sprite 1
Having reviewed my "posting history" on NAS threads. . . .
Before I joined NAS (as a Contractor ) I asked why your Union were allowing "divide & conquer". . at this stage it was the ARPI HEL contract under discussion. When the 3 year (Ha Ha
) deal came up, I asked again, what was your Union doing. When I chose to apply, I asked, why shouldn't I accept what was (at THAT time) a good contract position if your Union were allowing it to happen, I have to eat too, & if it wasn't me it would be Capt A.N.Other.
Back in Spring this year NPF had Bjorn Kjos by the cojones. There were 6 ? 10 ? aircraft on wet-lease, no-one was working days off, it was approaching Spring. . .the best time to win a dispute (not like December) but, inexplicably, rather than squeezing a little harder, NPF let go.
Contractors spent Summer flying core production. . . . in return ? 40 core vacancies created and an agreement that 2 years after a new base was established pilots would be offered a "permanent position". I guess the Union imagined this would increase the number of pilots in your group.
Surprise surprise, the "permanent position" is a 2 year contract through 3 of the 4 already incumbent agencies, the only difference being that the contractors must pay tax & social charges at "home base" to make NAS look like Snow White in the eyes of the puritanical Norwegian public.
So yes, I do ask "where are the Union" ? even if I am not a member, as it was they (not me) who negotiated this 2yr /permanent employment deal. I was neither asked/consulted if this was what I wanted, so, I ask them. . .what happened to YOUR deal.
As I have often said, with no Union representation/protection what exactly did you permanent guys expect of us contractors ? any action by us = contract terminated with 1 mth notice.
I have the distinct impression (reinforced by Swedish colleagues who were "taken over" by NAS whilst working for a previous company) that NPF is somewhat fixated on protecting K agreement pilots, without perhaps paying too much attention to the bigger picture. Apart from 1 meeting in HEL back in Summer, & a half-hearted offer to meet with anybody interested to put their heads above the parapet & become a psuedo Union rep ( scheduled I believe for around now,) there has been little real interest shown in trying to get us in "the fold". 11 mths have passed since the current Contractor recruitment.
We have been fed tales (taken with a bit of a pinch of salt) by NAS that having to be present on passive flts etc etc has been at the behest of the Union. Most of us can see "the game" well enough to treat these claims with suspicion, but, nonetheless the Union has not been very pro-active in trying to get us on board. The attitude appears to have been "bid for K agreement positions, until then Good Luck " .
It is indeed very dissapointing to find the "nicey-nicey/touchy-feely" attitude shown in the beginning was just a cloak concealing a North European Ryanair wannabee. Perhaps with so many ex Ryanair pilot managers I should be less than surprised by this, a shame really. . I expected better.
I don't feel I owe anyone an apology, I have always stated my position very clearly & truly wondered WTF your Union have been doing throughout all of this. This has not been my fight to fight, nor have I contributed to your Unions failure to fight hard enough, when there were plenty up for the fight.
If I was paying Union dues I may be asking for an explanation (in lieu of an apology) of exactly why things have "progressed" (sorry that should be "regressed" ) as they have since the appalling ARPI contract started in March 2011. . . . . that was probably the beginning of the ongoing end.
You possibly don't see me as on "the same side" any clearer than I see any interest in our "situation" by NPF. . . we should both remember, we are actually in the same team & be mindful of who the opponents are. . . not you, nor me.
NAS long-haul (in which NPF have no say) has already reared its head in HEL,
how long before HEL/AGP/LPA/LGW/ALC/ ??? are taken out of the equation.
This is happening like a car-crash in slow motion, if I was paying Union dues I would be asking some fairly leading Questions to ascertain what was being done to stop the runaway train. 70 (?) more core vacancies in April to add to the 40 in June are all well & good, but how many contractors have been taken in the last 20 mths . . . . . must be close to 200 ?