mate the GA pilot's award is no more or less binding than any other award out there. It is not the Union that makes it binding.
First and foremost there is a simple principle of law referred to "freedom of contract". You can enter into a contract with anyone to do anything for any price, regardess of whether a reasonable man would think the price reasonable - it must simply be "adequate" consideration.
Mr Howard is a firm believer in this principle.
Secondly, it is the pilots that make it binding by having the cajones to say "that is the minimum pay I will work for". I think many of the guys out there who get paid less than the award are simply not brave enough to risk their precious flying job to broach the topic.
Imagine how much harder it would be if there was NO award at all? No benchmark, and nobody to go in to bat for you? That is what you would face without the AFAP and without the award that they continue to maintain for their members.
Finally, it is (or rather, was) the State/Territory courts and the Federal Industrial Relations Commission that heard disputes and made orders to enforce their rulings. This was the safety net that ensured a fair result for all. There have been many changes and when you fall out of the coverage of the award and into an EA you will out of the system, never to return. You think conditions are bad now? Wait until 5 years of Johnny's Brave New World.
I have worked in a couple of industries and been a member of a number of unions. There are a lot of workers out there who are quite misguided or simply wrong in their understanding of the IR system as it was, and that is something I think the AFAP and ALL other unions need to educate people on. But being a member of the Federation is to be one of a
TEAM, working together to look after each other.
When you had that interview and they asked "How do you feel about working in teams?", what was your answer?
