pithblot Just because Cobham advertise on the AFAP webpage, and have other agreements with the AFAP does not entitle the AFAP a seat at a Greenfields negotiation, and by Greenfields I mean a brand new EBA with no one currently employed under it. The AFAP can only go into bat for their pilots, at this stage there are no pilots, so it makes it a bit difficult to represent them.
Pilots represent only two out of five Aircrew, just 40% of the workforce, so in a ballot they are unlikely to get the numbers required to force AFAP representation.
When an EBA comes up for renegotiation, all affected parties are asked who they would like to represent them. All the AFAP needs is one pilot to ask to be represented by the AFAP and they can become party to the agreement.
What, however, will be interesting to see is how this works out with the non-pilot side of the negotiation. The AFAP are not allowed to represent non-pilots, so this EBA would always need a TWU or equivalent Union to be involved. It places everyone in a difficult position whereby the terms of employment for one group can be altered by another group who are not affected by them (e.g. an observer gets to vote on how much a Captain makes).