We have nothing to lose and all to gain
management will see this as carte blanche to f*** us over on other issues.
But the opposite may be true. If the NTUS can't carry the membership on a deal which is far better than most employers are offering is NATS likely to take them seriously in the future and spend any time on negotiating with them ? You may think that the old fashioned way of conflict negotiation gets better results but does it really ?
And if it is a No you may have to follow through on the threat of industrial action. NATS managers are scared stiff of industrial action but often the fear is far worse than the actual event. Can you trust all your colleagues to back it because if NATS management discover that your powder isn't as dry or powerful as they thought they really will have carte blanche in the future. If it's a Yes vote they don't get the chance to find out and that uncertainty could continue to be very useful in the future if you aren't too greedy. You may not like the deal but it is streets ahead of what most people are getting and that can be attributed entirely to management's fear.
There was plenty of time to ask both NATS management and NTUS about a No vote in our briefing. NATS management said they would talk to NTUS if that happened. They can implement SMART and the closure to new entrants anyway but it's the cap which has the most immediate effect on the financial health of NATS and is the most important. They claimed that the executive hasn't yet considered what to do if it is a No vote. NTUS said they would talk to NATS but there isn't much to talk about unless we tell them why we are voting No and so far nobody advocating No has come up with a reason which would warrant any further negotiation.
A lot depends upon how the voting goes. The two Prospect branches and PCS will be considered as 3 separate ballots and all 3 have to vote to accept. That means there are a number of different possibilities and I'm sure NATS will react differently depending upon which it turns out to be.