on the very slim chance of it being a 'no' vote...
Anyone who has read the threads on PPRuNe will know which way I'm going to vote... but a quick question to get you thinking about consequences.
If the vote comes back as 'no', what do you expect to happen?
There is a chance that by the time negotiations start again, the Aug RPI is going to be published. Chances are it will be hugely negative.
Management would quite probably withdraw the offer that stands and replace it with a worse one having seen the poor RPI...
I think we all know that the offer as it stands is 2% over 2 years. No one expects to get any increments based on a higher RPI. That's why management have thrown that bit in.
I think management have played this very well... they will get away with a 2% payrise, they fully expect not to have to pay any increments based on AUG 09 RPI.
But they know that on the off chance that we get a 'no' vote, they will wait for the new RPI then downgrade the pay offer citing the poorer economy.
Lets face it, the next ballot would be to accept the new pay offer or start industrial action... in which case a lot of the previous 'no' voters would change.
Management have used the timing of this deal to their full advantage... it leaves us with some very unsavoury choices.
Accept a crap deal, or gamble on them giving us something better once the Aug RPI is published. I'm happy I've got a job and not impressed with 2% over 2 years - relatively it doesn't equate to much if I don't get it... so I think I'll take the gamble...