G'day Ladies and Laddies,..
IT IS a VERY OLD AXIOM...United you stand, divided you are / will be "LIKE THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY"!!!!!
Please take a leaf from an 'old book', sit down for a minute or two, and really THINK about where you go from here....for the combined good of ALL of you.
In no way do I wish to sound 'patronising in any way', but I do have some experience in industrial matters v management.
My first suggestion would be for someone there to do a 'quiet' survey of aircrew of all affected 'groups' (LH/SH etc) to ascertain just who / how many might be willing to come to some 'formal' arrangement, for the combined good of all of you.
In the era of which I speak, the motto was 'as much as possible for as many as possible', and, it worked.
Meet 'privately' at the Coogee Bay or where-ever, to formulate a strategy of aircrew unity if this at all possible...
Try to formulate an 'agreement' between yourselves, to present an arrangement based on CONSULTATION between Aircrew (combined groups in UNITY) and CONSULTATION with the management group.
THEY most certainly, WILL be organised, by direction from the 'TOP', with each successive rung of the ladder 'down' looking UP, after his/her own interests for their his/her own self preservation.
('Yes men' is the term I believe...)
If you can get this far you are half way home......
Then, when you have the complete and undivided attention of the management group, you will have Consultation / Negotiation..
(Reminds me of the old joke about 'What do you have, if you have a moth ball in the left hand and another in the right hand....?')
Too difficult?
Sorry to sound out the obvious, but the -alternates- look 'crapped in'.
ps Definition of 'CONSULTATION' as described by COMMISSIONER G. SMITH....
"In relation to the concept of consultation I wish to make it clear that this involves more than a mere exchange of information.
For consultation to be effective the participants must be contributing to the decision-making process not only in appearance, but in fact."
Commissioner G. Smith Melbourne, 12 March 1991.
The reference can be supplied on request.
May you be able to utilise this legal definition to its fullest extent.
Cheers and good luck.
