One of the problems us "lowly" ATCOs on the shop floor have (well, in my opinion, anyway), is that there is no way for us to know what is happening at the "nitty gritty" level of pay (AAVA, pension, MET, redundancy etc etc) negotiations.
All we seem to get is a two paragraph wishy washy summary of the latest meeting every few weeks from the BEC, which to be honest doesn't really tell us anything important, like what stage negotiations are at, how far apart we are, what we are being asked to do/give up, or even how emotive things are acros the table between the negotiating teams.
So, it is really difficult to know what to think in regards to the pay claim.
I have already attempted to discuss the current pay claim with my local rep, but I simply get the response that the rep is not on the pay team so doesn't have any information, plus any ongoing negotiations are not for general consumption anyway.
How then am I supposed to make informed decisions without any information.
I have written a two page letter to the BEC regarding my thoughts on what I want from these pay talks, but how much difference that will make (none, I suspect), I have no idea.
Currently, the BEC is doing what it has done so well in the past, left the members uninformed, and presents them with a fate acompli (sp)