I have yet to go to a briefing, but in spite of how unpalatable the offer is I have to believe that the individuals who were part of the NTUS negotiating team fought hard and have got what they truly believe to be the best deal possible.
My feelings on this at the moment (but I'm trying to keep an open mind) are that the current scheme is not sustainable for new entrants, and provided that current employees benefits are adequately protected then a new scheme for new entrants should be established.
I'm yet to be convinced that the "adequate protection" that I mention above is in place - particularly for those current employees that joined after PPP should / when NATS be completely privatised.
My personal feeling is that the 15 year pay cap is too long. I would have preferred to see a rolling five year cap which would be reviewed with a guarantee of a minimum RPI + 0.5% for the subsequent period. I would also like to have seen as a gesture on behalf of the management team a guarantee of a minimum RPI + 0.5% pay deal during this capped period.
Although Pay 09 and the pensions are being kept separate - It would be good to see a generous offer put forward by NATS for Pay 2009 to be implemented on 31st December 2008 to ensure that it is not subject to the pay cap. This would, in my view, not be considered a 'bung', but as an indication of some "good will" towards staff - it certainly might have put people more onside than they are at present.
I can't imagine how awful morale will be if somehow the pension issue gets a 'YES' vote and then NATS turns around and says "Thanks very much, oh and by the way there's a below inflation rise for next year". That would only compound the feeling of staff being "done to".
I would also like to see the union withdraw from the current AAVA agreement as a consequence of the position the management team have taken on the pension scheme, but with the option of renegotiating the terms at a more favourable level - enabling staff who are concerned about income during retirement the opportunity to invest an amount of non-pensionable pay whilst providing NATS with essential additional attendances.
I'm not convinced about the argument that ATCOs have nothing left to give in terms of working practices over the next 15 years. 15 years is a really long time. Who knows how iFACTS, iTEC, Multi-sector Planner, ADS-B, <insert TLA that hasn't been invented yet> are going to affect the way we work?
As I say - I'm trying to remain open minded at this point and am looking forward to attending the briefing