Gonna have to burst your bubble on some of that le rocket. Easyjet are not employing people on the same contracts across Europe. Spain has a different contract which Balpa have been fighting since inception. They are about to impose a new one in France and have indicated that this is they way they will go in future. Basically their European operation is a mess contractually as are the tax issues.
Now when it comes to Aer Lingus, I applaude the solidarity shown by the union membership. If Easyjet's members had the same bottle they would be getting much further on pay and conditions. EI's BFS plan however will be complicated by FEC legislation and you can be sure that a deal must've been done with the Assembly for them to openly endorse it. That is where the simplicity of promoting SFO's to BFS as Captains falls down.
If Capts are going to be paid the 76K quoted this morning then they are pitching in at the upper level you could expect in BFS. I'm wondering where the sting is? I have a hunch it's pension. Would it not be better to see exactly what these new Terms are first before going on a 2 day strike?
Clearly the employment law in Ireland differs widely from that in the UK as any union playing that card in the same fashion would find itself bankrupt very quickly. Sad but true. This just goes to highlight the fact that although BFS is only up the motorway, working life can be very different.
I hope both sides in this argument can reach a suitable compromise. Even Paisley and McGuinness talk these days.