I have seen the 'offer' from CTC and it is a disgrace. At this stage I will not be publishing the details in view of the clear sensitivities of everyone involved. There are, however, two particular aspects to the offer that alarm me. The first is the threatening tone of the letter which demands a conspiracy of silence. CTC are understandably concerned about bad publicity and a crass attempt at getting everyone to sign quietly and shut up is mercifully backfiring. The second aspect is that the deal on offer is a 3-year one with no guarantees whatsover at the end. That was something never envisaged by anyone when contract pilots were thought of and should be resisted by everyone concerned. There are a few platitudes about being 'well-placed' to pick up any permanent jobs on offer, but that is not worth the paper it is written on in terms of a contract. This is a rock-bottom offer from a rock-bottom organisation, who without awkwardness or embarrassment are royally stuffing their own people.
ARL are a newly-formed company run 100% by CTC to manage this situation and are there merely to emulate Brookfield at Ryanair. To me this is the end of the road and needs to be opposed at every point. My position is very clear. The only pilots flying easyJet aircraft should be easyJet employees. That leaves space for every single guy currently employed under the CTC flexicrew arrangement to have a job with us. We can then go on to discuss contracts, flexible working etc in a reasonable and constructive manner. This 3-year contract is simply a way of circumventing the involvement of BALPA and is clearly grounds for major industrial strife. I trust that any easyJet pilot on a permanent contract can sense the clear and imminent danger to us all. This is absolutely not a time for burying our heads in the sand but for offering our total and unequivical support to BALPA as we seek to bring all these jobs back in-house. I can see grounds for all sorts of different contracts as long as there is a clear way up the ladder for everyone, regardles of the deal they are on. This has become my number one issue with terms and conditions at easyJet and it should be the source of massive concern for every single one of us. This is simply a management flanking action that we must oppose. In the meantime I am delighted to see some steady heads among the CTC guys who are acting as one against CTC and easyJet. Whether it be ATP, OAA, CTC, Parc or whatever else there is out there, the whole lot must be forced under the direct employment of easyJet. Orange airplanes flown by easyJet pilots under the watchful eye of BALPA has to be our aim. We are far from achieving, that but the battle must now begin to achieve this entirely reasonable aim. Anything less will breed longterm catastrophe.