by the BBC rejected the plan out of hand.

"It's a big no. A very big no. Everyone is up in arms. We're not taking it. I'd love to take a month's unpaid leave but I can't afford to do that," said one baggage handler at Heathrow.

But Mr Walsh said BA's drive to save cash was part of a "fight for survival".

"I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan," he said.

"It really counts," he added.

BA has been in urgent talks during the past few weeks with trade unions at the company over other ways to save money.

Details of a large pay and productivity deal are expected to be announced on Wednesday.

Flexible scheme

A company spokesman said it did not have an exact target for the expected savings from its appeal.

"As much as possible, but we don't have a figure," he said.

The idea was first launched last month when the airline asked staff to volunteer for a month's unpaid leave, or to work for free for that time.

That attracted more than 1,000 applicants.

But the company's more recent version of its scheme, launched last week by e-mail and in an article in the internal staff newspaper BA News, is more flexible.

It asks staff to volunteer by the end of this month for between one week and one month of unpaid leave or unpaid work.

The lost salary will be spread over between three and six months.

Unusual

BA said other airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, had launched similar schemes and a majority of their workforces had signed up for them.

Many employers have imposed pay cuts or short-time working since the recession struck the UK last year.

"In certain cases such as Honda, they shut down for several weeks," said Alistair Hatchett of the research organisation Incomes Data Services.

"Where it is obvious the economic circumstances are tough, people are willing to talk.

"Where employers try it on opportunistically, then there is a challenge," he added.

"While some options may seem unattractive, particularly where they involve reduced income, many employees will conclude that the alternative of losing their job looks bleaker," said Mike Emmott of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

What is it about airlines that attracts megalomaniac, manipulative, media-whore owners?

Branson. O'Leary (boss of Ryan Air). Walsh.

Hey Mr & Ms Worker, here's a deal you can't refuse:

You work for 4 weeks, We pay you for 3 weeks.

It's a winner!!!!

Predictably, MSM is accepting all this tosh about Walsh showing inspirational leadership.

If Walsh really wants to make a contribution to BA's dismal financial position, he should hand back his pension pot, all his executive perks, and start hauling customer baggage, 12 months a year, for no pay.

Now, Jan, we must all do our bit. Pull together for the good of the nation. It would be unpatriotic not to do so.

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:If Walsh really wants to make a contribution to BA's dismal financial position, he should hand back his pension pot, all his executive perks, and start hauling customer baggage, 12 months a year, for no pay.

And tell the shareholders to go make their own money instead of leeching off other's labour.