ë Changing nature of employment relations in British Airways ûIntroduction:To introduce the BA case we can call to mind the background of this company, which is /was the national British airline. BA was born in April 1972; it is the result of the merge between BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA (British European Airways). At the beginning it was really hard for both team to work as a coherent whole because of the different management culture of each and it lead to tough problems. Since that, BA was the subject of a lot of speculations, it has been heard about the tremendous issues with its employees since the 1980's and it de-regulation. Furthermore, with the arrival of low-cost companies, BA had to make huge changes in it organisation. Today BA record a loss of ã292 millions and it's close to bankrupt. What are the causes of such evolutions? How BA has been evolve in the last 30 years? And how the changes that employee underwent impacted on their relations within the company?1/ The changes in employment relationsA)The 1980'sAfter the birth of BA in the 1970's, bad reputation follows the company.
BAW - British Airways Boeing 757-236
English: The British Overseas Airways Company head...
Walsh's Royal Mail and Day CarFurthermore the combination of recession and rising fuel price didn't help BA. Namely the pick of financial losses exceed ã140 millions in this period. BA as only on option, cutbacks the number of employee, consequently 22,000 have been made redundant.
In 1979 Thatcher ministry is flooded by strike. (4,5 millions workers on strike at one time, 30 millions workdays lost). In the 1980's, the economical crisis pushes the government to reduce inflation and cope with high unemployment. Margaret Thatcher who was devoted to the principles of free enterprise launch a massive privatisation. British Aerospace,(1981) British Oil (1982), British Ports (1983) are privatised. BA is privatised in 1984.