Bastards.

This is the stupidest strike I can remember. BA employees have gone on strike because of actions not taken by BA and over which BA have no control. This is insane. Tens of thousands of people have had their hard-earned holidays screwed up by a bunch of self-absorbed socialist bastards who, when you get down to it, saw an excuse for a day off. It'd make as much sense for me to go on strike in sympathy for Gate Gourmet's staff. BA have made it clear that there is literally nothing they can do about this — even if they agreed that the catering staff should never have been sacked, BA can't reemploy them because it weren't BA who sacked them. And the TGWU have said they can't call off the strike because they never called it on in the first place. It's as bad as Glasgow's Royal Mail.

And a word about these idiots' grasp of cause and effect. Gate Gourmet staff took unofficial strike action, and were therefore sacked. BA staff saw this and thought that the best thing to do in the circumstances was to take unofficial strike action. None too bright, clearly. There's a lesson to be learnt there, and I hope they learn it.

Anyway, here's what I'd do if I were in charge of BA. First, I'd approach Servisair and ask them about what sort of capacity they could handle at very short notice, offering their staff all the overtime they could eat for the next few weeks. Then I'd sack every single baggage-handler, immediately. Then I'd give all the bus-drivers notice that any of them who don't come back to work immediately will be following the baggage-handlers. Then I'd go on a recruitment drive.

I have some sympathy for strikers who have demands, even when I disagree with the demands. Not usually very much sympathy, admittedly, but enough to think they should get to keep their jobs if they stop striking. Not this lot. They have no demands of their employers. Sack them all.