I dont know about the engineers.. but as far as PCS are concerned, acceptance was recommended on the basis that there was no more money available and the offer was the best one could hope for under the circumstances. It was also made clear (BEFORE the vote) that if it suddenly turned out that there *was* more money on the table.. (i.e. the ATCO's alone got an improved pay offer) then the pcs vote would be set aside.
I think that was a perfectly fair stance to take.
Why should a (already more highly paid) section of staff get a bigger PERCENTAGE rise than the rest? I've still not seen a satisfactory answer to that one. The increase in cost of living is pretty much the same for all of us.
BB