Having spent the last 7 out of 8 days away from home (that means a 3 day-away trip, 1 day off, immediately followed by a 4 day-away trip) under the rostering system of a company that was NON-unionised iniatially, but now has a union set up to represent the pilots - out of sheer desperation, simply becasue the company previously refused to acknowledgs individual pilot's "gripes" - I would like to make a few points.
Firstly, why would any company that intended treating their employees fairly, fear a union?
After all, "The Company" never acts through one individual alone - unless he has been "prepped" by other company staff...a union.
Talk to your company's paymaster - is HE authorised to give you a salary adjustment of his own volition? Of course not - the decision comes "from above" - the "above" being a union of management staff, who represent the interests of the rank and file company owners.
In the same way, a union of the workers speaks through one mouthpiece to the company, rather than a rabble, shouting at different times, and with difering demands.
This SAVES the company a tremendous amount of time, by dealing with only ONE voice, and thereby needing only one company representative to deal with a multitude of employees.
Imagine having NO union, and EACH employee then INDIVIDUALLY demanding time with various company representaives to hear their grievances eg. twenty pilots a day taking up the time of 20 office staff, merely to hear the SAME or similar complaint!
And so now to my old friend - that sheep in wolf's clothing,
shorty's reply to the Australian pilots' dispute. Here was his reply":
"Kaptin M. Your grasp of logic is a bit confusing. So now the union which represented pilots from many companies all over Australia represents the members of one company basically in one city. And the vast majority of aviators caught up in the dispute, involving, as is the case here, part time inept union management on one side and full time company management on t'other, have to work overseas or outside avaiation. You say they won? All the rich folk behind the scenes are smiling still and their lawyers and accountants are smiling and the wives and children and children's children of the brave but so naive pilots involved are still scarred. Remember how many took their own lives? The horror of being unemployed with no immediate chance of employment and bills to pay and food to buy and homes to lose fortunes on is beyond shocking. Look at the bigger picture, save the union, there will be winnable battles later when you will get all you are asking for now and more. If you must consider the antipodean situation look what happened to salaries after the dispute was over."
MY grasp of logic is confusing..
Let's look at
shortly's "logic":-
Company: " We've gotta get rid of this bloody pilots's union. Tell 'em we REFUSE to talk with them!! It doesn't matter what it costs, we'll bust 'em."
Pilots' reps " Look the grievances we've got here are GENUINE, but if you think they're less than reasonable, let's discuss it."
Company "Nah, 4u)k you !
. If any of the pilots have got a problem, he can come on his own and talk to the Managing Director!"
Pilots' rep "Well actually it's most of the pilots, and trying to single out one or two guys is pretty intimidating - so why don't we discuss this maturely, on a non-individualist basis - much the same way as you are doing when you represent "The Company."
Company "Nah - if any pilot's got a problem, I'll deal with him individually."
So the impasse continues..........................
All the rich folk behind the scenes are smiling still and their lawyers and accountants are smiling.
Rather than negotiate with the pilots' elected representative body, the
FOUR companies BLINDLY adhere to the
"Union = bad" principle and end up sending their ENTIRE COMPANY
down the gurgler.
And so,
shortly, you tell me that this is a
VICTORY?
The companies ALL succumb - taking "management" and associated workers with them, whilst the union - in this case the AFAP - survived to fight another day!
Which lecture in my Accountancy and Economics course was this espoused as being an accepted waste reduction principle??????
Not even the most adept IR advisor would wilfully allow a dispute to progress to the point where the Company is sacrificed.
Take on a union....expend the war chest, and then some more....dissolve the company....lose your (and countless other mignons') positions.....the union continues.....but call it a WIN!
We certainly DO have a chasm of difference in our grasp of logic,
shortly.!!
Think it over CX pilots.
YOU have something to SELL to the company - your PROFESSIONALISM, EXPERTISE, and KNOWLEDGE, and CX was willing to pay the price you asked in terms of salary and work conditions.
"
Don't bite the hand that feeds you!" I would say that is PRECISELY what CX "management" is guilty of doing!