I think you guys do not understand what the AFAP actually is...it isn't a union it's a Federation.
If YOU are not prepared to be proactive AFAP is nobbled...the AFAP is only as good and powerfull as it's members.
When pilots in this place whinge about how useless the AFAP was in this or that negotiation remember that the 'AFAP', as an entity, was not actually involved in those negotiations...the relevant pilot's group was the entity assisted by the resources of the AFAP. As an example the recent EA EBA was negotiated by the Eastern Airlines pilots group which is made up of a bunch of Eastern's pilots, voted onto that group by the rank and file who happen to be the companies AFAP reps....not by some faceless industrial negotiators from 'the AFAP'.
They negotiate the best deal they believe they can come up with and put that to the membership who vote for it...yes or no.
'Negotiation' is not "we want a 30% payrise and more time off and better meals period". It covers a raft of issues and the reps and company sit over a table off and on for mths and thrash out what they agree on and what the DO NOT agree on....ALL of those things are then included in the proposition put to the pilots...just because an issue is included DOES NOT MEAN the pilots group think it's good, it just means the company did.
That 'deal' is then put to the pilots group...if the majority vote yes it passes and it's NO USE coming on here and whinging you have been ripped off by the AFAP. APATHY is why you get the deal you get...98% of you are NOT prepared to stick your heads above the parapet and actually DO ANYTHING to get the outcome you desire...you leave it to the 2% who stand for election as the AFAP reps.
If you think it is actually possible, in this day and age, to achieve what the AFAP could in it's heyday in the 60 and 70s you're grossly misstaken...in those days Reg Ansett owned half the domestic airline business in Australia and the Govt, via TAA, owned the other half. The two airline policy meant they were exactly matched in airframes numbers/types, airfares and schedules. All it took was the mere threat of a strike and Reg Ansett caved in to the demands...they flowed automatically to the TAA boys...the airfares were raised in unison and life went on as before....there was NO COMPETITION.
These days everyone is competing in completely deregulated open skies...and 75% of the domestic airlines are owned or controlled by QF. In other words without ALL QF group pilots being in the same pilots group you're screwed. AIPA extended that possibility to EA/Sunnies 15+ years ago but the regional guys demands were so stupid as to make the deal impossible.
That is the current reality.