in 1998, as a junior cabin crew member, the starting salary was £9,500. 10 Years on, its £10,185. Thats an increase of £68.50 per year. THANKS!! For those who keep on banging on about inflation rates and how we should accept 8.3% over two years, wake up.

Those who work for UK governments, getting an increase of 2.5% etc, you get this inflationary rise every year, if Virgin Atlantic were intelligent enough to do this, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Slave Labourer, London,

8.3% as a percentage does sound like a good offer but in fact is only worth approx £30 extra per month after tax and NI. Wow so will now be taking home £900 per month instead of £870!

Sorry Branson this is not acceptable is 2008 for anyone living in London.

Leona, London, UK

I work for virgin atlantic and they have offered 4.8% for the first year and RPI for year two. Which is roughly an extra £1000 a year before tax.
That is nothing!
Yes we knew the pay before we joined the company but now we are flying more routes and longer hours, Like any job you want to be paid for what you work respectively. For the 2 years i have worked at the company that is now a pay cut not a pay offer!
As to some of you that say this is not a career it is! how insulting of you!
Virgin have now offered large amounts of money for crew to come into work on those strike days so if they can afford that they can afford the rate of inflation.
We have won awards for being why customers fly with us and what makes us different from the competiton, well prove it!
I love my job and would not change it for the world, but from a crews point of view also you have to draw the line in the sand sometimes aswell!

Amy , Wolverhampton,

UK Infation averaged at 4.3% in 2007 according to the Treasury, whilst the preferred measure shows 2.1%. Unfortunately cabin crew like most of the rest of us in the real world cannot ignore the fluctuations in fuel and interest rates which the goverment ignore to arrive at the lower level.
It's also a fact that food prices are rising faster than at anytime in the last decade as are energy prices.
To those of you who do not live in the south east of the UK, with respect, you are missing the point. It is ranked as one of the most expensive regions in the world to live in, petrol is now £1 a litre, the cheapest fare to an airport from any station in London is £10 - think about it.
As to those who say remember Reagan, perhaps if Bush hadn't bailed out the US airlines a proper free market would be operating and the heavily subsidised US airlines would be a footnote in history now.

Simon, London, UK

Hannah - Have you anything intellectual to say on this point. This is the type of person that drives the gap between middle income and low income bigger and bigger.

It is true a pilot has ultimate responsibility for the plane but the Cabin crew are responsible for the passengers and responsible to take care of all medical emergencies that can happen at 34,000 feet in the air. These range from travel sickness to cardiac arrests.

The point of legal blame due to any complications is very awkward to level against any one party involved. If however the Cabin crew member makes a mistake during there duties in a life threatening situation believe me they would be held responsible.

My partner a cabin crew member for over 6 years has been involved in many medical emergencies and security situations over this time and has never received any form of thanks at anytime. These guys sacrifice a lot for this job and deserve the rewards.

Support is not expected by the uninformed.

Mark, Solihull, UK

I have already commented but its amazing how many people still think cabin crew should just find other jobs and stop complaining.
To Hannah: Welcome to the real world, i challenge you to get a job with an airline like virgin and see how long you last Good Luck. Im sure your opinions wud change.
To put virgin to shame how about this im an AIR INDIA london based flight attendant i only work around 12 routes and get at least 12-13 days of a month. Do you want to kno how much i take home a year with flight allowances + Base pay: £24,500. And this is my first year. To think India is not even a rich nation but the company still pays fair. I really do feel for virgin staff. Everytime i meet crew in the USA/UK they are shocked at how much i get paid i think its shocking how these "WESTERN" airlines are exploiting ther workers. Im not sayingAir India is easy most routes are always longer than 13 hours and passengers always more demandning and foreign, but at least my pay reflects the work i do

Krish, london,

as SIR richard branson says , if you dont like it then seek employment with a new company, you was aware of the salary when you took the job, so if the salary was not good, why did you accept the offer of employment??go and work for ba then and stop moaning

warren, birmingham, uk

I am in the British Army and my wife a nurse in the NHS. We would both rip the hand off anyone offering 8.3% over 2 years. We all do important jobs, however we are stuck in the Governments 2% pay rise bracket along with the Police etc. Please open your eyes and put things into perspective!

Tony Farish, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North East England

In Response to Andy from Kent.

Have you ever heard of cabin crew being held responsible for Corporate Manslaughter? The pilot like a train driver is ultimately responsible for the safety of passengers. What about a nurse who gets paid little in comparison for actual responsibility?

The deal is good i agree with Sir Richard Branson, if you don't like it get out. There are plenty of people waiting to fill your shoes. Me included!

Hannah, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England

You all seem to be missing an important point.

It is Virgin policy to achieve a high turnover in cabin staff to keep their airline image 'young' Thus they have no interest in rewarding experience and retaining long serving staff.

This policy has serious safety issues. The Flight Service Managers in charge of the wellbeing and safety of 400 plus passengers are paid about £22000 per year, half of what their counterparts at BA receive. Naturally staff turnover is high and the FSM's are mostly too inexeperiecned to deal with a crisis situation.

When Virgin was a shoestring operator with a couple of beat up second hand 747's they could get away with this cavalier approach. Now they are a serious international airline pretending to be the equal of BA and AA etc. the regulatory aurthorities should be looking into this manifestly dangerous policy.

Andy, Kent, UK

Working for the UK Government has given me a 2.5% rise - and that's doing a jolly good job. I understand how we'd love it to be the time when 10% and above was the norm - but it's not. Change jobs or suck it up.

Vicki, Yorkshire, UK

Maybe if Richard hadn't become such a GREEN WEENIE he would have some money to pay his staff a competitive wage. See the clip below from the Virgin Website:

SIR RICHARD BRANSON TO INVEST $3BN (£1.6BN) TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING

The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years.

Catfisher, Norwalk, USA/CT

An interesting read, as the Director of a company and the partner of a Virgin Cabin Crew member I'm amazed at the real lack of knowledge a lot of the above people have.

My partner has worked for Virgin for over 6 years and loves her job very much, in those 6 years her job has changed drastically and her basic wage has not. Receiving only on average a 2% pay rise in the last 3 years. This is at least 1% below inflation, so when Richard Branson offers a mire 8.3% pay increase based over two years you must take into account these very hard working members of the Virgin Group have taken a pay cut for several years so share holders can see a profit. they've also provided a first class service to all their passengers.

People need to understand that most Virgin cabin crew live in the most expensive part of the UK and in most cases live a student like existence, sharing houses and shopping at budget shops.

Richard Branson has introduced a 3rd world working principal into the Airline world.

Mac, West Midlands,

Sir Richard, I live in Canada and am a unionized electrician. I think that it is deplorable that you have told your employees to look for work elsewhere. I am calling on Union Members all over the world to show Sir Dick what we think of him and his threats. There are lots of other airlines and cell phone carriers, lets try to use them. Dick made over 3 BILLION last year and he cant find the money or TIME to do any proper barginning with the union. I guess we should all remember that Virgin means inexperience. Signed a proud IBEW member

Colin Cooper, Brampton, Ontario Canada

Whilst my view is that you sould never give in to demands/threats. Richard Branson needs to understand that airlines such as Thomas Cook and Easyjet are paying their staff more than Virgin Atlantic who do no charge the budget prices the aforementioned do. To add to this Virgin Atlantic only fly long haul and so staff are away from their families and friends more often and for longer periods of times. Richard Branson needs to bring pay rates in line with the average for other airlines if he wants to employ and retain the best staff. The treatment and total disregard for the feelings of his employees will not be good for morale and will also have a knock on effect on customer service and ultimatley passenger numbers.

Anthony McGuinness, Liverpool, UK

Sir,
I am glad Richard Branson has finally sat up and took notice of the current situation at Virgin Atlantic. However his reference to his Employees looking elsewhere for work is shortsighted and a misreading of the very ethos of the Trade Union Agreement Virgin Atlantic have with Unite. It is the right of every Unite member employed by Virgin Atlantic to collectively pursue continual improvements to their Texisting Terms and Conditions of Employment. That right is currently being exercised. It may therefore be better for Richard and his Management team to get back into discussing a resolution to the situation rather than put pressure on individual employees who have consistantly performed to a very high level for below average earnings. The current enhancements being offered to Cabin Crew are far beyond what the Company actually consider reasonable on a daily basis. Richard and his management team are missing the point completely. Signed Brian Boyd Unite National Officer.

Brian Boyd, Glasgow, United Kingdom

I flew Virgin twice last year and Monarch (charter) twice - the Monarch crew never stopped working the entire flight - Virgin crew's service was awful . Go work for a Charter - you may get paid more but you'll be too tired to go partying downroute !!

Nice one Sir Richard !

Bill Jackaon, London,

"The carrier says it has offered staff 8.3 per cent on basic pay over two years, with a 4.8 per cent increase in the first year."

Increase over what? What is basic pay right now?

For those trumpeting the days of Reagan, Keep in mind that it was unions that gave you the five day work week, paid vacation, cost of living raises, work place protections, family medical leave, child labor laws, etc. It was the unions that gave all you non-union workers the protections you now enjoy as a member of the now shrinking middle class.

It was Reagan that busted the union of the air traffic controllers that now are being made to work more hours with fewer workers resulting in greater numbers of near misses and and, in extreme cases, collisions.

For those "let the market decide" proponents, refuse all those benifits you enjoy as a result of unions and let me know how things are going in six months.

troy, pilot point, texas

The amount paid to the flight attendants is a totally separate matter to the wealth of Richard Branson. The Virgin Group owns 51% of VA. I very much doubt that he owns 100% of the Virgin Group. His role and that of Singapore Airlines is to look out for the shareholders (the owners). The decision is not solely his to make, and it does not only affect his wealth.
Judging the ability for a company to pay its staff on the wealth of the wealthiest shareholder is not how companies work. He's not the only owner.
No idea if the pay is fair or not.

John Doe, London,

You Virgin staff make me laugh, you all are in love with your 'hero' Richard Branson and show off to your friends that you work for the great man, so you don't earn as much as BA staff, its never been a problem before, so why now? Is the 'Branson affect' wearing off?

John E, EU,

Slave Labourer, if you are equiped with the most intensive training and have worked for the airline that seeks the highest standards of service, surely it would make sense to now put this excellent experience to use with another employer who are prepared to pay you a better wage for it. People employed across most other sectors seek career progression and better financial rewards by moving to a different employer, why don't you?

Russ Harrison, Watford,

I love it when a billionaire says he can't afford to give the help a raise. Poor Branson. Maybe he won't be able to afford his next round the world baloon ride.

hal, San Francisco, CA

They should all get a grip; they should be happy that they have been offered an inflation related pay rise at all.

I work in pharmaceutical contract research and a part from one results based re-adjustment there has not been an inflation related pay rise in 10 years in my company!

Suck it up!

simon, cambridge, UK

When I heard Branson I immediately thought "He's bluffing".

Steve Byrne, Christchurch, UK

“For some of you, more pay . . . may be critical to your lifestyle and if that is the case you should consider working elsewhere.”

Good Practical common sense..... Why would anyone take a job recieving wages they couldnt live on?... unless they were the type of people that can not get hired into real jobs.... Granted there are those that know how to budget and manage their money and set goals that they can achieve so starting out in a low paying job for experience can be a good decision. But for the others.....Stop looking for a JOB (you probably dont deserve), and pursue a CAREER (something you earn) that will support your lifestyle dreams.

Terry, Camp Adder, Iraq

David Reed - You say that virgin crew are overpaid in your opinion yet you don't actually know how much we get paid...why did you even bother making a comment?

Will from Hanover - 4.8% is an excellent pay increase, however 4.8% of nothing is nothing.

Richard from London - Surplus money!! Don't make me laugh, i earn £800 per month as Cabin Crew, there is no money left over after paying for rent, food, bills etc to buy any luxuries.

I can't actually believe how many people agree with Branson, the 5,000 Cabin Crew that he does have, go through the most intensive training courses out of any airline, it is the hardest airline to get into as they look for such a high level of staff, and despite the fact that we are paid so badly, and are going through these pay talks we have still been able to give customers on our flights an excellent standard of service. We are hardly asking for the world, just a reasonable wage, is that too much to ask for?
As Britney says, GIMME GIMME MORE.

Slave Labourer, London,

Hurray for Sir Richard Branson for taking a stand!

David Smtih, Doylestown, PA

Obviously the readers who mention "move on and move up" in this column have very little knowledge of the airline world.

I have been working at BA for 9 years now and have had the occasion to compare my wages to that of Virgin with my ex house-mate. Virgin staff are so poorly pay that they senior crew members (in charge of an aircraft) earn less than a main crew member at BA.

Whilst I appreciate crew knew about Virgin's wages when they started their job, the position of cabin crew is very serniority driven. Once you've spent about 3-5 years in one company, it is wasteful to move to another airline and start again. You lose your seniority and chances of promotion, as well as an array of benefits which comes in time within the corporation.

So Virgin staff are right to fight for a better working deal, and let's face it, the non-union staff will be more than happy to reap the benefits, no matter how "in love" with Branson they are.

Laura Roberts: times have changed, open your eyes!

Alan, London, UK

Back early 07 NTL/Telewest we were preparing to change to Virgin Media there were several workshops about how great things were going to be many staff were excited but struggled to believe as it all seemed to be too good and previously constantly let down by NTL/Telewest. The managment reply , get with the programme, sign up to being commited or leave-we should have saw the signs then but were just to carried away with our red ballons and lollypops bribes. Year later most senior management from that time created chaos then left (taking their own advice?). I would tell the Virgin Airline staff to run now. When an employer hits you with this kind of ultimatum it is clear they no longer care - especially not in the "Virgin" way. All Virgin brand staff are told that staff happiness is the company priority as everything else falls into place after that. To the consumer the Virgin Brand is falling apart dont touch it with a barge poll. V Media staff attrition now stands at 39.5%

Sarah, Manchester, United Kingdom

SHOCKING ARTICLE AND EVEN MORE SHOCKING COMMENTS! Its pretty obvious that the people who have commented are not flight attendants. Maybe you all should train as a flight attendant pass the exams and then i challenge you to work a week at the wages Virgin Pay and see how long you can last & survive. Im a flight attendant not for Virgin thank god tho i have friends who do work for Virgin. I am paid not £1k or £2k more but DOUBLE what they start on for the same routes. Richard Branson is a very selfish man i hope the cabin crew stay strong and strike longer maybe then he will wake up!Also are people who are commenting living in London? Try living in london being crew on £13,000 a year GOOD LUCK! You have no idea how hard we work, and as for "Working else where"Do u kno how hard it is to be accepted into another airline? Its clear Virgin are not going to do anything its very sad.As for you think this is fair and have commented are probably business people working in the city U HAVE NO IDEA

Krish, london,

All the wage info can be found on the virgin-atlantic website starting salary is aprox 10.5 rather awful i think you'll agree, and a condition of employment is that you live in the London area with an advised travel to work time of 1hour 45mins to combat tiredness. Although London weighting is not paid either. I challenge anyone to find decent digs and live on that pay. All these comments about unions taking over is rubbish. What's wrong with clearly underpaid staff taking action against the God of virgin , who's worth an obscene amount of money, Who reigns from his own slice of paradise, a far cry from paying rent in a 1.45 hour radius of London. I've seen Crew revive a cardiac patient with a defib who had died on a virgin flight.Very scary. Fire training and terrorist prevention just some of the demands of being crew. Professionalism needs to be rewarded. I support you all the way

Gerhard, London,

this would be funny if it wasn't for the fact the branson started his business life by defraudung the tax man of vat on imported records, he says BA had years of state subsidies, so did his rail company, before of course he lost it cos he couldn't actually run it properly without, I think , a billion in subsidies

Will, London,

Virgin Atlantic flight attendents aren't great and BA's aren't much better ..all overpaid in my opinion ..It would be good to know the actual figures in USD.. If you have a choice choose Lufthansa or KLM...

Dave

David Reed, Charlotte, NC

Are you people insane? Richard Branson is one of the richest people in world. do you have any comprehension of how much money he has or how much profit his companies make?

In the United States we abandoned our unions and wages for those without college education have been declining for years and wages for those with a college education are flat.

Wages for management and profits for investors have just become more extreme.

Christmas bonuses are thing of a distant memory, pensions are unheard of, Most Americans depend on stock scheme that of course has no insurance against inflation and is entirely in ever increasingly worthless dollars.

So go ahead through your mates to the wolves, but trust the word of Christmas future they'll be after you next and don't think those you abandoned on the line will be for you then.

Robert Hotchkiss, San Diego, United States CA

Bruce wage information would be useful only if a very detailed financial statement from the company was included. After all we if we are going to make a decision we should have ALL of the information. I

Henk, Hamel, MN, US

Most here agree that Branson made the employees a fair offer. However, he would never have offered it if they didn't strike. Don't forget, rich people are lazy too and forget to pay the bills more often than not.

D. P., Tyler, TX

I believe that when reporting stories about wage disputes that the wages in dispute should be reported. The reader will then be able to form an
opinion based on some knowledge of the issue.

Bruce L. Northwood, Silver Spring, USA

4,8 percent is above the level of inflation and very reasonable, It would probably be accepted by most staff. Richard Branson is right, he isn't a Billionaire because he's stupid

Will, Hannover, Germany

Good man Richard, remember Regan.typical unions.

jim, donegal, ireland

I feel Sir Richard's words are totally apt

"In an acknowledgment that other airlines offer more pay, he adds: “For some of you, more pay than Virgin Atlantic can afford may be critical to your lifestyle and if that is the case you should consider working elsewhere.”

Not many similar companies, including airlines, are able to offer their staff the same benefits or indeed their clients identical standards. Staff have a choice to move onwards and upwards and improving their status but possibly maybe not being as happy in their new position.....sometimes the grass is always greener.

The client has options too and that is to select another airline - possibly more expensive flights but comfort and convenience have their attractions for the weary passenger and long standing passengers can be fickle with their loyalties.

Well done to the Virgin staff who will continue to fly and I hope that your loyalties will be rewarded as and when times are right.

Gillian, Surrey,

Branson has a duty of care to look after his staff in every way - and that includes giving them a living wage. Leaders (if you can really call them that) of companies seem to lose touch with reality after having had high incomes.

Johan Groebler, Bristol, uk

Sorry, William from Long Beach, but he is offering them a fair wage. He is offering them an increase which is greater than most are getting. He is offering an increase which exceeds the predicted increase in GDP or Cost of Living.

Paul, Toronto, Canada

Absolutely agree with Sir Richard. I posted a similar comment when the ballot process began, only to get weak arguments back on the matter.

As far as i am concerned, in any profession, be it cleaner, or premiership footballer, everyone is out to earn as much as they possibly can. If your current employer doesn't or cannot match competitors, then you move on. Its that simple. Unless, as per the letter's text, you assign value to the perks of working for a smaller, more personal company.

For Unite to say the letter is provocative just highlights the pointless nature of unions, and collective bargaining agreements. The sooner these archaic processes are dead and buried, the better. Lets not forget, that Unite AGREED to the pay proposal put forward by VA, only for the staff to reject them - the largest payrise award in the industry.

If you arent happy, move on. Its what 99% of the Employed world choose to do!

Jeff, Reading,

Good for Sir Branson! After all, doesn't he own the company?

Dave in Sacramento, Sacramento, USA

This chap has billions, but he can't afford to pay his employees a decent wage? Is there anyone stupid enough to believe that?
As for the lady who stated that "we" would be in a stronger position if "bosses" took a similar stance against unions, I think that the we means we the bosses not we the public.
By the way, there once was a society when bosses were able to tell their workers "if you don't like that wage, find someone else to buy your labor." You can read about this lovely society on the pages of Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, and Frederick
Engels.
One last point: how does the fact that the police are getting low wages obligate airline workers to accept low wages as well? I guess the schools are not teaching logical thinking these days.

William, Long Beach, California, USA

Well done RB, and stand by it ...

Our country, and certainly those who have a job, is at the pinnacle of wealth .... look at how much we spend on luxuries of every variety. It is pathetic to see Unite seem to think that people have a god-given right to ever more surplus money.

I wish BAA would do the same as Virgin. There are plenty of people who would take those jobs on the terms offered.

[Attila the Hun]

Richard, London, England

I have just travelled back from holiday with Virgin, the fifth time I have used them in five years. In those years the service has slipped beyond measure, with huge delays, dirty planes, dreadful food, surly staff (who, for example refused to remove their own luggage from overhead lockers), smaller seats with less legroom and absolutely NONE of the advatages that flying with Virgin is supposed to bring.

If paying the staff more will change that then fine, but my clear impression is that Virgin has tightened it's margins to such an extent in search of profit that nothing much will be done for the staff. Certainly not if the feelings of the travelling public have already been sacrificed in the search for more and more filthy lucre.

David, St Albans, UK

Compared with what the Police service will be getting this is a fair offer.
What ever the potential strikers are doing it is no where near the problems and dangers the Police face every day.

David Yeomans, Hill Head, UK

Quite right too. If only other bosses in this ridiculous country took this stance against the unions, we'd be in a stronger position. Exchange your labour for a wage. If you don't like that wage, find someone else to buy your labour.

Laura Roberts, London, UK

Good Man richard, remember regan.Good luck

jim, donegal, ireland

Where does Gordon Brown stand on this matter? After all MP's are going to vote themselves another above inflation pay rise whilst the rest of us are subject to their tax laws.

steve, chester, cheshire