Bus429LHR
That's all very well & good & I'm glad all the BA guys are happy with BALPA.
However, in the real world, things are a lot tougher & BALPA does a lot less for the rest of us & as you can see, the 'Malcontents' camp are generally not happy with BALPA & are larger in number than the contented.
Would BALPA be more effective & more accountable if:
BALPA members in a company decided whether or not to have CC's? Or individual Rep's reporting directly to BALPA?
Would it be better for BALPA to directly employ Rep's & place them with airlines that recognise BALPA? They don't have to be Line Pilots, just negotiators trained & familiar with the role, pressures & demands of Pilot's in the workplace.
If they decide to retain CC's, should those CC's consist of Line Pilots if some may abuse the position by posturing for management jobs? Should BALPA CC Reps' be made powerful enough to by-pass Fleet Level, Chief Pilot & DFO ranks & report or negotiate with the Chief Exec. or Board directly similar to the Flight Safety chain within an airline?
Should airline reps' be based at BALPA HQ & not be employed by the airline so aggrieved BALPA members can go straight to BALPA.
The whole system in its present shape is ineffective, corrupt, gutless, toothless & it stinks & it is only exacerbating the de-valuation of the role of Pilot's today.
During my years in aviation, a trainer whom I greatly admire was on a CRM course when some of the managers from departments all across the airline came in & 'BIG'ed up their own importance in running the airline & spewed forth how the airline needed EVERY person in EVERY department.
This trainer friend of mine then said to them something along the lines of,
"Well we'll have a little experiment shall we? All you management people in your 'backroom' departments take a week off, go home & spend some time off & just let the Pilots, Cabin Crew, Engineers & Op's staff run the airline for a week. Sure, for the first few days might be interesting but we'd keep it going. After the week, we'd let all the minions & managers back in & send home all the Pilots, Cabin Crew, Engineers & Ops staff for their week at home & then see how long the airline could operate for. Now exactly WHO does RUN the airline??!!!"
Personally, I think we have to take back the high ground here. I think it's time for an Airline Industry Specific union encompassing Pilot's, Cabin Crew, Engineers & Operations staff across the industry with a CC in each airline made up of reps from each discipline instead of a Pilot's Union, a Cabin Crew Union etc.
I couldn't give tosh if another Captain in a similar airline, flying a similar type from the same base on similar routes is earning X pounds more than me, or gets more time off or a better pension- those debates are for later. Right now, all I want is union protection from industry wide, rapidly erroding employment terms & conditions, and in my experience & opinion BALPA DOES NOT DELIVER. It's time for something new.
