IAG's BA- Cabin Crew "Peace in our time". Is the airline about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

Last Thursday promised to be a turning point in the BA brand's 18 month old wrangle with its 1950s style cabin crew union, BASSA, now a part of Unite which had until then to call a strike or see its current mandate for one expire. BA held pretty well all the cards as it could have operated all of its long haul flights and much of the shorthaul programme with volunteers, newly recruited and trained staff and those union members who courageously crossed the picket lines. Beckoning was a new future for its industrial relations in which the company regained control of its communications with staff, the operation especially in times of disruption, its on board product and a host of other things vital for its managment to be able to manage.In short they would be able to operate as a modern company with a "just do it" culture to ensure the best for its customers.

Instead the company agreed to the industrial action mandate's validity being extended for 28 days to allow further discussions to take place. The union is thereby off the "put up (and lose) or shutup " hook and already some of its harder line members are portraying this as the company backing down and therefore a victory for themselves. In the wake of this would come all kinds of unpleasantness for those crews who did not strike, the "New Fleet" crew, the staff from other departments who voluntered to act as cabin crew, the pilots and any others who kept the show on the road during the periods of "action". All these would never forgive the company, if having put their necks on the line by very publicly backing BA they were hung out to dry simply to close down the dispute and allow the new CEO, Keith Williams to bask in the illusion that all would be sweetness and light from here on. Williams is by reputation a very likeable person who has a positive vision of a new era of less confrontational relations. Being new to the role it is likely that he, like any new CEO, wants to make his mark and differentiate himself from his predecessor with some quick changes in style and of course some early wins. That's entirely understandable and natural. Like most of his top team though he has no experience of the coal face, life in the front line of customer service or of unions and their behaviours. He has few, if any, personal links down through the organisation to tell him what is really going on, what life is like and what people are thinking way down through the various tentacles of the very large and diverse organisation and what the subterranean dynamics are. He is therefore at a very dangerous point in his early days in the hot seat.

Hopefully the concern is misplaced and the 28 day extension will be used simply to give Unite time to face its BASSA members up to the realities of the future and the company will simply sit tight and refuse to move on demands to revert to the bad old days. True, this could end up with a strike but its effect would almost certainly be minimal and all parties could then move on to a new and genuinely much happier new era. Ayling was promised this when he backed off a confrontation with cabin crew in 1997 but it was not delivered and life continued as unsatisfactorily as ever. Sometimes High Noon does arrive. When it does, a quick shootout is infinitely preferable to years of ongoing conflict. Remember Neville Chaberlain, Mr Williams and redouble your resolve.The fact is that most of BA's employees, including many union members, want this unnecessary dispute over and done with so that they can get on with their lives,- and even be allowed to enjoy their jobs.