Striking BA Cabin Crew steps in to resolve disputes at Southern Rail and on London Underground.
Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Railing was delighted that both sides in each of the separate arguments had at last seen sense and come to agreements on their ongoing disputes.
"They are such simple solutions and it's great to see a cross pollination between these two main transport industries. Cooperation, compromise and learning from others is essential if we are to make Britain great again." He said in a statement. The RMT were also upbeat on reaching agreement.
"I can't believe we didn't think of it earlier" said Tom Picket of the RMT, as he left ACAS satisfied that agreement had been reached to move forward.
The idea was sparked by striking First Class Pursor, Tim Piggot-Smythe of British Airways, who had the first class idea of re branding the traditional TFL ticket office, to "London Underground's Champagne and Oyster Bar". The new Oyster Bars, complete with swivelling bar stools, silver trays and dickie bows will add to the panache of travelling on the underground, and make it a much more memorable experience. Traveling at this level is about the perfect experience. Obviously retraining of staff will be required and I'm happy to step in; but it will at least allow the offices to remain open in this new and exciting format," said Piggot-Smythe in a statement.
"It's a real winner and I'm cock-a-hoop" said Picket, "and although we need to iron out the finer detail we are happy to call off today's strike and continue our discussions over a cocktail or two."
Safety concerns in the ongoing Southern Rail dispute were also overcome by the timely intervention of the BA Cabin Crew who proposed a tried and trusted approach. "Doors to manual and cross check" a saying synonymous with air travel safety and a calming influence on the most nervous of traveler would be used at each station before the doors were to be opened. Leonard Stryker from ASLEF said in a statement, "I'm glad all parties saw sense in the end and this closes the door on the dispute."
At the time of writing, the BA Cabin Crew dispute was ongoing, but Railing was hoping for intervention from the Road Hauliers Association. Railing added "We really need the BA Cabin Crew to sort out congestion on the roads too, but giving each vehicle their own "seat number" and asking them to wait in a departure car park before they can travel needs a bit more thought" he concluded.
