The company's stance and letters are up to the usual standard and have served them well in the past.

However if enough of you are prepared to strike and I mean really prepared to come out on strike then the company has a real problem. Now, how to you convince the management that you will strike? The legal bits have taken place to ensure that you don't break the law.

It's up to you.

The company has never has a pilot strike, having come very close to it on a number of occassions, suddenly reopening negotiations and making offers at the eleventh hour. It's a bit like their tactics of settling on the Court steps before they go inside and lose. By the way have they ever won a court case?

Ladies and gentlemen I sincerely hope that I strike can be averted but have a nasty feeling that you've all had enough.

Good luck my friends.

MP

:sad:

teifiboy -

I'm gratified to think that my insight is such that you consider me an insider!:8

Mike Rosewitch -

I was pointing out that, this winter there are likely to be airline casualties. From my reading of the market, bmi is not the strongest player, and if a strike for an extra 1% was to scupper one of Britain's longest-established airlines, it would be a great pity.

maxy 101 -

I'm probably suggesting accepting the offer of 1.5%. I don't doubt the commitment and integrity of any pilot, at bmi or anywhere else. However, if the market's tough, the company's struggling, and there's a reservoir of qualified alternatives elsewhere in the EU, I just think taking strike action isn't very clever.

After all, inflation's around 1.5%, and standing still seems better to me than losing a few days' pay whilst on strike and weakening the airline.

July 2004 UK headline rate (inc. mortage payments) is 3%. A 1.5% rise equates to a 1.5% cut in real terms. If we settle for that we are bigger fools than the company thinks we are.

If an extra 1% sends the airline under (and I am 100% sure it will not) then it was going to go under anyway - so the guys may as well get what they can before that happens!

Boy, am I glad I'm out of there. :sad:

Good luck all of you in the fight ahead. Keep your options open as well - the grass is most definately greener (and more rewarding) on the outside :cool:

LGS6753

Yes long serving bla bla bla..............!
Do they say that to the BAA when they pay for airport charges and give them what they think the price should be!
Yes its going to be a tough winter but most of the other airlines have increased wages by at least 3% this year and at least inflation the year before.
We dont get any shares or profits therefore we have no benifit to gain in showing loyalty and good will but if we ignore the professional pride how long do you think it would be before teddies start flying and the Bish starts playing with the trainset himself and sees what the feeling really is from his workforce.
Hopefully the indicitive ballot will be enough to get the alarm bells going and get him to the table if not, to the wall and further we will go.
I remember a comment about "talk is cheap" a few weeks ago from a fellow employee who works in a different department, just interested if that person has read a few of these comments and think that its just "cheap talk" now.
As above the last thing I want to see is a strike but its not up to us now.
We served.
Balls in their court.
Play Ball!


Rgds K.I.L.:hmm:

If anyone has access to Simon A Bennett's research paper "Flight crew stress and fatigue in low-cost commercial operations - an appraisal" where he looks at the low cost model of uk airlines he makes a finding in his conlusions that a 100% increase in flight crew cost will amount to an increase of just 4% on the ticket price.

If anyone is able to get hold of it and read it for themselves then it would no doubt be an eye opener on many issues, notibly on the issue of pay! Good luck to you all.

LGS6753

You seem to forget that we got nothing last year "to help the company through the bad times". This year's 1.5% offer would be like an annual rise of 0.75% over the two years - totally unacceptable. What with tax increases, National Insurance etc etc my take home pay is less that it was over 2 years ago. When you come to spend it, it seems like very much less.

With bmi you only ever share the bad times - never the good ones.

An extra 1% - Bah! Nowhere near enough!

Well the company will be able to afford a bigger pay rise for the troops when all the expensive senior F/Os leave the company!! ;)

(And they will leave...)

whens the vote released

rgds K.I.L.

Today (18th August) is the final day to vote in the "indicative" ballot. I guess the results should be out later today, or tomorrow.

Slightly concerned at the lack of contact from BALPA. The vote should have been counted - why the wait ??????

Balpa members vote 90% yes in the indicitive ballet.

Read it and weep

Rgds K.I.L.

Oh dear. A somewhat cowardly response. bmi's unsavoury management win again.

ah! no,
The vote was yes to move forward to industrial action!

Rgds

K.I.L.

So is it just mainline guys that are going to take industrial action or are the baby crews included as well?

90% yes on a 90% turnout to support industrial action should it become necessary. Further meeting with the company this week.

Great news! Don't be a pushover and make sure the salary/work rule bar doesn't descend any lower...

Good luck!

Go for the same weekend as BA. It will be a nice noiseless weekend under the LHR flightpaths. Hope its sunny will be able to sit in the garden.:cool:

Bets of luck to you all...

Hope it all works out!

:)

Good to see that there's still people with some backbone left in this industry.