Airline Staff Working for Peanuts

Pay cuts are one thing, but working for free? That’s what British Airways has asked its staff of 40,000 to agree to—for up to a month. The airline publicized their plea in the latest issue of an in-house magazine, writing, “From tomorrow, people will be able to opt for blocks of unpaid leave or unpaid work, with salary deductions spread over three to six months, wherever possible.” British Airways recently reported a pre-tax loss of over $660 million. Surprisingly, hundreds of employees actually offered to work for no pay before the initiative was formally announced, which means one of two things, according to a professor at King’s College in London: “Either they have high levels of commitment to the firm, or they have high levels of insecurity."