We cannot be a union, until we get a large majority of the workforce on side.

Cabin crew have had enormous amounts of information thrown at them over the past 18 months – some more factual than others – and the last thing we want to do is to add to the confusion. Some people are therefore simply putting their heads down and coming into work, trying not to get involved in the politics of it all. And that is completely understandable.

It is imperative that cabin crew understand this:
If we don’t all get together and form a new organisation, be that a union, a council, or an association, or anything else we decide to call it, then the only voice we have is BASSA/Unite. They have proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are not acting in our interests. BASSA/Unite are however the current recognised union and the only way to override that is to get a majority of the cabin crew community together to ask BA for recognition of our organisation.

There is no other way out of this desperate situation. To say that we will sign a no-strike clause is simply BASSA scaremongering. Nothing we have said or done would indicate that. We are taking advice from an Industrial Relations Expert. We have people with legal degrees on our team. One of our steering group members has previously and independantly taken BA to an industrial tribunal and won. Two members are ex-union reps. We are certainly not people to sit back and be walked over. We are more than capable of assisting people in attendance meetings etc. as any colleague can attend, it does not have to be a union rep.

We all need to stop worrying about the future and start focusing on what is happening now – this dispute. If we don’t, we may not have a future to focus on. What the PCCC will look like in the future will be whatever the members and BA agree that it should be. What it is right now is effectively a driving force of cabin crew who do not agree with the unreasonable, unjustified action that Unite is taking. The PCCC is trying to save our jobs, save our community and save our company from the destruction that Unite is inflicting on all of us. We are dealing with what is happening right here, right now. When we have done that, we will be in a position to decide what shape and size we will take for the future. But if people don’t recognise that they need to register with us to achieve this, then Unite will win.

If you came to work during the strike, you need to register with the PCCC. You can retain your BASSA membership if you want to, but if you do not register with the PCCC, then you are allowing Unite to continue on their path of destruction. Crossing the picket line is a good move. You now need to take the next step and register with the PCCC. If you don’t, the PCCC can achieve nothing.