This has not just happened. For the last couple of years we have been losing Engineers to LHR.
Last year people who were to be posted were called in to see Management. The conversation went roughly thus:
Manager:" You are on the list to be posted to LHR. There are positions available in areas A,B & C. If you volunteer we can get you into your preferred area. Where would you like to volunteer to work?"
Engineer:" I would prefer to work in area A"
Manager:" So you are volunteering to transfer to area A?"
Then the management can state that they are not forcing people to move but have lots of happy chappies and everything id hunky dory!
This year the incentive to volunteer is to go on a 4/4 shift - but as the line is due to last only 9 months and they can swap your shift at 7 days notice it's not worth diddley squat.
The main problem is that they are running out of people who want to move. We are in the situation where people being moved are going to have to drive past Gatwick every day to get to LHR. If you saw the story in BA news recently you will see that the people displaced by the closure of BAVS at LGW were offered options. We are back in the situation that the short haul crews found themselves in after the takeover of Dan Air in the Dan Brewin days. In other words a return of the FIFO mentality.
Some Engineers want to leave but it is not the story that they have found another job they want to go to but may have to look for something which will pay less just to get a job. That is why we are asking for the Severence packages which are not on offer to Engineers. Engineering management state that the problem isn't an overall shortage of skilled Engineers due to not training anybody over the last 6 years. They tell you that we have 20 on the PEP programme (the modern day apprenticeship) and hundreds of other young people on training! The PEPs exist (20 where will that get us?) but the others? Who knows who they are. where they are or even what they are training for.
The problem isn't the way that Engineering are being treated. the problem is hoe Engineering are treating their Engineers, a very sublte but very important distinction to make.