30% of ATCOS didn't vote, that's almost 1 in 3 - considering all they had to do was put a cross in the box and walk to a mail box, that's a very poor turnout considering the sums of money involved and the implications.

I was planning to use my pension lump sum to pay off my mortgage and for a university fund. I now have to decide which child I like best.

If a bung had indeed been offered but turned down, then havent management and the union lied to us by saying that there was nothing more available than the proposal? (and also that there was no plan b, the bung would have been it?). Surely this must be illegal??? You cant give false information in order to try and swing a vote. That webpage that got pulled looks much more suspicious too now, about how nats know how to manage the union and close pension schemes...

Barron should get sacked for this as he is chief exec and ultimately responsible for what to me appears to be fraud (if bung rumour is truth)

fuming

The bung thingy is what I heard from one well placed Union bod - how firm the offer of the bung was is open to debate - it might just have been mentioned in passing - howevere, considering the sum of £1900 was mentioned - a very specific figure - there must have been some substance to it i.e. it must have been a serious consideration

Picture says it all ........... Merry Xmas

Hopefully someone can look into this bung suggestion, but the best we'd ever get is an awkward apology, just look how the BEC handled the going against mandates issue.

Considering how much we've all just lost from our pensions (upwards of £100k personally according to the pension site - assuming I live at least 10 years after retirement), I would have been insulted if the Union had offered a mere £1900.

60% yes versus 40% no isn't overwhelming? I must have a different definition to you.

Anyway Merry Xmas one and all

BD

Hopefully the Mods won't construe this as advertising but I'd like to bring your attention to a new business venture I am setting up.

In order to supplement my pension, I have decided to set up a small stall at Swanwick, manned 24hrs by my Polish friends Szymon and Ludmila (when he is not cleaning my car or she is not attending to me).

I will be selling one product only - a product I hope will help ease the pain of the countless shaftings we, as a workforce, will receive in the future.

I will be franchising the stall to other NATS units, so if you want to jump onboard now to this once in a lifetime opportunity, just e-mail me and we will work out a contract*.

The product of choice will be



Available in extra large sizes for multiple shaftings.

Bulk buy discounts available

*Note to Airports units, it will have to be a flexible contract I'm afraid as I think this result is the death knell for NSL one way or another .

(Advertising disclaimer - there are other lubricants available)

anotherthing - Hope you have lots of stock available, there's a lot of lubrication going to be needed over the coming years.

BD,

I know you're on the wind up now, you just can't help yourself can you? Not enough that it was a YES vote, you have to continue to put the boot in.

78/22 is overwhelming, 60/40 is not...so yes, you must have a different definition.

Anotherthing, you crack me up

Based on what exactly? If all the doom merchants are right and we get very little above RPI for the next few years then it will have absolutlely no affect on you-will it?

Why would the unions take a bung over something they believe is fundamentally the right thing to do for the scheme? If they know that money is there then it makes more sense to get it as part of the 2009 pay and so everyone gets it long term, and dare I say it-pensionable.

Such a shame they don't have the nouse to pick up the phone and ask for one. It was a 3 week ballot after all-surely enoughtime for even the dimmest amongst us.

I've just officially taken my name off the AAVA list, nothing to do with pensions of course, a completely different and in no way related personal issue.

250kts - I hate to admit it, but you're right. Now this deal has gone through, the chance of ever pressuring for a good pay rise is remote, I retract completely my previous comments.

It's the very first thing I'll be doing today as well.

Closely followed by the email to the various meeting organisers and project managers withdrawing my attendance at forthcoming events which are currently on my rostered days off. Since the company wish to potentially shaft me over my pension expectations, I am not interested in a measly day off in lieu to help them out. They can organise the events to align with my shift pattern if they wish, and I will then attend.

The above are for personal reasons of course. I personally no longer wish to sell myself short

Moi? Shurely shome mishtake!
Was not I that put the boot in, was the democratic vote.

BD

Yahoo -

you are correct - it's a fairly muted and dignified response to the Yes vote. However BDiONU didn't vote as he isn't a member of any union.

Something he made very clear in one post, albeit well after he passed on his thoughts/opinions about how he thought people should vote.

Exactly. And I like to think that I'd have more class than to start celebrating wildly, in the same way that I have not abused any of the YES voters.

The votes are in, there's nothing we can do about it now, so no sense in wasting energy over it. We all have to work together, there's plenty of people I work with who voted YES, doesn't mean my relationship will change towards them.

Ok, so now we have been fattened up for a sell off by the yes voters, and the Airline group and BAA can happily sell their share when NPC goes live -11 months , I wonder which part of the company our new owners will take a very close look at and decide if they are needed?

Personally I think the Union did the right thing by not accepting, if it indeed it was offered, any inducement payment for a particular result.

I suppose it's the same in all elections, but the numbers not bothering to vote at all are disappointing.

Agreed re poor turnout numbers. For something this important, whichever way you were inclined to vote, the level of ambivalence is shocking.

Re the bung, whether the Union should have accepted it or not, do you think that they should at least have presented the option to their members?