I would like to pay tribute to Danny and his team for their efforts. It cannot be pleasant to have been on the receiving end of this. However simple such matters may appear to some of us, the reality is that this kind of action is enough to give any wise person pause for careful thought. That, of course, is its intention – to censor and frighten, and in so doing to demonstrate to the faint-hearted the nature of power.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind everybody that what has happened is typical of the kind of organisational behaviour described and anticipated in the – now missing – thread (which had around 118,000 hits when it disappeared).
The seriousness of the issues which face everybody was decisively underlined by these developments.
Regrettably this will not be the last such action. What has happened demonstrates two things conclusively; firstly, the seriousness of the challenge now facing ALL pilots and, secondly, the risks that are involved for a particular group of pilots. For that group, namely the Ryanair pilots, there are risks associated with both action AND inaction. They are all going to have to decide what they want to do.
However, has it crossed anyone’s mind yet that this little event may well be a gift? A gift in that it demonstrates for slow learners the very behaviour that causes so many problems for Ryanair staff, and a gift in that it clarifies for everyone the stakes and importance of the decisions and actions to be taken by Ryanair pilots in the weeks to come. It also tells us that somebody is running scared of the evident rebellion.
Expect more threats, but ...
Never was a challenge so clear.
Courage and steadfastness.
Join and deny.
Hold the Line!
As a contribution to the factual side of this matter, here is the well known quote from a Ryanair memo issued in Stansted this summer:
"We have no objection to any Ryanair pilot joining BALPA, the Taliban, the Monster Raving Loonies or indeed the Moonies. Each individual is perfectly free to join whatever organization he/she so chooses."
This outlines the official Ryanair position, which has been repeated on many occasions by different company representatives. However ... can anyone provide information, etc. that suggests a very different orientation by Ryanair. (For example, the memo to Dublin pilots?).