@ 16024,
Both. A union is in this case the nicest one of the nasty. In a job before I was flying for Ryanair we had a union and I needed them when the fleet I was on was phased out of the company. But as I was initially an individual case the union didnt help me at all and although what I was offered was totally wrong the union even said I should agree on what this company offered me. With holding my ground and bringing forward good arguments I had a strong case and I achieved more at the end than what I would have gotten when I would have listened to the union. And it was good for a large group of people that later got in the same situation.
My opinion is that a union is good for a group, not so much for an individual. But thats how I see it through my experiences. Ofcourse people can disagree.
Besides this, a union can potentially endanger or even destroy a company by making it slow to react to circumstances. A union doesnt always necessarily have to be a good thing. But in the case with Ryanair, it most certainly is, especially if you look at what the alternative is; Ryanair management deciding for you! And when I was in Ryanair it wasnt as bad as it is now. I have never seen things get any better in Ryanair and it wont change and they will drag the whole industry down with them unless the management are brought to a halt. And thats where the union comes in. There is no other way.
I can tell you Ryanair pilots work hard enough to deserve some respect from their management and get treated better than they are now.
And on topic; so it is already getting clear that the promised UK base with Storm is not as solid as pretended? My my, what a surprise. ;-)
Regards.