Andrew Pierce slates caller for branding BA cabin crew "glorified waitresses"

8 August 2020, 11:43

Caller Una brands BA cabin crew glorified waitresses amid redundancies

By Seán Hickey

After British Airways announced around 10,000 redundancies, Andrew Pierce didn't let this caller get away with dismissing the scale of the crisis.

Una phoned in amid the news that British Airways plan to make over 10,000 redundancies because of a loss of business due to the coronavirus crisis. She began the call by referencing employee perks that staff had had in the past and used it as a basis for the argument.

Andrew Pierce brought the conversation back to the matter at hand and asked Una if she thought it was right that staff reapply for their same job with a pay cut of 50 or 60%.

"The cabin crew are just glorified waitresses," the caller said, not seeing why it's a problem that they lose their jobs.

"I think that's really insulting" Andrew said, adding that "sometimes cabin crew have died in the line of duty," which should be respected before calling out the nature of the work.

British Airways say that there will be around 10,000 redundancies
British Airways say that there will be around 10,000 redundancies. Picture: PA

"Train drivers and tube drivers earn about £70,000 a year," Andrew countered, "what do you think a British airways person earns? under £30,000."

Andrew was having none of Una's arguments, telling her "you should check your facts before you come on."