THREATENED STRIKES AT BAA AIRPORTS

So the real fallout from the recession, now alleged to be a thing of the past, is beginning to manifest itself in two ways - mounting job losses and industrial unrest. Make no mistake, these two indicators are inextricably linked. Anything that cripples the industry in the way that a closure of our major airports inevitably will, is guaranteed to savage revenues and stifle recovery, thereby precluding expansion and the creation of jobs. On the other hand, the workforces in our businesses have been told to expect higher taxes, higher prices, reduced public services and slashed social subsidies so they are understandably concerned by the implications for their standard of living. With inflation acknowledged by the Bank of England to be well in excess of the 2% target and VAT alone scheduled to increase by 2.5%, any pay rise of less than 5% will undoubtedly fail to even keep pace. I am not suggesting that businesses can afford 5% right now - they face problems of their own - but government, industry, unions and individuals have to take a step back and recognise the reality of the gun barrels we are staring down. If we fail to work together to solve differences through compromise and understanding, it will not just be BAA's passengers who lose out - we will all suffer and it is only the magnitude of the pain that is yet to be determined.