British Airways asks staff to work for free

[enbt]

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/06/1 ... rkers.html

British Airways asks staff to work for free in July or take leave
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 | 2:55 PM ET Comments22Recommend28CBC News

British Airways is asking its staff to work for nothing in July.

The air carrier asked about 30,000 employees in the U.K. to voluntarily take between one week and one month of unpaid leave or unpaid work.

The company said it needs the concession from workers as it tries to weather the tough economy.

The company's chief executive officer, Willie Walsh, will forego about £62,000 ($115,500 Cdn) in salary to work for free for the month.

"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," Walsh said.

Reuters reported that BA said roughly 1,000 workers have agreed to the measure since it was initially launched in May.

However, some employees are flatly rejecting the company's request.

"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," the British Broadcasting Corporation quoted an unnamed baggage handler at London's Heathrow airport.

[ex-NWT]

http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investi ... d=20433075

[Sulako]

BA wants their employees to work for free for a month? That's insane. Honestly I think I'd be better off spending the month growing and maintaining a vegetable garden.

How about letting the employees volunteer to be paid in equity so at least they can participate in the upside if the company survives?

[Dagwood]

I wonder if they're going to ask that the fuel be supplied free of charge as well.

I thought we were over the worst of the recession.

[Inverted2]

Work for free? Geez, I'd take the unpaid leave if I had to but working for free is absurd!

[snoopy]

Maybe they should stop paying their top executives so much money!!!

"The company's chief executive officer, Willie Walsh, will forego about £62,000 ($115,500 Cdn) in salary to work for free for the month."

[North Shore]

What Snoopy said!

Wow, that's $1.4 mill a year! I'd do it for $700k.

[North Shore]

I thought we were over the worst of the recession.

Riiight. The deepest recession since WW2, and you think that it is going to be over in only 8 months? Who told you that, a politician?

[Siddley Hawker]

Wow. Rae days at Big Airways.

[Rudy]

I remember reading an article a while back about how Japan Airlines CEO makes $90k U.S. a year. I thought that was pretty hardcore. I just googled Toyota's CEO and found an article from last year saying GM's CEO makes 14 times what he gets. Think he earned it?

[Highflyinpilot]

North SHore

Recession has been longer than 8 months.

[jigger79]

i know this is going to start shyt. i don't see what people are bitching about. we in canadian avaition have many people among us who would work/fly for free and that are or have! so i don't know why your getting excited.

[Cat Driver]

we in canadian avaition have many people among us who would work/fly for free and that are or have! so i don't know why your getting excited.

Maybe the Brits are concerned that they will sink to the Canadian level of paying cash to work in aviation?

[jigger79]

good one!

[Hedley]

Just wondering, what does a typical British Airways
left seater earn? I would guess around Cdn$300,000?

[iflyforpie]

I know that Cathay Captains make pretty close to that...

[Speedbird Junior]

British Airways Captain - long haul - 16 years service ~ £115,000 basic. (So about $225-230K)

Taken from a UK website that details their paypoints.

Cat Driver - re: the comment about paying cash to work in aviation. Sorry but its a wide spread occurence here too - Ryan Air want 27,000 Euros for their 737-800 type rating and then you are a "self employed contractor" (even though its their equipment etc etc)

European airlines = no risk, no exposure to the company, all the risk to the pilot.

[Cat Driver]

Cat Driver - re: the comment about paying cash to work in aviation. Sorry but its a wide spread occurence here too -

Yes I am quite aware of that as I ended my career flying in Europe.

Seems that aviation world wide has changed over time as far as pilot hiring requirements goes, the days of the steely eyed super hero are long gone as people came to the conclusion that the job is just another equipment operators position that really does not require much more education or skills than a bus driver.

[Driving Rain]

Seems that aviation world wide has changed over time as far as pilot hiring requirements goes, the days of the steely eyed super hero are long gone as people came to the conclusion that the job is just another equipment operators position that really does not require much more education or skills than a bus driver.

Great now they'll lower bus driver pay.

[E-Flyer]

Time to bring in the cadet scheme program and fill the equipments with 20 year old captains who's dream is to fly a jet one day... he'll probably do it for free Plus, he'll get a dental plan out of it too... we are speaking about Speedbird right?

[crazy_aviator]

115,500 out of 1.4 million ,,,do you think he will have to go to the food banks for his children ? hmmmm, how about a DROP in salary to 150,000.00 / year ? NOT a chance ,,,they are all selfish parasites !!!

[GilletteNorth]

I was thinking along the same lines...

The company's chief executive officer, Willie Walsh, will forego about £62,000 ($115,500 Cdn) in salary to work for free for the month.

Why is it CEO's believe that when they announce they'll take a 10% pay cut as a demostration of their ability to 'make sacrifices' (although they still manage to live on a paltry million plus per year salary) that they somehow think it's fair to ask for a 10% cut from an average employee salary of $40000 -50000?

[E-Flyer]

115,500 out of 1.4 million ,,,do you think he will have to go to the food banks for his children ? hmmmm, how about a DROP in salary to 150,000.00 / year ? NOT a chance ,,,they are all selfish parasites !!!

I was obviously being serious

[trey kule]

What Snoopy said!

Wow, that's $1.4 mill a year! I'd do it for $700k.

Ok, the bidding has started. I will do it for $500k a year. And I think I can run an airline into financial difficulty just as well as the current CEO. And I can increase revenues, as I will immediately offer to all the Canadian new CPls the chance to pay to fly for the company.....should be able to fill up all the seats vacated by those pesky Brit pilots who are to proud to work for nothing...greedy buggers. Imagine. Wanting to be paid to do their job. Like that kind of thinking would fly (excuse the pun) in Canada.

I liked the fuel analogy. Why not ask the good folks who supply the hundreds of millions of dollars of fuel a year to give them a months free fuel....see how that would work out for them...

[C-GGGQ]

While the ceo's pay at 1.4 is excessive I don't think he should drop to 150k. This is the dumbest idea i've ever heard though. How bout we stop seat sales and charge actual ticket prices instead of telling our employees we can't afford to pay them.