Anyone who knows a bit about the partly very efficient union setups in Europe, cannot help but shake his or her head at the fragmentation and inefficiency of pilot organisations in this country!
Maybe there wasn't a point in the past because the pilots had no real punch anyway in a market flooded with starry-eyed Howard Hughes wannabes..
BUT: since the supply and demand of drivers is clearly changing around the world, and no matter how much some people try to broadcast the contrary, this change WILL be felt in Australia by all parties over the coming years.
Hence there is a once in a lifetime chance, a limited window of opportunity, to get set up as a community so the pilots' interests can be looked after properly in those interesting years to come!
I can only plead with the various parties trying to better aviators' lots: Sit down to talk between yourselves, check your egos at the door, merge into ONE union, and if the experience in the rest of the world is anything to go by, we're all going to be better off no matter what the rank, age, or employer.
To get things started, I propose a poll amongst pilots. Given pilots are on the whole a clever and educated bunch
, I should think there would be an overwhelming majority for such a move. Needless to say this would create a dynamic energy that would be felt and heard all over the country, and might even (okay, dreaming now) convince the public that in order to save the essential regional transport infrastructure in this country, one might have to pay 109 bucks instead of 99 on a given route.. (dream mode off)
What are we waiting for?
