Thanks brassplate.
I think that the FTOC was a noble and well-intentioned move by the former VP Flight Ops (CC) shortly after he arrived. Unfortunately, it was somewhat still-born with only half-hearted commitment by the Company.
I feel it is unfair to hold the volunteer members of the FTOC responsible for these situations. Let me emphasize, they are volunteers. The guys who I know have their heart in the right place and were willing to step up and have their names put on the ballot. Unfortunately, their influence is limited by the goodwill of the Company and from my past conversations with a few of them, meetings with the Company are largely agendas of the Company wanting to talk about its concerns and get their ideas on how to get the rest of the pilots to buy into it, or a discussion with the scope being limited to "how to save money" for the Company.
The real culprit, as I see it, is a failure of the finer art of organization throughout the spectrum of the Gulf Air organization:
1) Top Management has been unable to paint a clear picture and get buy-in on the strategy from it's employees;
2) Middle Management has been unable to communicate effectively, deal with the staff it is charged with as professionals or anything more than pawns on a chess board, and organize the march ahead without creating significant morale issues and creating a surge in resignations;
3) GATU is unable to organize much more than a weekend desert picnic, if that; and
4) Despite unions being legal in Bahrain, pilots, mechanics, flight attendants or any other specialized group is unwilling or unable to organize themselves.
Not exactly anarchy; I am sure that there is some word to describe this type of malaise but I am not sure what it is. In any case, all parties got out of it what they put into it.
My hope is that the situation will approve in the months ahead but, even if it does, it begs the question of how we got ourselves into this mess in the first place.