To Mephisto
Excellent post. I'll try to sum up my position.
First off, I think it's worth repeating that I fully support a balanced agreement with Cathay that recognizes the legal position and rights of both the junior and senior pilots. The junior pilots deserve BPP.
So call me sensitive, but I chafe when I read the angry, and yes contemptuous, language used by junior crew to insult and subordinate the concerns of senior crew to their more "just" cause.
You're right about needing to prepare for age 55. I marvel at how quickly it is approaching, especially as I remember the early days, when all the senior pilots warned us of how quickly the time will fly by (warning to younger readers...take heed!).
In defense of not being prepared, I can only offer up the degradation of pay and conditions over the years, coupled with living in a high tax jurisdiction for 10 years on a base, along with current financial conditions, tempering the hopes of me and most people nearing the magic 55. I also offer the number of conversations I've had with those who've returned to Cathay, post 55, with real life experience, who admittedly "failed" retirement for any number of reasons. Quite honestly, I think these reasons reinforce my feeling that 55 is a ridiculously young age to retire. Accordingly, I feel justified stating that this issue benefits all members, young and old.
I think the above reasons may be why every western jurisdiction recognizes this as a human rights issue, and not just a "contract" issue.
Whether winning the appeal in the UK will have an impact on other jurisdictions...I can only hope that a win in the UK will/can be used as precedence in other jurisdictions. Not being a lawyer I can't speak definitively, but a win would not hurt. Just as the initial loss was immediately used by Cathay to put all their plans regarding post 55 on hold. A win should have the opposite effect.
I completely agree with your comment regarding "the AOA just nutting it out with the company once and for all, to negotiate a change to NRA for all crew in all bases?" Hallelujah for that! How many years has it taken so far? Will we still be talking about this five, or 10 years from now?
What I don't agree with is a vote to mandate the AOA to ignore the concerns of senior pilots because the majority of the Association is now comprised of angry junior pilots, who argue that this will take away from their "piece of the pie". Such a vote would be a perversion of both Union ethos and democracy. After all these years, after all we've been through, it would be a show stopper for me!
The Union needs to educate newer members of the Association on the past history of our industrial relations with Cathay. I think we've been beat up quite effectively. And to have that characterized or spun, on so many pprune posts, into some form of special, privileged, treatment galls me.
That sums it up for me Mephisto. I hope I've been semi-coherent.
Thanks for asking, and Cheers! Raven
Last edited by raven11; 29th Dec 2008 at 13:19.