15 Minute Strike

[Abraham Zapruder]

Check this out!!! (Sorry if the story has changed - don't know how often the address updates).

Abe

LINK DELETED - STORY CHANGED - BUT READ ON!

[Nogbad the Bad]

What a BL**DY good idea !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lardy]

The URL has changed, in the event of it changing again, here's the text:

UNION SEEKS AIR CONTROL STRIKE
Leaders of air traffic controllers have called for a 15-minute strike in protest at bonuses paid to executives.

The walk-out could cause "havoc" at airports across the country and lead to huge delays in flights.

Union leaders say there is a feeling of "anger" over bonuses of £215,000 and £62,000 paid to two directors of the National Air Traffic Services.

[eastern wiseguy]

bump...

you have my support!:mad:

[CUNIM]

Ain't it strange, one minute they are in mega whine about how poor NATS is and the next moment printing out a load of loot to reward themselves with on the splendid success of NERC. On time within budget cough cough!!

edited ' cause it was!!

[Undercover]

Oh come ON!!

A couple of executives get a nice big bonus... STOP PRESS!!! :rolleyes:

Yes, NATS and every other company that actually has a board of directors!! Executives get their bonuses, the rest of us get bitter... That's life!!

If every company who's directors received obscene (to the rest of us) wads once in a while went on strike there'd be nothing open to occupy you for those 15 mins!

Or perhaps now would be a good time for someoene to preach the merits of communism... ?

Maybe not...

[Greebson]

We all know we'll talk about it. but it won't happen.

[torpids]

Undercover - that's life!!:mad: Let's all sit back and do
nothing. Your attitude, and the many others like you, are
as responsible as bad management for most of our problems.
Just for once, let's do something.

[CUNIM]

I thought that a bonus was what one received as a thank you for a job well done, and having saved the company from losses or improved profits. Oh dear, I must be mistaken!! I don't really follow the argument about having a nice little backhander for doing a job adequately.

[qwerty2]

Well done Prospect , what a great bit of Media Management.
It made the Lunchtime news and got interesting replies from both NATS and Bill Semple.
Let's see what tomorrow's press brings.

As for a walk out - well let's see.

[sector8dear]

Get real. You have all (NATS ATCOs) had a pay rise (10%) while the rest of the aviation community has had none or a cut!!!!!

Yes, as another contributor notes, companies have executives and yes they get bonuses but beware you open Pandoras Box by informing the rest of the aviation world exactly how well you are doing, and yes I do incliude the £500 per day!!!!! extra attendance allowance for ATCOs!!!!!

Read and learn those of you visiting from the real (non-NATS) world...............

[Ichabod]

Sector8dear

Get your facts right before you wade in. NATS Atcos got less than a 5% pay rise this year, and will be getting even less next year since part of the "10%" you like to quote isn't even awarded until December 2003. :mad: :mad:

As for the so called £500 per day....again, a large number of Atcos are not entitled to this (Airports).....

Huge delays, **** poor management, huge compensation to contractors, massive debt, increase in fees to airlines, rock bottom moral, no pension contributions, staff shortages, need I go on......

I think we have a right to draw attention to the fact the taking of bonuses is more like taking the **** :confused:

[flower]

Thankyou Ichabod ,
my feelings precisely could not have stated them any better.

Sector8dear, you are falling into the trap management would like us all to fall into. We accepted a pay deal over 2 years not one and my back pay most certainly didnot equate to 10%.

If the bonuses were deserved fair enough, but they are not. if everything worked we had enough staff to cover all positions etc then yes , but it doesn't does it.

If this is the only way we can raise this issue to the general Public then I support it.

[eyeinthesky]

I'm sure the public who have been delayed due to sector restrictions caused by staff shortages will be interested to hear that the two people who have got bonuses for a job well done were those who were responsible for the mess.

One of them told the Parliamentary Select Committee that there was a SURPLUS of controllers for NERC. Not 12 months later the new Chief Executive admits that there is a DEFICIT of 41 controllers. Somebody was either incompetent or 'economical with the truth'. For that they get a bonus of £215000 and £62000 at a time when NATS is 'cash-strapped' and applying to the CAA for permission to raise charges.

As usual, Sector8 has missed the point. It is not the cash that we are particularly moaning about (although it does seem odd given all the stories we were told about there being no money in the pot). It's the fact that bonuses are paid for a job well done when it patently hasn't been and when the running of the operation is only held together by a thread on a day-to-day, rob Peter to pay Paul basis.

[torpids]

According to The Times, a 15 minute protest may be illegal because executive bonus does not affect working conditions.
Could we have some ideas for alternative protest.

[Undercover]

You can't withdraw labour as a protest to someone else getting something you aren't. That's just childish.

As to the criticism that just accepting it is contributing to poor management... well... I'm sorry but try living in the real world. As employees we do not have a right to a say in how those running the company are chosen or paid.

I've seen many a mention during my time in this company of the ATCO "God Complex". Until recently I'd never seen it manifest with quite such regularity. :p

[flower]

I am sure there are others who will be able to voice this far for eloquently than I can Undercover, but I am a shareholder and as such I do have a say in such issues.
Our actions are nothing to do with us wanting a bonus,it is to do with the fact that Bonuses should only be paid when they are deserved.
NATs is in an appalling state , moral has never been lower,and services to our customers because of lack of staff suffering.
We are advised there is no money even to pay our modest pay rise (and yes it is modest with the work that we do ) Yet management are able to award themselves massive bonuses.
Why shouldn't we protest.

[Greebson]

Torpids


A strike would be illegal, however, it didn't stop tube workers, petrol strikers and - more recently - admin workers from doing the same and getting a result.
As I said, we'll talk about it, but, it won't happen.

[Go for 5, Get 3]

Undercover

'As employees we do not have a right to a say in how those running the company are chosen or paid'

HOWEVER

As shareholders, we do!!!!

[VectorLine]

firstly - I am p**sed off at the amount of money these people got as bonuses.

However, remember we all got - what was it?- 2% bonus for opening NERC and 1% for completing OCT. It might be the other way round but the point Im making is this.......

Prospect (IPMS) negotiated that for us. The execs are on individual contracts - we don't know what each of them negotiated with the higher echelons. Maybe 10% for opening NERC ? Maybe some ridiculous sum for completing OCT or whatever other objectives they set... Im sure they have as much right to receive any negotiated bonuses as we have.

BUT! if these are bonuses as in.....

"Here's a large sum of money for being a terribly nice chap and to compensate you for having the nasty employees say horrible things about you, and please don't resign, please, pretty please"

Then I think we should protest most militantly.

All Im saying is we need to know the circumstances surrounding the bonuses before we stamp our feet and throw tantrums.

Cheers
VL

[Minesapint]

Undercover.

Its not just ATCO's - its just about everyone. Over 90% of ATC delay can be attributed to NERC. We are chronically short of ATC staff. The systems need 'work' and management is, pretty much, crap!

As stated - we are shareholders and employees so we do have a say in the running of the company. We are also ATC professionals that do not like providing a bad service (but it is a safe one).

If a 15 minute strike is the way to get Blurrs attention then so be it.

If you don't like it then - well - get stuffed!:rolleyes:

[radar707]

Negotiated bonuses, fair enough, however, I object to monies being paid to individuals for compensation after RESIGNING their position ("loss of office" he resigned, he didn't lose it), and then being given another job the following day.

It makes my blood boil to see this sort of thing happen, if I resigned I would get for loss of radar screen??? £0.

[OrsonCart]

Get real, this is life in the private sector. Bonuses and injustice here are rife! Do you think a 15 min walk out will change anything?

If members were balloted for a walk out, how may as a % would walk?

What annoys me is the fact that we as ATCO's were balloted on NATS management's final pay offer with an endorsement by the union to accept. I voted to accept based upon the "No more on offer". Then I find out post ballot, that the others in NATS are offered an increase. Good Luck ATSA's and Engineer's etc. Useless Prospect ATCO branch!

Now I feel a 15 min walk out is rubbish, I want the pay given to the non-ATCO's, the money prospect said was not on offer!

Now I am not greedy, but I guess I am easily lead by my union, so when I am balloted by my union for a 15 min 'walk', out by Prospect! I voted once based upon their recommendation. Once bitten, twice........!!!!!

[mainecoon]

get a grip on life please!

you are a member of this union and have a voice

that means you don't have to follow the union lead if you think it's garbage

i voted against th pay deal cos it was sh!t
i felt the union were selling us down the cliche

i will however vote in favour of the 15min thing for all the many and varied things talked of before!!

[Undercover]

And if you vote in favour of a 15 minute illegal strike.. do you think they will hand their negotiated bonuses back???

And how many of you would hand it back if it was you who had it written in their contract???

Get real.

Shares... hahahahahahahahahaha.....:rolleyes:

[Slippery When Wet]

OK, so it's probably illegal to make that fifteen minute strike and, even if we could, it would be the customers who suffered rather than the greedy incompetents at the helm of NATS.

Surely it would be far better to destroy the credibility of NATS senior management in the court of public opinion. That would be hitting the REAL target and might expedite a few overdue departures.

So, how about a campaign in the friendly media along the lines of -

1. Those 62K and 215K bonuses add up to 277K
2. At the going rate that's over 500 additional ATCO attendances
3. If properly managed, EACH additional attendance could open an additional NERC sector for a shift
4. Each additional sector would be likely to prevent at least 500 minutes' worth of delay
5. That's a total of about 277,000 minutes of delay that those bonuses have CAUSED - a reward of one pound per minute to senior NATS management for delays directly CAUSED by their decisions

Dress that up with a few pictures of tearful families waiting in airport departure lounges and smiling mugshots of self-satisfied NATS management and any newspaper, magazine or TV programme could have a field day. That could prompt more public squirming by CC and others, questions in Parliament, and unstoppable demands for mass resignations at the top.

Anybody know a friendly journalist ?

[Rage]

posted 11th November 2002 21:51
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Get real. You have all (NATS ATCOs) had a pay rise (10%) while the rest of the aviation community has had none or a cut!!!!!

Yes, as another contributor notes, companies have executives and yes they get bonuses but beware you open Pandoras Box by informing the rest of the aviation world exactly how well you are doing, and yes I do incliude the £500 per day!!!!! extra attendance allowance for ATCOs!!!!!

Read and learn those of you visiting from the real (non-NATS) world...............


--------------------
....no wait!!! change of plan again!



Sector8dear

I know you wrote the above some days ago but it's probably not too late......

If you envy our hard won salaries (which include a 10% pay rise over 2 years, a substantial proportion of which only arises during the last month) there are numerous vacancies within NATS......provided of course you have the required talent and are prepared to sweat blood and tears on an almost daily basis!


By the way over 95% of ATCO's will never get to work a days overtime so don't be too envious.