Message to Ryanair pilots

[CamelhAir]

To all ryanair pilots:
As we all know the countdown is in progress to the date in which this years pay reduction "deal" is to be voted on. I want to appeal to all those undecideds or those contemplating voting "yes".
I am posting this here, and not on REPAweb, as readers of repaweb are largely aware of the insidious nature of the game, and I want to reach, if even a few people, those who may not read Repaweb, but do read pprune.
I also want to our colleagues elsewhere know what's at stake here. Essentially, ryanair have offered a pay reduction "deal" that will reduce captains pay to even less than it already is and absolutely decimate pay for first officers (which is already the lowest in Europe). In pilot meetings, management have admitted that it is a pay reduction. They have offered also a few of the benefits illegally stolen from the pilots a couple of years ago, the types of benefits that are considered standard elsewhere. This partial restoration is made to appear to be a "generous" gift.To cap it all, they are insulting the intelligence of the entire profession by expecting us to agree to all this rubbish.
The idea to is to claim that the entire charade was "negotiated," thus removing any legitimacy from the pilots claims in court that no negotiations take place.
A rejection of the "offer" leaves the pilots broadly where they are now, BUT BUT BUT with the court cases and BALPA recognition to go-ahead. As ryanair will lose in the Labour Court and BALPA recognition will happen, they are desperate to trick the naive into voting for the "agreement."
The consequences of union recognition and an independentally verified working conditions agreement are obvious to almost all of us in the industry. For it to happen in ryanair, which seeks to drive the market conditions, it would represent a monumental victory for pilots everywhere in our seeking to maintain and improve our T&C's.
So this is where I appeal to ryanair pilots, particularly FO's. That the vote will reject the deal is not in question. However, the size of the no vote is important. There can be no question of equivocially rejecting it or it being close enough for ryanair to defraud the result.
Most captains and most senior (i.e. in the job more than a few months) FO's know that there can, and never will be, any trust in the current fr management. Not only have we seen "agreement" after "agreement" ripped up, and our pay and conditions disintegrate over the last few years, seen promises broken time and again, heard lie after lie, we have also seen a judge in a court of law specifically brand fr management as liars and perjurers. They will unanimously reject the deal.
Some people, newbies in the main I'm afraid, seem to trust the management and for some reason think the offer is a payrise. Some may vote for it. These pilots are typically young, low time and very new to aviation. If you are any of the above, and see the light, I apologise for generalising.
However, the fact remains that the fate of the entire industry rests in the hands of a few pilots with under a years airline experience. So I say to these pilots: DO NOT VOTE IN FAVOUR OF ANY AGREEMENT PRESENTED BY RYANAIR.
Our colleagues in every other airline in Europe are watching us very closely, make no mistake about that. We will be judged by our actions of the next few days. Fellow professionals everywhere are depending on us all to save this profession. We, the ryanair, pilots have connived for too long in destroying this profession. Now we can step forward and repair the damage.
The consequences of accepting this deal for FO's is an ENORMOUS pay cut over the life of the deal. The common refrain to these concerns are:
1) quick command - Unlikely as the companies rate of expansion slows. You can expect maybe 5-7 years on the appalling money you would sign up for.
2) get out, go elsewhere. BUT with almost 1500 pilots on the books, there won't be jobs for us all. Like it or not, most of you are here for the long term. Protect that long-term interest and vote against the deal. And even if you do move, it's only a matter of time before fr methods catch you. They must be stopped here and stopped now. This is our best opportunity yet.
You may say REPA/IALPA/BALPA will get us nowhere. This is wrong, even mol can't beat the law forever. Witness Easyjet, as the best example going.
So lets examine the options; you have 2:
1) Vote for the deal. This is a guaranteed reduction in your pay and conditions. You have no protection whatsoever. There is no concieveable way a yes vote will improve your financial, professional and personal well-being.
2) vote against. The worst that can happen here is a maintainence of the current conditions (which are better than those being proposed). BUT you now have a ticket to the chance of a vast improvement in your lot.
Isn't it better to have a very good chance of improving your conditions in the near future than definitively nailing closed the lid on the coffin of your future in this profession?
Ryanair are on the run, smell the fear in DOB's hysterical rant on crewdock. That letter was not the letter of someone riding high. They're beaten and they know it. So please please get on board and help copperfasten YOUR future. There is NO FUTURE in trusting fr management. Talk to your more expeienced colleagues, get onto repaweb and read it, get out a calculator and work out exactly how much you will lose. Have a look at the 2000 agreement to see exactly what was illegally stolen. Learn how well ryanair honour agreements that do not have indepedent arbitration.
You must also realise that the RPA is not pie-in-the-sky. It is the norm elsewhere. FR have some of you conditioned into believing your self-worth is very low. IT IS NOT. You are a highly trained and skilled professional and deserve to be treated as such. You are a pilot in the most profitable airline in Europe and should be treated as such. What you are worth is what is in the RPA, not what you are currently being offered. Pilots in other airlines feel they are worth an awful lot more than some FR pilots feel. Why is this??? Some of you even agree with this. What makes them better than you??? Do not be sucked into this mentality. You are worth every cent we are looking for.
Finally, do the right thing. For the sake of the profession, for the sake of your colleagues here and elsewhere, finally for the sake of yourself and your future, vote against any ryanair "offer", "deal" or "neogiation".
With the unity we have now, we can, and will, improve our lot for the benefit of all professional pilots.
IF YOU VOTE FOR THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE A TURKEY AND YOU ARE VOTING FOR A LIFETIME OF DAILY CHRISTMASES.