Why do some companies put so little importance on their labour relations?
Time to reflect on how the job & life style has changed over the past 50 years. In most of W.Europe the most flying jobs were with national government-owned national unionised flag carriers. They were the standard bearers, worldwide ambassadors and advertisers for their countries. Great pride was taken in them, by them and by their employees. It was a coveted position and very well paid. Only the well-healed experienced it.
Later came the charter/holiday carriers; the 2nd tier. The likes of Britannia, Monarch: and similar in other countries, and the 2nd tier of privately owned scheduled carriers e.g. B.Cal & BMI, and many others in the continental countries. Some survived and many others fell by the way-side or were swallowed. In all aspects it was still a respected profession, and well remunerated with the nationals at the top of the tree. There were standards in service and T's & C's which were well understood by all.
Then came privatisation and the governments sold their investments to public shareholders. Now profit was the only parameter. Lo & behold it was discovered that this was a vocational industry; people would kill their grandmothers for a step on the ladder, and pay to do it. The profiteers couldn't believe their luck and the cancer started. Also, the market was deregulated and anyone could start up an airline flying from anywhere in EU to anywhere in EU. Cut price was the answer. The supermarkets had done it and some had won; McDonalds had done it etc. etc. LoCo's were born and the pax lapped it up. The expansion of EU into poorer countries helped very much, with traffic going both ways. Holiday models changed, from 2 weeks x 2 if you were lucky, into more short breaks and spontaneous trips. Perfect for LoCo's. The majors suffered and had to respond. They saw that crews would accept lower T's & C's in the 2nd tier companies and so they embarked on following suit. Unions tried to stem the slide, with some modicum of success, but the journey is not yet anywhere near over.
Predicting the future is always difficult, but anticipating where this profession will be in 20 years time needs more than a crystal ball. One thing is certain, the share-holders will call the shots. The pax might not like it, but they will vote with either their feet or their wallets. Personnel in all departments will suffer, but it will be the 'vocational' ones who will suffer most.
Given the world economic climate there will always be more people seeking employment than vacancies available. Thus employers can cherry pick at will. The queue will always be longer than empty places. Job seekers will be on eternal SBY waiting for the call.
The market has decided and T's & C's fell. The market may also decide if there is a shortage of crews & engineers. This has been talked about ever since I joined, (and have since finished). It hasn't happened yet. Some are still crying "wolf" and we await the first bite.