IPF, the sweetheart union of choice!
DHL Air pilots have been campaigning since the beginning of the year to have BALPA recognised. The management have stalled and procrastinated and delayed. BALPA were very patient, exploring every avenue of voluntary recognition before before realising what all the DHL pilots knew, management were never going recognise them voluntarily.
They began the compulsory process by notifying DHL of there intentions and DHL asked to go to ACAS and to extend the 20 'grace' period for talks to reslove things amicably (more stalling).
Then out of the blue DHL announce they have signed a voluntary recognition agreement with the IPF!
BALPA communicated with the IPF what the situation was and that they were likely being used by the management as a sweetheart deal. That most of the pilots wanted balpa and had made their views clear. The IPF refused to back away from the agreement. Even though they had no support and therefore were accountable to nobody.
None of the pilots want the IPF. BALPA ran an independent survey of the 180 pilots. 121 voted for BALPA, 0 voted for the IPF. The IPF still refuse to back down.
I naively thought we lived in a democracy and that employees had a choice on who they wanted to represent them. I didn't think unions would be forced upon employees in this day and age.
The management have acted in a disgraceful manner. But we expect it from that lot. What we didn't expect was to have a union, whose members you can count on one hand in this airline, behave in such a dispicable way.
We have all made representations to Peter Jackson at the IPF but he refuses to budge from his position, one that fly's in the face of decency. I would have expected more professionalism from such an organisation.
This is not about whether you like or don't like BALPA or the IPF, everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to it. But the DHL pilots have spoken out clearly in favour of BALPA. The managemnets behaviour in ignoring us and pretending that they want to be all inclusive and listen very carefully to our veiws is laughable but par for the course. But we expected a more mature attitude from the IPF.
I would like to call for all IPF members to tear up their little certificates and cancel their direct debits until the IPF do what is right and proper.
Solidarity brothers!