I'll say it again slowly
Workerant you still miss the point so I will repost it.
REPOST:
Little Friend I am afraid I disagree with you on your last statement
The answer is not to go somewhere else because it won'tbe any better there, the answer my friend is that these jobs are OUR jobs and we have a right to them and a fair go. Putting your tail between your legs and sloping off to Ryan Air or somewhere else only empowers those who will screw you and you family for the sake of an extra ppenny in their pockets.
END REPOST
What this is saying is that it doesn't matter where you go it will be the same. The managers at Ryan Air won't be any different, nor are they any different anywhere in the world bar SW. Our pay packets and T&C are the result of much hard work and angst by and for pilots in years before. We have squandered those benefits through complacency and under the 'benevolent hand' of the 'faceless suits' who regard you as an expense item the cost of which is to be absolutely minimised, with their 'gotta get leaner' crap while they stuff their snouts in the trough. Do you really undertsand that easyJet managment have given themselves the equivalent of a BRAND NEW HOUSE ABSOLUTEY FREE. So if you want to ever improve your position then YOU are the only one who will do it, they are well ahead of you. You put easyJet where it is today, you have a right to a fair share of the spoils yet you are struggling to get a payrise that meets inflation!
So stop the whinging and get onto BALPA and the PC. Tell them what you want in no uncertain terms.. or is it that you don't really know what you want? Is that the problem? Then have a jolly good think about it, discuss it with your colleagues, write it down and then say clearly to your reps what your demands are. They will pass this to BALPA and then THEY provide the means both legal and representational to achieve our goals under the direction of the PC. The PC gives direction to BALPA but it is BALPAs job to get what we want. They have highly trained people and negotiators and should be dealing at an executive level with easyJet, not mere go betweens without any authority.
Make no bones about it, BALPA is a servcie we all pay for and we are not getting it. An eJ Captain is paying BALPA in the region of 600quid a year so at the moment we are being ripped off by both easyJet and BALPA. Question is what are you going to do about it? Leave BALPA and then just get screwed by easyJet or perhaps leave both and get screwed by Ryan Air or BMI or someone else? Not much improvement in that is there.. or do you do what you know you should, stay put and demand some value for your money and your skills from both of them!
As so called professionals you know we are laughed at by Doctors, Lawyers, Judges and the like. They are all solid members of their professional associations. They pay them considerable amounts of money to negotiate and improve their T&C. They don't hesitate to scream blue murder and place companies and the public at great inconvenience to get what they want, yet they are well paid and respected professions.. why aren't we amongst them?
BALPAs role is nevertheless the same, to protect striking workers, provide assistance and representation in case of accident or unfortunate happening, negotiate pay deals and other important issues such as ROSTERING, rest and relaxtion times, cooperate with other Pilot Bodies having input to legislation and the future of our industry etc etc etc. These are all the things we pay for, ask yourself are we getting them and if not why not.
While we are contemplating our navels in this inward looking moment also ask yourself why drivers of HGVs cannot drive longer than 8 hours without an hour away from the controls for a meal and a break and yet as pilots of large flying bombs we regularly work longer than 12 hour duty periods with no coffee/cigarette, rest or meal breaks. Hell you can't even get out of your seat to go for a walk outside in the fresh air to wake up a bit! Add that to 60hr a week rosters that take you in out and out wild variations of sleep cycle and regular rest periods and you understand why we are sleeping at the controls. Hopefully in turns.
We are called short haul pilots yet an ATH at about 7.5 hours stick time and an ELEVEN HOUR DUTY DAY is about the same as most 2 pilot long haul operators. On a 12 or 14 hour 'heavy crewed' flight (all in a single sector) most crew get 5-6 hours sleep! And yet we at easyJet do this day in day out.. a 'long haul' crew will do a single sector and then have 24hrs off. We will do a 4 sector day or night, get minimum rest and then get up to do it again! I don't give a tinkers cuss if it is legal or not and nor should you. Look at what is safe and whats more what is reasonable!
Do you really think your arousal level, attention span and flying skill is up to the level expected, nay demanded, of us by the time we get to the end of a killer day? Try 2 or 3 consecutive Luton-Athens-Luton starting work at 2200 local and not finishing work until after 0900 local next day. Or how about an Luton-Aberdeen-Luton-Nice-Luton after 3 early starts getting up around 0400 or earlier and then followed by night Palma or Malaga for a couple of days! We regularly do 4 sectors in a day, more than most long haul pilots do in a week or two!
What do the public think of this? Doctors tell us that after 8 hours fo duty our levels are about the same as if you have just had a pint. Does the public know this, both those in the aeroplane and those under where we fly? Would they be happy that the pair at the front about to land in crap weather and having made fuel and other critical decisions are so tired all the want to do is get into bed and sleep for a week?
So I say to you again, it is up to you. Each and every one of you. Take a good hard look at yourself, your life at home and at work as it is and what it should be as respected professionals and members of society.
Stand up for what is right, you don't need to lead the charge over the top, just start asserting your right to a fair and reasonable working life. Join BALPA and support your PC, watch them like a hawk, speak up and give them direction when needed. Be reasonable in your demands but don't accept less than what is reasonable and don't accept the tosh that you will be fed my eayJet management with a barrow to push, it is their own and it is hard to push because it is FULL OF MONEY! .