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Old 24th Nov 2007, 13:56
  #30 (permalink)  
Flaps5speed180
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: In a 737!
Posts: 30
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Diamond Dog, I'm really sorry to keep the negativity aimed in your direction, but....

As far as I can see there tends to be a common pattern to an FR pilots stance with regards to the company. I went through it and many of the guys I know went through similar stages on the road to understanding FR.

Let me explain. When you first join FR as a brand new shiny FO (sorry SO!), as I did, you have a lot of good feeling and support towards the company. This is natural, they gave you a job and now you can finally start paying back the monumental debt you've accumulated becoming a pilot.

For the first 3-4 months you are distracted by learning the ropes of what is a difficult and challenging job. You don't have a lot of time for getting involved in company politics. And although you hear the stories and have heard of REPA and BALPA, you put it all down to a few moaners who have nothing better to do than complain about their lot. This is normal also, there are bound to be a few moaners in any company.

Then around 4-6 months in, you realise that there may be something in this REPA stuff after all, because by now you will have experienced some of FR's tactics yourself. So you get yourself a username and password for REPA and have a look.

This is where it becomes painful. You read the posts and start to get very angry, very very angry at how your benevolent employer is treating you and what it plans to do to you in the future. You can't understand how they are managing to get away with the erosion to your T&C's and even more worried why no-one else (apart from the few on REPA) want to do anything to stop the rot.

Once this stage is over, and you've calmed down a bit, you go to the BALPA website and join. You become an active poster on REPA and vow to do something about the problem.

Now, where you go from this point is a big decision to make. Do you try and leave and get better T&C's for yourself that way? Or do you stay at FR and fight for the greater good of the industry? The choice is entirely yours.

The choice I made is the right one for me. I'm sticking around, simply because I refuse to let the bastards grind me down!
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