I am not in the industry, I tried to get on the first rung of the ladder and when I eventually managed it I realised my life had moved on whilst the industry had gone down the swanny.
I work for an organisation where we are not allowed by law to strike. Any major spats are normally with the government of the day and yet we are protected by a strong Federation. Our T&C's have been attacked on a regular basis and yet we have always seen off the worst threats by using the public opinion of the day, the media, and a strong presence at conference and any rallies. Why hasn't Balpa and its pilot members managed this with the right to strike?
Pilots have been spoilt into a state of apathy and only have themselves to blame. There have been several posts where people have been told to change things from inside. Great sentiments but you have to rely on the membership to elect you to a position where you can make a change. That means ousting the incumbent who has probably got very comfortable in looking after his/her own interests. The other issue is that pilots rarely work with the same crew on a regular basis. Therefore each pilot only has himself to think about and doesn't really get the idea of being in a team over a long period of time. Stopping crews working together regularly might have prevented some incidents but it has also helped the airlines to divide and conquer it's pilot workforce!
I believe that it is wrong for two people doing the same job to be employed on vastly differing contracts. I believe it is wrong for people to have to pay for the chance (not right) to get some experience on a flight deck.
Balpa must do more to bring these issues to the forefront of people's minds rather than sitting idly by. Everyone that I talk to thinks all pilots earn £100k and can't believe the reality of pilot pay.
Why aren't Balpa at the flight training seminars where Oxford and CTC trap their next victims? They could help protect so many people outside the industry by warning them of the risks before they spend their money. I know some people will say that this is helping people who are not paying members of Balpa but if you cut off the flow of fresh blood to the cancer of P2F you will start protecting your T&C's as people will be less inclinded to enter into such folly.