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BA Cabin Crew at Heathrow

Peter Marshall | 22.03.2010 09:51

British Airways (BA) cabin crew at Heathrow on Saturday morning, 20/03/2010, the first day of their strike. Several hundred cabin crew came to listen to speakers, including Len McCluskey of Unite, and show their determination to fight management plans to downgrade their conditions and make BA into a cut-price airline. Others kept up pickets at gates around the airport. Photos Copyright (C) 2010, Peter Marshall, all rights reserved.

No BA staff would show this t-shirt because of fear of victimisation
No BA staff would show this t-shirt because of fear of victimisation

Unite banners at the cabin crew meeting
Unite banners at the cabin crew meeting

Unite members give support to BASSA
Unite members give support to BASSA

Len McCluskey, Unite assistant general secretary
Len McCluskey, Unite assistant general secretary

Applause for McCluskey
Applause for McCluskey

John McDonnell MP
John McDonnell MP

Staff opinion of Willy Walsh
Staff opinion of Willy Walsh

Picket at Heathrow and BA planes on the ground
Picket at Heathrow and BA planes on the ground


BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh has refused to come to an agreement despite the cabin crew offering the company proposals saving of up to £62 million. The rally was organised by Unite and BASSA, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, a union branch for British Airways cabin crew.

Although many BA employees were at the rally, the BA management had threatened anyone who spoke at it or appeared in TV interviews with dismissal. So although a number of trade unionists spoke, including of course McCluskey, the voice of the actual workers could not be officially heard, although the thunderous applause they gave the speakers who criticised Willy Walsh and some chanting made their opinions crystal clear.

Local MP John McDonnell spoke giving his full support for the cabin crew in this dispute.

Pickets were in place from the early hours at entrances around Heathrow, and although there were no reports of any trouble on the picket lines, one photographer was reported arrested and others attempting to cover the event ordered off the airport. Many BA planes were visible on the ground.

Further pictures are on Demotix:
 http://www.demotix.com/news/282331/british-airways-cabin-crew-strike-heathrow
and I will post a larger selection later on My London Diary
 http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2010/03/mar.htm#bastrike

Peter Marshall
- e-mail: petermarshall@cix.co.uk
- Homepage: http://mylondondiary.co.uk

Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

The average IM reader...

22.03.2010 13:05

..won't know where to put him/herself.

"Strikes good!"

"No, wait - airlines bad!"

AH

Worth noting

22.03.2010 16:01

Len, the trade union bureaucrat was a load of crap, sucking up to management.

I was there with Workers' Climate Action supporting the workers on the picket lines. In honesty, they weren't keen to be seen as militant, but were receptive to us when we talked about how we, as climate change activists can support them. We share a common enemy: capitalism.  http://workersclimateaction.wordpress.com/ That page has our report, and the leaflet we handed out. Hopefully it should answer the dilemna the first commenter mentioned. I agree, much of the contemporary so-called anti-capitalist movement has a lack of understanding of class, and would probably say - oh no, work for an airline = bad! Which just goes to show how anti-capitalist they are... It's called capitalism - wage slavery and exploitation, and we oppose it - not the workers!

J