Bear11, as you say you can have your opinion and I can have mine, but you seem to keep changing the subject when the facts don’t support your opinion. As the coincidence would have it, the very point I made was endorsed the morning after I made my post by front page news. You are now talking about “union recognition” – which is even further removed from the subject. Here again, it is a matter of fact that, (a) union recognition is not an entitlement under Irish law, (b) it cannot be granted under the 2001 Act, and even more significantly, (c) IALPA has repeatedly stated that “union recognition” is NOT an objective.
You have clearly been propagandised by Ryanair who have consistently said that the argument in Dublin IS about “union recognition” or “union recognition by the back door” (which is a much more telling phrase). These claims are just plain wrong. You cannot be granted union recognition in Ireland. You do have the right of association. That’s it.
In fact, to return to the general subject of this tread, I heard somebody from IALPA say something to the effect that the entire dispute is ultimately about “respect” and the entitlement to work in a suitable workplace environment. The fact that such aspirations are considered appropriate and necessary is telling in itself.