It is difficult to see this as anything else other than muck stirring - it is a mountain out of a molehill. I am not in BALPA and will therefore not get to vote but I cannot see the problem.
If 5/2-5/4 is passed in the vote by BALPA members then we will get it, but otherwise it will be back to square one and a new leave bid will be sorted out. The company simply had to make some sort of arrangements in the meantime. To work on the basis that 5/2-5/4 would go through seems entirely reasonable. It is no big deal if it does not as we will just be given a revised set of dates to choose from for leave and away we go. There is nothing hidden, underhand or wierd going on and any rational person can see that.
The obsessive ranting about the company trying to stuff its employees and BALPA being in some way not fulfilling their responsibilities is frankly so untrue as to be embarrassing. Col Klink and his colleagues should be thanked for their efforts by members and non-members alike, and not criticised.
There seems to me to be a genuine desire to make this work but if at the end of the day the members say no then that's it over with. There are no conspiracies and no backroom deals. If you are a BALPA member and you don't like it - don't vote for it. If you are not in BALPA and you feel overwhelmingly strongly on this issue (I don't personally) then join. It's only as difficult as you make it.