I am flabbergasted at the level of comment coming from some of you on this thread. It is like watching a bunch of excited schoolchildren talking about going on strike against their teachers. Once again, the naivety and lack of awareness of the consequences show up.
You have twice gone against Brian Boyd's recommendation to accept the offer he had negotiated on your behalf with the company. You obviously considered his judgement to be wrong then. Now he has written to you and suddenly his word is gospel. If I didn't know what was going on here I'd think I was watching a kids pantomime.
To read comments about the money spent on The Base and other investments made by the company being used as argument to get even more than is being offered at the moment only goes to show the rest of us that the most vociferous on here who are for industrial action, have very little knowledge of how the real world and business operate. Without being able to comprehend that decisions about investment on large projects like The Base were made long before the end result that you now see, just goes to show that you have little or no perception of what the company can actually afford. I won't go into Business Economics 101 as it is apparent that it is well above your level of comprehension.
That your union has not been able to give you the proper advice and the letter published above only goes to prove that you have a leadership with Quixotic abilities that is going to set you all back many, many years in terms of what you deserve and in industrial relations with the company.
I am not saying that the company management team have performed with any sense of achievement. The situation should never have got to this stage in the first place. However, both the company management team and your union negotiators have to share the blame. References to how well the upper management of the airline would fare if the company had to satisfy shareholders is irrelevant to the current situation.
Sadly, it is the loudest militants who appear to be making most of the running. I just hope that the majority of the cabin crew use their votes. From a straw poll taken over the last few trips I have operated, I sense that the majority are apathetic The main reason for that apathy appears to come from the lack of understanding of what is actually on offer and the consequences of rejection. That apathy has allowed a significant minority to cause a ballot for industrial action. Only around 30% of the cabin crew workforce actually voted positively to reject the current pay offer. The other 70% and those not in the union either expressed no opinion or were in agreement with the offer.
That apathy has now led us to the current ballot and unless all those apathetic cabin crew use their votes to let the company know one way or another, the vociferous militants will force industrial action and the consequences are not going to be pleasant. I honestly believe that the majority of cabin crew would rather accept the current offer and regroup in order to get their collective act together. They would rather fight a battle they are sure they can win rather than the current one that is looming and smells of defeat before we have even arrived there.
The shock and awe that some posters are making of the company's attempt to "destabilise" the process is breathtaking in its gullibility. As though your union is not and will not resort to similar tactics? Nah, of course not.
It is time to grow up and realise that you do not have the necessary numbers to support industrial action. Even if I am wrong and you do get your majority, you do not have a leadership with the necessary skills and intuition to take on the company. The management team responsible may not have anything to be proud of but they are still many levels ahead of your own union leadership and on that basis alone, you will be hard pressed to make any gains for yourselves by striking.
As I have said previously, good luck because you are certainly going to need it.