I am sorry, but they are the risks of standby travel, you can't complain if you are stranded.
I assume these people checked the loads before they went? considered LA or another airport?
I am not sure the figure that is being reported is correct?
They get £2/3 an hour whilst away - some of the stop overs are for 2 or 3 days on top of the basic wage, plus they also get a taking off and landing bonus - granted that is for the company I work for, however I can't imagine BA are...