BlueTui - you have a very strong union at TUI which is good and helps and protects you guys.
The Union at virgin appears weak and the company is pretty much walking all over it, at least that is how many of it's members feel i.e. the fit nicely in the managements back pocket !
As for moving on, been done to death - I imagine the argument was probably even used when the Virgin Pilots nearly went on strike - the unions said,
Pilots want a two-year deal worth 12 per cent above inflation and a 3.5 per cent boost to pensions. Pilots' representatives argue that Virgin's flight crew are paid 25 per cent less than their colleagues at British Airways
(comparing apples with apples Tags
)
Yes, the pilots could of said, ho hum ok I'm leaving Virgin off to BA because they pay more, but they didn't they fought for what they believed. We work for the same company and are fighting for what we believe also.
The outcome of their negotiations, well the company said,
Virgin Atlantic's flight operations director, conceded that the airline was "not a market leader" for pay but said it could not afford a bigger rise.
Outcome, this bit is hearsay I dont know the full facts ( perhaps a Flight crew member could confirm) - after lots of negotiations the pilots decided strike was the only resort left - the strike was arranged and called off at the last minute and an outcome satisfactory to the pilots was achieved.
The lesson we can see in that case is the management wouldnt even negotiate properly with the Pilots what hope is there for cabin crew - so we may well have to go the distance too.