British Airways asks staff to work unpaid

Major WTF !!!! http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/06/16...free/index.html

Are they fucking serious?!?!?

Wow. The tenacity.

yeah the tenacity... inconceivable!

let's wait for the prostitution industry to do the same

lol

I saw this on the news yesterday and my first reaction was incredulity. But then I put myself in the position of a BA worker, and decided that if the company had treated me well and my future was safeguarded, I'd probably do it. Loyalty to an employer is important if they treat you well.

I know I fly less now due to the new taxes and fees. I used to go to europe for about $350, now it's $700-$1000. Perhaps their industry is failing because it costs too much?

tenacity? lol. What word were you guys fishing for...temerity? Audacity?

Heroic airline workers work unpaid for benefit of glorious British motherland.

I originally thought the same thing as Iain. That if I were a BA employee I'd have to consider working for free, or taking pay-cuts, in order to ensure my job in the long-term.

But really thinking about this; life just isn't that nice. A lot of people are going to be livid when, after having worked for free, having had to scrimp, they're laid off. Woo, wait for that. :turned:

i can't imagine how surly those flight attendants will be. no thanks.

  lumpenprol said:

tenacity? lol. What word were you guys fishing for...temerity? Audacity?

apparently I fail at sarcasm and Princess Bride references

  Gary C said:

I originally thought the same thing as Iain. That if I were a BA employee I'd have to consider working for free, or taking pay-cuts, in order to ensure my job in the long-term.

 

But really thinking about this; life just isn't that nice. A lot of people are going to be livid when, after having worked for free, having had to scrimp, they're laid off. Woo, wait for that. :turned:

If I did something like that there would need to be a contract saying they couldn't fire me or lay me off for 6 months to a year except for major code violations or something.

Is there unemployment in the UK? If they said you may either take 4 weeks unpaid leave or work for free, my reply might be or i can go get unemployment when you cut my hours. They might just lay you off then, but it says right in the article there are no green shoots of hope any where in the near future.

Massive unemployment in the UK at the moment, and we do have a job-seekers benefit scheme dependant upon your outgoings. Although at the moment I'd presume it's pretty worthless due to the cost of living and jobs are increasingly harder to find.

I think it's complicated to apply for if you quit your job rather than get fired though, and I'm uncertain if not accepting unpaid work or less hours is akin to quitting... Hm.

I guess that if enough employees agree to this, they'll probably end up pan-handling down the aisles.

In the US if an employer cuts your hours to a certain point you can apply for unemployment even if your position wasn't terminated. Managers will sometimes try to get rid of someone they don't want to go through the whole process with by severely cutting their hours back, so I guess it protects against that.

Rethinking a bit though about what I would do. If I were in a middle to high position like a pilot or management I might weather it out and work unpaid. Another thought is that if people do choose to work for free, maybe they could get tips from passengers and other airport customers.. I would make it a condition of working for free that the company allow me to accept tips in lieu of my normal compensation. They should also encourage the public to tip the unpaid attendants.

Yeah, actually. I'm pretty sure something similar occurs in Britain if hours are cut, but only in line with your expected monthly outgoings.

I thought the same originally, that more high-paid employees should be asked first as they should theoretically be less likely to feel the pinch. But everything will be passed down in some way so presumably it'll be the stewards and airport grand staff that really feel it.

I can seriously see a tipping-system brought in and more media exposure to advertise it.

If they leave some polish workers will gladly fill their spots

They better stay

ahahahahahahahahaha

fuck that, i wouldn't work, don't give a shit if they're going under, tis the times! hahahaha

ahahah

ahaha

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fuckingawesome

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haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

ahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAH

ohgod

edit: what bullshit... "hey y'all, hey listen up, um err, so we need to cut back on our spending, cuz we're hitting some pretty bad shit, so um, err... we're gonna lay ya off for a lil bit.... err.... but um, if you like.. wanna work...... (forfree) then um, we wouldn't mind, you know. in case you don't have anything else to do with your life...... alright, cool"

ahaah fuck that seriously ahahahaa this is so funny i can't stop laughing fuck yes!

Maybe you should chill the fuck out

Ive heard on the news that some pilots only get paid 20k a year amd they over work them. On the commuter jets mostly. Smaller planes, but still..

edit: pilots are the bus drivers of the sky