Purbeck,
the 4/5% was an example (turning things totally on their head) to illustrate my point about the difficulty of asking for an equal pay rise when we are selling Ts and Cs. I know the ATSA offer inside out, and think that you are the ones being asked to give away the most.
I agree with you entirely, this should only ever have been a pay deal regarding core pay.
As soon as you start trading Ts and Cs it muddies the water.
RPI with no strings is the minimum any sections should have been offered. Had it stayed a no strings deal across the board then we should all have been offered the same.
I personally find this deal difficult to understand as there is no real value attached to each erosion of working condition. Therefore we don't really know what the core deal was for each section before the extra was added for the Ts&Cs. I find it hard to believe the core deal was the same given how much the ATSA community is being asked to give away.
This series of offers has set a bad precedent. It should only ever have been about core pay, and as such RPI minimum was deserved by all the workforce.