MBTLover
A good post, congratulations. If I may just debate one part:
There are also many points i agree with BUT and this is a BIG BUT, i do not agree with imposition. Impostion is the start of a very dangerous path. Once this has been imposed, what next......NEWFLEET?????
If you were the company haemoraging money by the day, and establish a generous timetable of several months for discussions about the solution with the Trade Unions, one of which who acts petulantly, refuses to turn up, refuses to be given presentations, refuses to sit in the same room as other TU colleagues, walks out early from talks, refuses to look at the accounts etc what would you do as a responsible company leadership?
The financial environment is not improving and there is no indication that that TU would seriously return to the table and hold meaningful discussions anyway. So, several months after the deadline and after no progress is made in the Big Brother house with ACAS and many £10's of millions more have been lost, what are the company to do?
I think that they had little option but imposition; I guess that they could have followed through with the 2000 CR's and invoked SOSR, but no, they have been very patient with BASSA/Unite and have imposed a first stage solution that involves minimal changes to the individual CC member.
As to NewFleet, I suspect that unless BASSA call off the ballot and return seriously to the negotiating table that they will find out that they have no say in the matter, and that by continuing down the path to IA that they merely seal their own destiny and hasten the introduction of NF.
As has been said many times before, it need not have been like this, if only BASSA had stepped up to the plate as a responsible player and partner in the company's future.