Now don't get me wrong i am ambivalent on this BALPA thing, however there does seem to be a suggestion that as long as you have BALPA then your Terms and Conditions are protected and guaranteed and will not to be taken away over the coming years. Is that true ? As that seems to be what the BALPA team are suggesting ? This is surely a misrepresentation of the truth as all they can ever do is ATTEMPT to maintain your terms and conditions. It takes two to dance and therefore requires a willingness on management side to listen to the negotiating team be they BALPA or the CC. Now the implication i think from previous posts is that BALPA WILL protect your terms and conditions and i am really at a loss to understand how this is guaranteed especially in the current market place. If i have misunderstood this please correct me, if BALPA are not guaranteeing it then they need to say so, as i say i stand on the fence at the moment and the full facts should be stated. Clear facts not promises that cannot be kept, if BALPA can offer something then we need clear facts, clear offers, clear objectives as we are being asked to invest our salary in joining this organisation, personally i would like to see the small print not the big head lines ie "WE will save your T's and Cs" as thats emotive stuff, hard facts will sway this argument.
Now don't jump all over me as a BALPA basher, i have been a member in the past and have seen some of the good work BALPA have done but have also watched as they have been unable to save colleagues in other airlines as they "go to the wall" or have terms and conditions reduced.
I also have one more question for those in the BALPA know as personally its a bit of a deal breaker in my view. Did the chairman of BALPA take a pay rise this year and did any of the senior BALPA staff ? Yes i expect abuse from that question but i would like to know the answer and its an honest question. No i am not a member of management just someone who wants the facts (not emotive chanting) laid before them before they make a decision. I look forward to the feedback from my colleagues more in the "know" than me..