It's amazing that such a safety concious issue is treated in such a manner. Even more amazing that it has been allowed by the unions to have reached this far. Compare unions in other industries, and all EU countries, and ask yourselves if their heirarchy would have allowed this farce to have developed. They would have had spokespeople on TV and held interviews to put the case to the public, and for sure, there would have been a national strike ballot hovering in the background. As said before, this mess has been simmering for over 10 years with 'square root of fanny all' having been achieved on behalf of the crews. Meanwhile, hard earned subs have been swelling the coffers of unions. In this day of competition how come so many have the common 1% as a sub. Extraordinary if they all have the same cost base. Cartel finances.
However, when 'farthers for access' and 'pro-hunting lobby' can storm the Houses of Parliament; when lorry drivers can blockade roads and fuel depo's in protest at rising prices, when taxi drivers and can organise prosessions of protest, it makes the silent whinging of aircrew seem pathetic. You're correct, it is a
PR thing; so where are the union fat cats?
If this issue does not raise the hackles of aircrew in general, and cause a tide of protest on the streets, then nothing will. Not only does this attack the heart of the so-called 'safety culture' of the industry, if attacks the heart of reasonable quaility of life for the employees. The public are not stupid, and when they here the truth of cost cutting etc, they will remember the parallel with the railways and cringe in horror.