As of yesterday (13th) it was still part of the offer - there is no reissued paperwork or statements from Management/Prospect or even PCS to indicate removal of this most contentious of items from the ATCO pay offer.
It has to be made clear to all ATCOs just exactly what is going on here, and exactly what you are being asked to vote for with regard to the ATSA/SAMOS issues.
and as for saying that 'its no big bargaining chip' - at Heathrow it will be just about the only thing we have got to bargain with - you can forget all that old b*lls about how 'valuable' we are, or 'essential part of the team' cr*p - Management and unfortunately many ATCOs have long given up on that concept. If they hadn't, and we're that 'valuable' to you and the job itself, then we wouldn't be facing this situation today. The ATCOs would (should) be showing full support for us - not voting to take away our jobs for a poxy 2% increase on their pay deal.