Scooby, as has been pointed out, you do seem to be quite intelligent and able to express your thoughts quite sensibly. However, your naivety about the consequences of industrial action and continual need to defend every argument put forward against taking industrial action shows quite clearly that you still have a lot to learn.
As an example, in post #82 you say: "For me personally I am sick that every month after all the bills have 'just' been paid and nothing is left or one is negative (please dont lecture me on curbing my spending habits, I am very careful and save allowances" and in post #103 you say: "The latest rumour is on the subject of our allowances not spent down route and brought home becoming taxable"
It is precisely that kind of naivety that is going to be your downfall if you continue to recommend voting for industrial action without knowing in as much detail as possible what the consequences are. If you did not have the intelligence to comprehend that the taxman will want his share of ANY money you earn or bring back into this country, then as in all cases, ignorance of the law is no excuse when you are in court.
The repeated claims on this thread and others from cabin crew who harp on about saving their allowances and bring them back to the UK is all the ammunition the tax man needs. The fact that your pathetic union have not already informed you of HMC&E's intentions to tax your allowances is yet one more example of why you should seriously consider the consequences of taking industrial action when you have a leadership that is not only ineffectual but quite obviously out of the loop when it comes to passing on advice.
The taxman (HMC&E) is already looking very closely at what the crew are doing with their allowances. If you had a proper union worth their dues you would have been informed of this fact and adjusted your spending accordingly. Instead you and others have already admitted to bringing as much of your allowances home with you. It is not "galley FM". It is a harsh reality that you are going to be clobbered on your allowances and that is not the company's fault.
So, all those who are advocating for industrial action when you are in disarray, unorganised and without the stomach for a fight apart from a few naive militants, should wake up, smell the coffee and take a bit of free advice from those of us who do have a very good union and have managed to improve our terms and conditions. We didn't do it in one go and we made sure that we had ALL the information to hand before accepting the advice of our reps.
We advise you to take the offer you have now and regroup. It will take a lot of dedication from whoever decides to take on the role of reps and it will also require a lot of support and advice from your union. You may not be ready in 18 months, in which case you push just that bit harder and wait until you are ready. Eventually you will improve your T's & C's and you will look back and reminisce about "the old days". Vote for a strike now and you put yourselves back 10 years or more.
Your vote, your choice.