useless Balpa
 

I have been with easyJet for many years & feel we're at a turning point along with many other airlines facing EASA regulations & the squeezing of terms & conditions.

The Balpa CC have done their usual . They're in dispute with the company but keeping the workforce in the dark .

If they allow the company to change our terms as I understand it , the company are pushing to change our 5/4/5/3 roster pattern to facilitate a more efficient utilisation of crew hours now opened up by the regulators FTL changes ( efficient for the company I stress!) , our job will change for good!

I am a Balpa member & have contacted the CC Chairman on two occasions without response . The general correspondence I do receive from the CC is bereft of any information or directive unless you are worried about which sandwiches are going to be available in the future.

As with other airlines I have worked for , Balpa's blinkered inaction has allowed a gradual deterioration to our job.

We should not let this happen & was hoping more people could push the CC , not just at easyJet but at all airlines to turn around this race to the bottom .

Maybe we could all contact our representatives directly & demand action & not put up with the usual 'it's commercially sensitive' comments from our brown envelope accepting 'representatives' before it's too late.

Surely your CC should be in contact, via BALPA head office, to discuss what other CC's are doing about combating the decline you mention. As it is industry-wide should the response from the sharp end coal face diggers not also be industry wide? Trying to go it alone will be useless because the company will claim they "have to competitive." If everyone is on a level playing field due to a united BALPA response..........
'United you stand divided you fall'. and therein lies the rub. Whenever has the industry been united? If a further decline in T's & C's and a further reduction in lifestyle and quality of life is not enough to galvanise the troops then nothing will. However, as always, it needs leadership. You pays your money you gets your choice; but do you. Are you really getting what you pay for? You decide; all of 100's of you.

Balpa are a disgrace and have allowed untold scandals to occur to the pilot community in the UK over the last 10 years. 30k for a type rating? 50% pay during training? Dwindling Ts + Cs, part time contracts, contractors receiving more money and bonuses ahead of full time staff etc etc. But the problem is..... we are all Balpa, and as such, we are a disgrace. Look at Balpa's recent cave in against Flybe management for example, all allowed by selfish pilots who don't have the intelligence or self respect to look after their own futures. Yet like you said they are quick to email about what next years crew food portfolio might contain... (I'm gonna guess some form of sandwich)

Balpa are simply a reflection of their members: weak

Any CC is made up of those who are willing to stand up and represent their colleagues. Anyone can stand for CC elections and they are held every year. If the end result is a collection of people of more senior background round then either they are the only ones standing or they have previously gained the respect of their colleagues (or both). I believe the case in easyJet to be both.
If an individual on the CC has failed to respond to emails there's probably a good reason for it but in any case it can be easily rectified by using the CC group email address or go to the National Officer.
If you really want the answers to legitimate questions then get involved in (or start) debates on the BALPA forums.
It's pretty crass to create a new pprune ID just so you can accuse somebody of taking backhanders. If you really think this sort of thing goes on in Balpa circles then you have an awful lot to learn. For the record I'm not on the easyJet CC either but they deserve better than this :*

BALPA is a s weak as we allow them to be. They are us, and if not us then it's not their concern to look after non members. If we cannot look after ourselves then shame on us. Blame BALPA and you blame yourselves, either for being a weak member that doesn't back them or someone who is not a member expecting them to worry about your terms and conditions for free. Either way its on us.

Your criticism should not be of BALPA but instead if your CC. Your Union is you and your colleagues. It utilises the support structures paid for by all of us. So, rather than winge at us, put yourself forwards and stand for your next CC elections. Then, when you are elected show us the way forwards - show us the route to take so we can start rising to the top again.

Thanks.

PM

BALPA needs to address its pricing and its relevance. I read the LOG on the flight deck and I can say that none of the articles were of interest. I am 40 to 50 and lord knows what the new generation of pilots think of it if I find it turgid.

P.S Not a member

I agree that The Log is a waste of space. But that's not why I joined. I wanted representation in my company and I wanted a voice. The price of that voice - training for your CC members, legal advice & opinion, ballot support, negotiator etc, is a measly one percent and 2/3rd of that is allowable against tax. Yes you can get cheaper, but not better value for money. But what is amazing is that when things get "interesting" is how many non-members ask what's happening. Bloody cheek. They can do their own negotiating.

While it's not true for every company, I believe my own CC have negotiated the best terms that has been possible over the last fifteen years or so. I'll also be well and truly in profit for the rest of my life for the deals that have won and for the first time in many years we have some certainty with regards to our future.

Lastly, what I would really good to hear what the really hard, tough guys like Superpilot and CGW would do to change the world. However, I suspect they are more shouty passengers types than the pilots or leaders. And if they are not members, who cares? The only voice they get is here on pprune and whilst it's good for a laugh, it won't contribute to their pension.

PM

"On the ropes" (aka Lawro etc):

I have it on good authority that when you send your mad rants to the CC about them taking backhanders from the company, that you do so anonymously with a fake name and a temporary, disposable email address. Not really surprising that you don't get a second thought, let alone a reply.

"On the ropes" (aka Lawro etc):

So the CC haven't responded to your emails. There are probably several good reasons for this which presumably haven't occurred to you. Nevertheless, there are other methods of contact, such as, you know, the phone - all CC members have their numbers at the bottom of every newsletter, as does the National Officer. One also wonders why you've written this on the non-easyJet forum, or has the moderator become bored of you? :ugh:


To those of you who think The Log is a 'waste of space', you are of course entitled to your opinion. It's under new management now, however, so why don't you write to/email BALPA with your suggestions for new content?

Whilst nothing is perfect, I believe that the current CC is the best we've had. The guys put in an awful lot of time and effort doing the best they can. BALPA is the only game in town and we'd undoubtedly be much worse off without them.

Scandalous they haven't done more to stop paying for ratings/reduced terms for new entrants. Can't think of any other profession that would just shrug the shoulders and blame market forces. Just look at the uproar over junior doctor contracts or the monthly fight RMT have with TFL. Lads need to strap on a pair and stand up for their profession.

Sadly I don't think there's any point comparing BALPA with the likes of the docs or RMT, and saying we should just "man up'

As I understand things in the UK the medics have major control over the supply of chain - via the Colleges, to a single organisation ( the NHS)something BALPA doesn't have, and The RMT has the monopoly on the supply of labour to the London Underground. in both cases the IR situation is very different to ours where we have a range of pilot groups with their own industrial agreements with a multitude of companies.

FWIW I agree that the OPs gripe should be be with his/her CC, not the Union;) as a whole.

I am amazed how chronically ill-informed some supposed pilots are about what a TU is and how it works. (I would have said stupid, but that would get me equally stupid responses).

A TU is, and can only be, a collection of its members. If its members want to take some sort of action to improve their t & c, then it takes 1. All of them to be in the TU, and 2. All of them to be committed to taking the action.

In the end, it is all about Power. You have to choose to use it.

No TU and no CC has a magic wand.

Im guessing "on the ropes" turned down the various pay rises , back dated holiday pay , fixed roster etc etc fought for on our behalf by BALPA in a fit of pique as well ?

BALPA is expensive but ive always had my subs paid back in spades over the years with what they have managed to negiotate with the company.

Without them the whole pilot workforce would be on frv and just a different shade of colour of ryanair.

Life is hard enough at easyjet and any time off is precious , so those guys who VOLUNTEER their own free time to work on our behalf for no extra reward get my utmost respect and admiration.

I couldnt do it and i suspect "on the ropes" neither could you.

Ps the log is a bit turgid but i suspect under the new leadership it may begin to reflect a more modern pilot workforce.

Wiggy those are frankly pathetic excuses to normalise what has become rank apathy amongst the pilot body as a whole. Name one occasion where senior colleagues have stood up for new entrants? We see reduced terms across the board for new entrants meanwhile those higher up the ladder mainly refuse to take their medicine as well. The I'm alright jack mentality is capitalised on by management at times of recession and unfortunately we have all been guilty of being gullible to the threat of the axe falling. I say this while working for a European "legacy carrier" for past few years and been involved in arguing for improvements within my own union:ok:

New Entrant Contract dispute 2012. Short memory there. All new entrants progress to standard 'legacy' contracts from a basic of 41.5K.

There's always the occasional exception to the rule. Thad I don't know which airline you refer to but did any of the senior colleagues in that airline take a hit at same time or indeed use industrial muscle to ensure new entrant salary remained as per status quo? Just look at the bulk of operators. BA new entrants on extended payscale, Thomson on PPY50 and reduced 7k salary, EZY on their multitude of differing contracts, FR on the pitiful perm contract etc etc...and we haven't even mentioned contractors yet.

This is just bait.


Anyone who is in ezy BALPA knows exactly what's going on. It's all on the BALPA forum/newsletters.


You need to find better things to do in your spare time than attempting to make inflammatory threads.


I can recommend some good dating websites.

I was on the Company Council for several years with a UK regional carrier.
I well remember a conversation with a member who was quite rightly and eloquently buttonholing me on issues that he had strong opinions on. I suggested that he would make a good Company Council member, and why didn't he put himself forward. His reply was priceless: "I'd love to, but I have my career to think about, and I don't want to put my head above the parapet"
Says it all, really.