FDPWalla
as much as I believe we should never settle for any less than RPI, I honestly don't think we will get anything above 3% - if that.
The union has asked for Aug RPI+1% (5.8% I believe), but asking for something and fighting for it are 2 totally different things, as we saw with "OneNATSOnePension".
Regardless of why people chose not to vote, a 35.3% non turn out over the board is very poor considering the ramifications of the pensions issue, and will only serve to make Management believe that in fact they can do almost anything to us, because we can't be arsed to vote about it (whether can't be arsed is the correct reason or not, it will be taken that way). I say that despite acknowledging the extremely valid and correct point Gonzo makes about some people maybe being unsure which way to vote.
A lowly 64.7% turnout is another victory for Mr. Barron in the 'divide and conquer' tactics.
As for Rumouroid saying what he/she did about ATSAs...
In TC the ATSAs work exactly the way they did at West Drayton. I have a lot of respect for the good ATSAs, though we do have some useless ones (it's a fact of life in any job).
However, they are paid extremely well for what they do - any sane ATSA will admit this. Anyone looking from the outside in would be amazed and incredulous at the salary for what they do.
However, the very good ATSAs that we have are worth their weight in gold and can make or break a sector... are they overpaid, or are they just very well paid??
I can't comment on the AC ones as their job has evolved.
However, Rumouroid has a very valid point - those operational staff that bleat on about CTC staff are a bit two faced when they then try to shoot him/her down.
The CTC staff generally get paid less, but do a lot of good work and long hours that goes unnoticed by operational staff, just because we don't undertsand it or there is not visible day to day evidence unlike looking in an Ops room.
I don't doubt for a minute that there is excess fat that could be trimmed at CTC, but that is true in the Operational side as well, if to a lesser degree.
We are talking about the financial health of the company, which is allegedley what the pensions issue was about. In talking about the financial health, statements such as Rumouroids are perfectly valid, whether they are found to be correct or not is another matter, but they do need asking.