As an outsider looking in I was surprised at how quickly BALPA appeared to fold during the 2019 dispute. I'm in ASLEF and we won in the 2022-2024 dispute by going out at least once per month on average for the best part of two years and making the whole "minimum service levels" government plan unworkable. Quite frankly we could have done a lot more if a small number of people with limited savings had been better prepared but ASLEF couldn't risk even small numbers of people crossing picket lines.
Do the younger BALPA members, who are probably worst affected by JSS, regularly attend BALPA meetings? One of the challenges we face in rail is that my generation and younger often want the benefits of the union but don't turn up to branch meetings to have their say.