Radar707,
Your right, you are in a very good place for negotiating a great deal. Unfortunately some PCS members - union incompetence/ATSA lethargy aside - are not in such a good place.
You are also correct that it is management, not the prospect team, that have brought the MET/AAVA issue to the table.
As the fundamental principle of trade unionism is to protect members jobs, pay and working conditions, I am appalled that the PCS leadership have, with NO consultation with its members, taken a stance which not only dilutes the ATSA responsibilities (working conditions) but also places in jeopardy the positions of a large number of ATSA's (jobs). That's 2 of the fundamental principles it's meant to protect. The other (pay) has already been eroded through previous pay negotiations, the pension debacle and badly negotiated working practice/roster agreements.
Now, it's not the fault of Prospect or the ATCO's that we have a bunch of slack backed, working together lackies at PCS central level and a bunch of fat, dumb and happy ATSA's, who have only just woken to the fact that Damocles is about to drop his hardware on them.
However, there is something that Prospect can do if it values its TU roots and the principle of not negotiating for benefits based on taking on a colleagues duties (contingency or otherwise). Refuse point blank to discuss MET in any form. That gives those ATSA's who have only recently woken up the opportunity to give PCS a reality check about what their responsibilities to its members are.
Or, we can do nothing, the ATSA grade gets even closer to extinction, and the only silver lining is that a better pay/AAVA agreement came about, due possibly, to some skillful negotiating using MET as leverage.
Even at this late stage, I think the PCS members can make a difference to the outcome, but only if they act immediately. Prospect members could also help, but with important pay and AAVA deals imminent, are they willing to?