British Airways seesm to be in no mood for compromise in the increasingly rancorous dispute over the introduction of automated clocking-on software.
According to a report in today's Times, a senior source at the airline has accused BA's staff of 'time theft', and described some work practices as "exactly the same stuff that used to go on in Fleet Street". If anything is guaranteed to raise the temperature in the dispute, its this type of comment. Or is this exactly what BA management wants?
The Times | Attack on 'time theft' strikers
One interesting aspect of the dispute is the fact that BA staff view the automated clocking-on system as the first step towards the introduction of annualised hours and potential large changes to working patterns, something that is explained at some length here:
BBC Online | The cause of the BA dispute