Earlier in this thread, someone asked for BALPA's key achievements. From where I sit, they are as follows:
1. Seven additional pay increments for the rest of my career (worth approx. £8k per annum).
2. Virtually a final salary pension scheme with an agreement that will never be negotiated again.
3. A relocation package which worked when it had to.
4. A basing and rostering policy which has meant I have not had to physically move despite five base changes in ten years.
5. An excellent redundancy package (two year's salary), which I hope will work if it ever has to.
6. A respectable Loss of licence insurance scheme which I hope will work, if it has to.
7. Reasonable Death in Service benefits (don't tell the missus!). How that will work I'll never know.
8. A reasonable salary and allowances.
9. A voice (all be it a very little one) in the way our division is run.
10. Other minor niff-naff and trivia like medical insurance, medical renewals, licence renewals etc.
Now all of the above is very, very local. But it was negotiated by our CC with the help of our BALPA Rep. (Thank you Jenny). Do we still have things to negotiate? Yes, you bet and we won't stop. We won't get everything we ask for and every now again we'll get the sh1tty end of the stick. But we will eventually get something and we'll all share evenly in the rewards.
As for BALPA's behaviour nationally, yes I think they should be a bit more "unpleasant" but they also have to make sure they don't piss on their member's chips. Take P2F schemes for example. They could take the safety high road and suggest that certain named airlines might be dangerous to fly with as a result. Or that there are too many aircrew sleeping in cars in airport car parks, only to find that they have "dobbed in" one of their own. But again, that comes down to us telling the chaps in the office what we want of them.
So, as has been said many times before, BALPA isn't them, it's us.
PM