air STRIKE
Bulletin No. 8
Socialist Party bulletin for BA workers and trade union activists
A Fight to the Finish
Determined action can win
Strike action by cabin crew has now entered its second week.
Walsh may have imagined back in November there would be a
quick sprint to victory for management. In reality, this dispute has
turned into a marathon. Every strike day produces big crowds at
Bedfont football ground and cabin crew doing picket line duty
for the first time. So while management must deal with this
problem of its own making day after day, the superior numbers
of cabin crew and the efficient rota system for the pickets mean
cabin crew are well placed to outlast management.
Despite the much hyped contingency plans of BA it is clear
Walsh has underestimated the determination of cabin crew to
defend their union. Another piece of management hype that has
taken a beating during the course of this dispute is the idea that
Walsh is a skilled negotiator.
In fact, during the course of this dispute, rather than engage in
serious negotiations Walsh has only ever played three cards:
intimidate the workforce into scabbing on cabin crew, blame
BASSA for a failure to reach an agreement and run to the courts
to overturn democratic strike ballots.
It now appears BA is engaged in further legal manoeuvres to get
the strike called off. In the face of sustained industrial action it
appears Walsh is running out of new ideas. These desperate
actions give the lie to management spin that contingency plans
mean services are running close to normal despite the strike.
Despite management’s recent reversals in the High Court, the
biased nature of the anti-trade union laws means it is necessary
for the union to run a new ballot to authorise further strike action
against victimisation. Walsh may be banking on intimidation
tactics to lower the vote but, from discussions with strikers,
Air Strike is confident another thumping majority in favour of
continued action will be delivered.
The issue of intimidation and victimisation within the company
once again raises the need for cross-company solidarity within
the workforce. As a spokesperson for BASSA made clear,
much of the scabbing operation against this dispute is built
on fear and intimidation of the workforce: “Volunteer crew are
being told: ‘If you don’t volunteer, you’ll be the first one out
the door’.” It is not hard to imagine similar tactics being used
against other sections of the BA workforce should they come
into dispute with this bullying management. Given that BA has
been in constant cut mode since the 9/11 incidents, further
disputes with management are inevitable. This dispute is a
perfect opportunity for other trade union reps at the company
to come together with cabin crew reps to discuss what can be
done to combat intimidation of union members by management
to undermine the strike. This can lay the basis for closer union
co-operation to beat off attacks by management.
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Invading talks a mistake
The defeat of Willie Walsh and the brutish BA management
is the most important aspect to this dispute. It is therefore
unfortunate that the reported decision of the Socialist
Workers Party (SWP) members at the end of the Right to
Work Conference to invade talks between British Airways
management and Unite has partially obscured this issue.
This occupation was completely mistaken.
Whatever the nature of the deal being negotiated it is not for
a group like the SWP to decide to break up talks. A decision
to accept or reject a deal is solely the property of cabin crew
and their democratically elected representatives.
In an industrial dispute the final decision on tactics to
confront the employer must always rest with the strikers
themselves. Socialists can assist by sharing experiences and
ideas in past disputes and building support and solidarity for
the strike among the general public. This has always been
the method of the Socialist Party. We will offer our opinion
on the course of a dispute to workers but we believe that any
initiative taken in support of a dispute should be taken in
consultation with the workers themselves.
A key task for socialists and trade union activists is to
raise the confidence of workers to fight not to substitute
themselves for workers in struggle. This will mistakenly
create the impression that a special minority of activists will
do the fighting leaving workers as bystanders. The Socialist
Party stands for the maximum control of workers over their
dispute.
It is the view of the Socialist Party that the actions of the
SWP on Saturday was not in the best interests of striking
cabin crew workers. Such tactics will prove to be counter-
productive. It is the mass action of cabin crew through their
union that is the key to defeating Walsh, not the actions of a
self appointed minority. Despite this we are totally opposed
to any victimisation of those who mistakenly took part in this
protest.
The priority for all workers in the trade union movement now
is to support the cabin crew workers against Walsh and BA
management.
 air STRIKE
For open negotiations
2010 alone has seen a number of high-
profile disputes. But the struggle taking
place amongst cabin crew at BA is by far
the most visible, reported on and looked
towards.
During the second round of industrial
action, talks between BA management
and the leadership of Unite have taken
place whilst strikes are ongoing. This
is wholly correct; the pressure of solid
industrial action taking place ‘just
around the corner’ on Walsh strengthens
the position of the union. Too often in
industrial negotiations, national union
leaderships have been prepared to
suspend strikes without consulting their
members for talks which lead no-where,
making it more difficult to mobilise
workers for further strike days following
this.
This stop-start approach has not always
been the case, and was the exception
rather than the norm right up until the put pressure on management but also in the loop on the development of the
1990s. It has become a common demand influence the specifics of the demands strike, tactics that were being put forward
from the employer before negotiations pursued by union negotiators if this and other issues.
begin. Likewise, it has become the norm process were openly discussed. For the wider trade union movement,
for employers to insist that negotiations During the dispute around construction the struggle at Heathrow so far holds
are ‘confidential’ before entering into workers at the Lindsey Oil Refinery last many positive examples of this – the
them. This demand has been accepted year, strikers discovered that Unite and wide involvement of cabin crew in
by the leadership of Unite, but you can GMB officials had entered into discussions pickets and the strike base at Bedfont
guarantee that Willie Walsh will be giving at ACAS without informing them. Fifty to get around anti-trade union limits on
regular updates to BA management and strikers were sent from the picket lines to picket participation, for example. But
shareholders! ACAS to find out what was going on. They Socialist Party members in Unite strike a
This is also the case in the cabin crew were able to get a representative from cautious note about the closed nature of
dispute; imagine the difference it would their strike committee to sit in on their discussions so far.
make if after every day of negotiations, talks and ensure that no deal was done Cabin crew at BA are an inspiration to
a clear report was given to those at behind their backs. workers across the country and should be
Bedfont of the details of the talks. At the As well as this, regular bulletins were proud to demand of their negotiators and
end of the day, whatever is agreed upon produced in the name of members of the the employer that they are not willing to
in negotiations, it is the decision of cabin Lindsey strike committee. In between the accept cuts in pay, attacks on their terms
crew themselves to accept or reject this. mass meetings that took place and for and conditions or the right to organise
But we feel that the union would be in a workers in other parts of the construction in a trade union, which is what has won
stronger position negotiating openly and industry, these bulletins were vital in the standards that they are currently so
members would be more likely not just to keeping as many workers as possible determinedly defending.

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