If the return offer is no better so be it but at least it will hold things off til after annual results are published. We may have more ammunition then
Exactly what extra ammunition do you think we'll have ? The unions, NATS management and everybody else knows that the last financial year was pretty good mainly because the recession was kind enough to wait until after the summer period to take hold. All the negotiations to date will have been in that context. Having it confirmed won't make any difference.
The problem for both sides is that regardless of what sort of year we had last year any pay rise negotiated will have to be paid for out of this year's income and nobody really knows how bad this summer is going to be. You seem to assume that if we put off negotiations until later we will be in a stronger position but what if that isn't the case ? Do you think the current deal will still be on the table if the summer is worse than predicted and NATS can't afford it ? Remember the August RPI figure is very important because if it is negative it will reduce the income next year even if traffic levels pick up again next summer. At the moment both management and workforce are gambling a bit on what that figure might be and the risk is shared but I think it unlikely that NATS management will be prepared to take any of the hit if we wait until after that RPI figure is known.