I have one very good reason for supporting BALPA these days - namely that they are putting up a stout fight against UK ID Cards. We should be grateful for that on both sides of the Irish Sea. If the UK Government gets it's way with ID Cards and the National Identity Register you can bet your bottom dollar that the Irish Government will follow suit. I doubt if there are many Irish or British (including Leo Hairy-Camel) who truly want to be made to walk around with a government bar code in their wallets. It would be a huge infringment of our civil liberties.
Give BALPA their due - they are fighting where other organisations are actually being quite cowed.