One of the things they have done really well recently is fight a really good campaign against HM Government's ID Cards scheme. It was very well thought through - and successful.
Do you honestly think that BALPA changed government policy and stopped ID cards, or the fact that the government couldnt spend
10 billion of your UK Tax pounds on a project that the majority was opposed to and was turning into a
PR millstone for New Labour?
The NHS National Programme for IT, which previously billed as '
essential' is set to be binned as it is now considered '
non-essential' after the taxpayer has forked out
4 billion of your UK Tax pounds with cancellation defaults to the tune of
600 million of your UK Tax Pounds.
Yes BALPA fought an expensive fight, but did they win it ?
Was that money well spent on protecting British Ailine Pilots' T&C's ? No matter what BALPA or it's members view on the subject was the governement would have pushed it through if they could have afforded it.
Do you honestly think that BALPA representing UK Pilots stopped a key point of political policy intended to cover the nation ?
The government put the country into armed conflict in an overseas territory and committed its armed forced on B/S
PR. ID cards...
pfft !
Also, the ID card scheme maybe out of the public eye, but it's not dead. have a read here
No2ID .....
So next time you winge 'what has BALPA done for me', perhaps the response should be, what have you done to make BALPA stronger?
oh come off it.
Pilots pay a percentage of their salary for BALPA to represent their *best* interests..
BALPA are PAID by their MEMBERS for REPRESENTATION of their MEMBERS. End of.