Houdini is right, squabbling amongst ourselves will get us nowhere fast. I also agree with him that the management is setting us up and unless we work together, through an organisation, we will be the losers.
So, where do we go from here? As we are all well aware, Balpa as an organisation has its faults, however, we should remember that WE are the union and our representatives on the council are exactly that, representatives, and as such should put forward the views of the majority regardless of their own personal feelings. This is what they were elected to do, if they are not doing so then it is up to us, the membership, to make sure that they do. For a start they must be told in no uncertain terms that any time they negotiate with the company on our behalf, especially about pay and conditions, that the membership must be consulted for its approval before anything is signed.
Now, let’s talk about the Jim O’Donnell situation. Whether we like it or not I fear that we (Scotia) are stuck with him, however, it’s not up to the Company Council to decide whether or not they will work with him, it’s up to us to direct them on the matter and for them to act accordingly. If we, as a majority, don’t want them to work with him then they don’t, it’s as simple as that. As I said, they are there to represent the majority view, which may not necessarily be the same as their own.
Harmonisation, sadly, I believe that we are stuck with this deal whether we like it or not, however, I agree with
VB that the subject might be worthy of a separate thread so I will save most of my comments for later. Just a word for Semi Rigid Rotor, I am aghast at Balpa for telling you to negotiate your own deal. DON’T accept that, put it in writing to your local rep, copy it to New Road and please copy it to all other Balpa members in the company, via e-mail, so that they know what is going on. Then we can all lobby our respective reps on the subject; THEY should be talking to management on your behalf. I hope that you will find most of the membership on your side, I for one will be.
Finally, leaving the union is not the best way of voicing our discontent, that would leave us at the mercy of a management who would be only to glad to see the back of Balpa. They could then fulfil their dream of a ‘pool of pilots’, all on temporary contracts, to hire and fire at will. Some form of pilot representation is required to safeguard our future employment. I’m not sure that a ‘revamped NSPA’ is the right way to go, however, the idea does deserve some serious discussion, who knows, it may lead to something new. In the meantime I feel that we have to continue with Balpa, but let’s put the reps in the picture as to who is in the driving seat.