Work condition of ATC-ers in ASA...

[ZoJAV]

Hello guys, I'm a TCU controller from China who has just progressed through the ASA's interview of Experienced ATC overseas recruiting. If all goes well in the following Medcheck and all, I will most likely go to Perth next year. From the ATC's enterprise agreement PDF on ASA homepage, the roster rules and anti-fatigue system seemed pretty considerate, such as "3 clear-days-off after nightshift", etc. But...


But as I did more google-ing, I found several threads on this forum and the topics were disturbing. "short of manpower" and "overtime after nightshift" were frequently mentioned. As a controller I know what kind of impact they would have on your life and health. However these threads were initially posted in year 2008, which gives me the hope that things have been improved. Could anyone please give me some idea about how it is now? I would also like to learn more about the ATC life in Australia, any information/links/website provided would be much appreciated!

[Nautilus Blue]

ZoJAV this is only my personal opinion and based on working in Melbourne not Perth but it is much better than when those threads were running.

A new CEO and an new General Manager of ATC have made a world of difference. Most of the ideas/plans/changes causing issues have been quietly dropped or changed back. Years of recruiting are starting to pay off, to the point where some controllers are complaining about not enough overtime. Its not perfect (refresher training is still "sub-optimal"), and I'm sure some of my colleagues will disagree, but mostly its getting close to as good as it gets realistically. Of course how you find it will depend on what you are used to.

One point though unless I've missed something (wouldn't be the first time) there is no "3 clear-days-off after nightshift" provision. The rosters vary widely throughout the organisation, but it is possible (but unlikely) for example to work multiple nightshifts and then only have one day off.

PS good luck with it all.

[le Pingouin]

I'm also in Melbourne and largely agree with NB - overall things have improved. The group I'm in has plenty of overtime going at present due to things like long term medical issues, maternity leave and a couple of trainees failing to rate. You can't plan for everything.

The anti-fatigue system is a double edged sword in that it can be very inflexible, making it next to impossible to swap shifts.