Anotherthing & Vote No
Thank you for your words of support in the job we do. I (dare I say we) appreciate the fact that some at least understand that the union guys (and ladies) try to do the best for the members. I appreciate you do not support the offer, and it is right that you vote as you believe. I hope everyone else takes the time to do the same, whatever the final outcome of the ballot (personally I'm still in the yes camp
)
I probably shouldn't rise to the bait of some on here, but I think the record needs to be set straght for some.
1. The Union reps do this voluntarily, much of it in their own time for no reward (no, we are not paid for it)
2. We all have our normal jobs too which means whatever we agree affects us the same as every other member.
3. If any members are unhappy with how the reps act/perform, then each year they can be removed (if the haven't already quit by then!)
4. If you want to remove them, then someone needs to be willing to step forward and do the job instead. Trust me, we would be happy for volunteers to come forward. Throwing stones from the side is easy when you don't have any responsability!
5. Many are correct about T's & C's constantly being under attack. That is true. The union mistake is having not alerted members to what is happening behind the scenes and communicating what is happening across the company. Hopefully we have learnt a hard lesson after the poor communications around the pension issue and the new website will go some way to rectifying this (
ATCOs.co.uk)
6. Our collective strength comes from the fact that we are a united workforce. Speaking for the ATCO union, the SDC pulled us back together, and believe it or not, made NATS sit up and take notice. Being a collective force means we need to abide by the decisions of the majority, whether we all agree with them or not. This pay deal will be no different, the majority will decide. That is why it is important to vote. Apathy only helps management.
7. I've left the most important bit for last; it is not the unions who have made this offer. The unions simply negotiate the best deal they believe they can through the negotiation process, then put the final decision to members. That is how the negotiating process works. Of course the Unions will have a view on the offer, but so will every member. The 'Union' doesn't have a vote, each and every member does and that is where the power truly lies.
Remember, this is NOT an offer created by the union, the unions don't control NATS finances.This IS the NATS offer to staff, the final offer that NATS were willing to make to the Unions. If you are pi##ed off with the offer, please remember where the offer comes from.. NATS, not the unions
ps. probably going to get a bollocking for this but what the hell, it's a thankless task anyway