I would suggest that a visit from Manning is very much a case of closing the stable door....
As to what they (Manning) will, or more likely can, do. It will depend whether loss of manpower is widespread, or confined to certain pinch point trades (e.g. in this case pilots).
Any measures to address a widespread loss of manpower are likely to be very costly to implement, and therefore not likely to get past the Treasury, and will take a long time to have any real effect.
By contrast, addressing losses in certain specific trades is much easier and cheaper. The two standard methods of carrot and stick will be adopted. The carrot, perhaps an increase in the size of the FRI to £150,000 or maybe even £200,000. The stick, an increase in PVR times to say 18 months, and longer return of service timescales.
Last edited by Biggus; 23rd Jul 2011 at 18:38.