Lon More -
I think you will find that people who 'bitch' as you so eloquently put it, about Banding, are not from the south of england...
I, being someone who does work for NATS in the south of england, have stated that I think it is possibly a good move by the Belgians.
As for keeping things in NATS own forum, NATS is the biggest ATC employer in the UK and has the largest area unit in Europe. Many of the issues discussed on the public ATC forum are kept there because Ts &Cs at NATS are possibly of interest to other would be employees in the UK, and even possibly ATC staff who are looking to move to the UK.
The bitching can be embarrasing, but there are some good nuggets of info about life within NATS contained within the threads. Threads I might add that you have contributed to yourself numerous times!