Fear and loathing At BA

From the Guardian Monday 28 June 2010 10.00 BST posted by a BA Manager

Anyone walking into the reception area of Waterside (British Airways's head office at Heathrow) cannot help but notice the poster that hangs in front of the security barriers; a poster that implores staff to "Back BA". The building is awash with such posters: hanging in front of the "pavement cafe" (a popular meeting place for staff) is a banner spanning the width of the "street", the message is the same: "Back BA."

Look closely at the staff and you will see that their BA identity passes swing proudly from lanyards that declare "I am backing BA". The wall where staff were invited to post their views of the dispute and the cabin crew may have long since been removed, but its presence looms large.

The views of many within BA, so clearly depicted on BA's "wall of shame", are that the cabin crew are a cosseted, precious and overpaid workforce. When faced with such a damning condemnation of a group of individuals, it is not difficult to see why BA was so confident in its assumption that its staff could be persuaded to "back BA" and to fly as voluntary cabin crew.

Couple this with the widely held belief that Bassa (the cabin crew branch of Unite) is a group of unyielding and intransigent militants who have held a gun to BA's head for more years than anyone cares to remember, and it is not difficult to see why so many staff are happy to back BA.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of staff have been released from their day jobs to train as cabin crew, and continue to be released as we brace ourselves for the next round of strikes that could happen towards the end of the summer. But the day job doesn't go away – the emails keep coming, our people still need to be managed, there are disciplinary and grievances hearings that we need to hear, attendance management issues that have to be addressed. As the backlog of work grows, so does the disillusion we feel for our leadership team, board of directors, chairman and CEO, Willie Walsh.

Scratch below the surface and you will find that, while many proclaim to back BA, the reality is that many managers and staff of all levels are growing increasingly resentful of senior management and the chief executive. Anyone who has attended his management briefings cannot help but liken the situation to a leader who is losing the war but will never surrender. We are a weary and embittered army who just wants peace.

To question the direction that Walsh is taking this company is seen as heresy, so everyone continues on, worn down by a dispute that is the most acrimonious in BA's history; a dispute that an increasing number of managers believe should have been settled months ago.

We all keep our counsel, choosing to voice our concerns to only our most trusted colleagues, believing that this dispute is not just about cost savings but rather the destruction of Bassa and its mother union, Unite. Like the cabin crew, those of us who do not condone this management style are fearful of our positions within the company

We attend the briefings held by Walsh in the Waterside theatre, we read the propaganda that is sent to us daily and we ask ourselves "why didn't I have the foresight to take the voluntary severance when it was offered".

Those managers who have not chosen to volunteer as cabin crew find themselves under-resourced, overworked and despairing of a dispute that has become BA's primary focus. To voice concern is inconceivable; those who have dared speak out are viewed with suspicion and colleagues are quick to distance themselves from them, fearful of being tainted by association. The culture of fear is all-pervading; staff are suspicious of their co-workers, of those they report into, and of those that they once thought of as friends.

What is most frightening is the ignorance within the management team as to what actually lies behind this dispute. As a manager who can count their years of service with BA in decades rather than years, who has witnessed numerous disputes within BA, believe me when I say that the ramifications of this dispute will be felt for years, even decades into the future.

BA will struggle to weather the fallout from this bitter dispute. Our brand, our reputation and our integrity as an employer have all been damaged – indeed continue to be damaged – as this dispute rolls on with no sign of a resolution or closure. The road ahead will be fraught with challenges – challenges that we will all have to deal with. It will be an uphill struggle and it will not be easy.

Those BA staff who have chosen to volunteer as cabin crew have unwittingly prolonged this dispute and, in all probability, hastened their own demise. Their actions have allowed BA to keep flying rather than to reach a negotiated settlement.

As Unite prepares for another ballot and, in all probability, more industrial action, many managers are trawling through employment websites, desperate to find anything that will enable them to leave the bedlam that is now BA.

For anyone who really wants to understand what it is like to work for the world's favourite airline, I would suggest reading George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

I just wonder why the posters in Waterside don't read "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength". Take care, BA employees and BA shareholders, the end is just the beginning.