Interesting how things develop. When I first metioned on here that this was a union-busting operation, there was Rainboe et all brandishing their BALPA credentials like winning lottery tickets before the assembled throng. How could such a ridiculous claim be made by an orange dork who had hijacked this otherwise very-pleasant Astraeus love-in? After all, it really is about the merits of taking 5 bob a week in troubled times is it not? And yet, here we find the self-same, BALPA-loving member of 38 years standing now coming out in all his true glory -
You really ought to move on. You lost it, just like the US Air Traffic Controllers. They moved on, you didn't. Try and grow up. We live in the real world, one where jobs migrate if the costs aren't right. You can huff and you can puff about it, but it is happening everywhere now. Unless you are a banker or a 'business leader', you are very much constrained in what your cost/productivity is, and no union now is going to be strong enough to bully businesses into keeping jobs rather than exporting them to a lower cost base, no matter how loud they shout, or how many rude expletives they use! You are burying your heads in the sand, refusing to face facts. The facts are out there happening. We should be grateful the jobs are staying in the British Isles.
The particularly entertaining aspect of this view is that dear old Rainboe enjoyed a fantastic career at BA (soon to be TopCo or something similar I hear), bought and paid for by BALPA. He now lives off a pension that is significantly greater than most current airline salaries - all won for him by BALPA. A set of statements like the ones above would have given a younger Rainboe a heart attack. Alas, time moves on and now there is some pocket money to be earnt at the expense of the jobs of numerous pilot colleagues in Ireland, it turns out that BALPA, IFALPA, IALPA etc, etc are all yesterday's news. Unless of course you run into a snag at Astraeus. In that case there would be no one quicker to get on the blower to BALPA HQ, tears running down your cheeks begging their intervention to a dear old soul who has given 38 years loyal service to this wonderful organisation. All very touching.
To an extent you are right about market forces. Where you are wrong is where the real market forces lie. They lie with people like yourself who, without hesitation or embarrassment, would leave your best mate in the street with nothing if that is what it took. You and your fellow travellers are the ones who control what is happening in the market and not airline management. Due to BALPA's previous successes, you are in the blessed position of being able to only look after Number One. Maybe one day over a glass of very expensive red wine you should sit back and reflect on some of your posts here and wonder if there is any merit in thinking about someone else. In your embarrassing attempts to defend the indefensible you cut a sad figure.
I am heartened that slowly but surely a number of Irish pilots are starting to engage with this discussion - as the true colours of many participants are shown. I am also delighted this discussion has turned in the direction it has because it highlights a particularly pernicious and dangerous situation for our industry.