Originally Posted by
NoelEvans
There is a VERY important theme in these Posts:
How can someone be labeled as 'pension rich'? Has anyone looked into what has been happening to pension funds so far this year? I think that a lot of people's pension planning is being rather shaken up at the moment.
I have been at the end of "you younger guys have lots of time ahead of you to build up a pension somewhere else" comment when turfed out due to redundancy (those exact words ere used to me personally) so I can understand that end of the problem. I am now older and I can understand Fly747's and Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP's situations. Probably the most important point is Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP's "...the inconvenient gap of two years between compulsory retirement at 65 and getting my state pension at 67." That is not only a problem that older pilots will be facing shortly but with the way the industry appears to be going as a whole, those in their 20s now could well be banging their heads against exactly that problem, or an even bigger gap, in future years.
I have been VERY fortunate to have continued flying 'as normal' (although nothing is normal now!). Taxiing past rows of aeroplanes parked and sealed up at almost every airport in several countries and walking through empty terminals with everything closed and almost no lights on, some even becoming dusty after having been thriving terminals only a short while ago, is very, very, very sobering (and weird). If you haven't been able to see it, you probably don't really want to. This problem is much, much bigger than any one of your airlines, no matter how big they are. Best not to become lonely individualists bickering about what someone else might or might not be doing. A lot of pilots are going to be in very 'fragile' situations. Trying to understand each other and if possible support each other would be the most helpful way ahead.
Absolutely spot on. Unity is key, it's the only way.... The priority of Balpa should be to preserve and protect jobs and defend and adhere to CLAs.
Distinguish what the company 'needs' as opposed to what they 'want'.
- alternatives to pilot redundancy: part time / job share, unpaid leave, VR/VS (not statutory)
- furlough as opposed to redundancy as a last resort, rehire in seniority when the time comes.
Stick together and support each other.