To start my post I should state
A) I do think Virgin crew are under valued and deserve fairer reward.
B) Industrial action, up to and including a strike is a very important right of any employee, and this right should be protected but used very very wisely.
Now given that 40% of the workforce voted to accept the deal, that leaves the union in a much weaker position than most people seem to realise.
Now the facts get even harder to swallow!
If there is now a vote for a strike, we can only expect an even smaller percentage of the total crew establishment to take part in that strike. This means that any strike will be pretty ineffectual. The best any strike will do is keep a FEW aircraft on the ground. Do the maths. This is simply not enough to get what is wanted! And COULD mean the resulting settlement is even less than is on the table now. Dare I say, it could even cost a few people their jobs!!
Unless Virgin cabin crew are a TOTALY UNITED workforce, industrial action this time around will be TOTALY USELESS.
And the ballot has proved that Virgin cabin crew are definitely NOT TOTALY UNITED. Some were perfectly prepared to accept the the last deal.(and that is their right) This changes the game plan entirely.
If there was a 92% rejection of this offer, no doubt there would be more support for industrial action, but this did not happen.
Troops, the battle is lost but the war is not. You fought a good fight.
Read the writing on the wall
Separate the wood from the trees
Get a different strategy next time around
Do anything you need to
but....
DON'T MARTYR YOURSELVES IN A POINTLESS STRIKE THAT "NOW" CANNOT GET YOU WHAT YOU WANT