Originally Posted by "Captahab'
TWU may be the way to go, AFAP have dropped the ball.
Unbelievable. That is complete bulldust. How the hell did you get to that conclusion?
The present action at the OWS started a year ago when NJS refused to pay an annual CPI increment to a large number of its pilots. The AFAP was fully supportive and offered a great deal of useful advice.
However the decision was taken by the NJS Pilot Group and the individuals concerned to run it themselves through the OWS. The AFAP was
asked to keep a low profile by the NJS Pilot Group and the pilots. The AFAP did as requested and continued to offer assistance.
The TWU has been representing NJS pilots for maybe one month now. we expect that they will do good things, but it cannot claim this action as any 'success' of its own.
The real recognition, if it is truly due at this early stage, should go to the 30+ NJS pilots that made formal complaints to the OWS. They persisted in being heard in the new "WorkChoices" environment that is heavily biased towards employers, difficult for individual employees, and obstructive to unions.
The real show will be on in July in the Federal Magistrates Court in Perth.
Unions are a great source of support, advice and tactics. But the thing all of you have to get your head around,
if you want to improve your conditions, or fight to be paid what is due to you, is this -- You can't just pick a union to run a fight for you.
It is not like picking a football team to follow. If you have a problem that needs solving, you have to pull on a pair of boots and run into the arena
alongside your union rep, the government agencies, and be prepared to expend some effort, and cop some of the biffo in the process.