It's going to be extremely interesting to learn the result of the forthcoming ballot, and I'm gutted it's going to take as long as a month before we get anything back.
The last two times I flew during a strike, there were a few crew members on my trips who had gone on strike in the past, lost staff travel, but decided that enough was enough and that they'd lost faith in Bassa.
So I cannot help but wonder how these people are likely to vote?!
They see no point in striking and have made that clear by coming to work.... But without a strike they will probably wave goodbye to their staff travel forever (
) If there's a no-vote for the next ballot, the company will stop considering any form of return of staff travel so everyone who has lost staff travel thus far will be voting, effectively, for it to be gone for good.
However, if they vote in favour of a strike to get staff travel back, well, Walsh has already shown that he can run the operation rather well despite the industrial action because of support from crew and other areas of the business. So the company keeps running, the strike comes to an end with lots of crew struggling to pay their bills, and staff travel remains a distant memory.
I flew with a guy on a strike-trip who said he had come to work and sent Mr. Francis an email asking for the return of his staff travel, considering his decision to return to work.
I don't know the outcome, though.
And let's just remember that, in the past, Bassa told us all that staff travel "couldn't be removed", that if it were removed it could "be got back in five seconds" and that its removal is "illegal". So why not go to court and humiliate Walsh if they're so sure?
I maintain a great deal of respect for my colleagues who have chosen to go on strike to stand up for what they believe in, but I wish they'd realise that this one is over.
There's almost bound to be another opportunity in the future to stand up against the company and many of those crew who have worked during this dispute will join the number on the picket lines; but this one is over.