I really had to think about it when the ballot paper arrived this morning. If they had been offering us a one year deal at 2.2%, then start again in January (when hopefully the oceanic situation will have improved) I would have given management the benefit of the doubt and agreed. But two years - no way; I voted no.
I have to say, however, that I am unsure as to what we hope to achieve here as I can't see how we can take any practical form of industrial action. Have Prospect thought about this? I certainly hope so.
A discussion on our night shift yesterday ended when we got to the idea of a training ban. For that to be effective, it would surely have to include LCE duties. Am I prepared to (potentially) sacrifice my validations over pay? Nope. And beyond that - what, exactly? An all-out national strike? I don't think so. Rolling stoppages? Perhaps. We'd have to have at least three people in at our unit for emergency cover; do they get paid? Are they scabs? Who chooses them?
There has been a great deal of talk on this forum over the last eighteen months-or-so about keeping powder dry. I'm starting to worry about playing with fire now, for fear of blowing myself up. Melodramatic, maybe. I haven't worked for NATS for that long, so I'm prepared to go along with what is obviously a majority opinion among my more experienced colleagues. But I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing.