It was a short lived problem, affected very few people
If you say so. Seemed like a whole summer of discontent on Airbus with stories of people being drafted off golf courses in Scotland, beaches in Nice, childcare in the Home counties, etc and one guy off his stag do! I accept that it doesn't happen at the moment; be nice to have enough work for it to be needed, eh?
I guess a question to ask is "How has IFCE conducted themselves that their employees are reluctant to trust them with such power over their lives?" My first 15 years in BA was peppered with 'gentlemens agreements' or give and take. All such working arrangements have been dishonoured/lost in the last decade and now no-one is prepared to help anyone else out. That is a sad place to have arrived at but it is why cabin crew are so obsessed with following the rules to the letter (and lets not forget that there are always
two signatorys to all of those agreements). Not right IMHO but understandable.
Could IFCE work the way Flight Crew Ops work? With respect on both sides and some give and take from both? Who knows? What I do know is that it'll take a great leap of faith for both sides to give it a try. I'm not sure anyone has the inclination; they/we like to know precisely where they stand, written in black and white, no confusion, no disappointment. Thats a difficult culture to change!
All opinions my own not that of my employer!