... and finally truth becomes the casualty of the LCC crewing debate.
mppgf, bitter balance, d mcd, thumpa, james4th and any other ill-informed member of the IPG or its collaborators, please read on if you don't object to a little enlightenment...
How many of you actually sighted the proposal/discussion paper provided to the IP Council last year from the joint turbo-prop integration committee? - I don't expect a considered response, it's a rhetorical question.
Clauses like: ......" protection in all matters of seniority (inc. rostering, leave allocation, etc) for all currently-employed and temporarily redundant Impulse pilots, ahead of the turbo-prop pilot group, in perpetuity "...., come to mind.
In a nutshell, the IPG were never under any threat of predatory action by the remaining turbo-prop pilot group - it was my "hare(sic)-brained" and obvious attempt to restore some hope and unity to the ever-sickening state of our pilot community.
Sure, there was little on offer by way of promotional opportunity, but at the same time, nothing was being taken away from you. Instead, it would have provided the start of closer co-operation in our common goals.
Funnily enough, had the integration gone ahead, perhaps the current 'backs against the wall" scenario could have been avoided. I refer to the earlier IPG claims of "there's nothing else we could do" and "no-one would support us".
Make no mistake, the isolation that the IPG may now be feeling is of their own making.
mppgf,
As one of the architects of the Integration document, perhaps I'm entitled to feel just a little put out by your unfounded claims.
Regardless, the great paradox for me personally is that 12 years ago, after returning from an overseas job in the aftermath of that eventful year, I seriously considered a name change to insulate my 6y.o. from the sins of his father during his future pursuit of an aviation career. Now at the conclusion of his school life and after unfathomable changes in the industry, I counsel him to consider his other options.
For certain, the new generation of promising Australian aviators faces a bleak future of growing disparity and indignity within the workforce..
In offering services at the rumoured discount rate, I can only assume that the IPG has succombed to insurmountable fear and trepidation, collective insecurity and perhaps pressure from the younger members to expose the hand so early in your negotiations on this issue.
For certain though, this action provides no guarantee of a favourable outcome for you or you peers .... (no need to repeat the long list of other sentiments).
I hope that good sense will return to the heads of the incumbents soon and we can strive towards the only thing that will turnaround the current state - that is the insistence on greater unity within the aviation fellowship - it's the only path to recovery and defence to an eroding professional landscape.
Sure - I'm painfully aware of the perceptions of naivete I left behind in the ashes of integration last year, but equally, I'm comfortable with the fact that while I failed in my attempts at bringing unity to the QF regional group, I maintained integrity in my beliefs and hopefully led, in a very small way, by an example for others to follow.
To the topic of closer links with AIPA - it's an essential step, but a difficult marriage all the same. Perhaps, had there been greater visionaries among the QF pilot group on the whole (self, included in the criticism), we would now not be facing the greatest challenge ever to face us.