Certain companies seem to be of the opinion that enginners are valuable employees and are almost headhunting people, JMC at Gatwick and I understand Manchester are very nearly 100% LAME's, the wages seem to be heading in the right direction and I haven't heard of them being in a dire financial situation due to paying good money for good engineering. If a company like that can cope paying an average of £36-38k plus O/T(correct me if i'm wrong) a year to its engineers, surely others could too. As has been said the number of people coming into the industry is nowhere near the number leaving, or being promoted to a desk job. (Too many chiefs). This must push up wages by the simple process of supply and demand.
More and more work is being piled on the LAME's at our place as the others drift off to better paid jobs, they are around.
And sooner rather than later something is going to give and an incident will occur. We need more engineers and the only way to attract them is better pay, conditions and more awareness of what we do.
I am of firm belief the only way to raise our profile, wages and status, is together. I know it doesn't have the teeth of BALPA but until anybody comes up with a better idea than all joining the ALAE and turning it into an organisation that represents the whole of our noble profession, then we will still be typing into our PC's moaning in years to come.