There are so many of those that we could start a complete new thread "The meanest boys in West Africa" or anywhere else for that matter! I can recall some World Beater Cheapskates and probably will when I am less pissed off!
Whatever - this is not really relevant to the present problem of beanpushers being so insensitive that for whatever reason, they are prepared to piss off so many to convenience so few!
The problem is all about perspective....perhaps you are too close to the problem and that is what is twisting your view of the situation.
Me on the other hand....having awakened to a cool, brisk, bright and clear morning....enjoyed a short dinghy ride down to a mate's boat that is anchored out near my marina....and having had a lovely cup of coffee and some pleasant conversation....well I see the CLA/HR thing in quite a different light.
In time...you too in retirement...will find some entertainment in reading of the latest rendition of the woes of working for Bristow in Nigeria.
You do have my empathy and heartfelt sympathy in re the latest debacle.
re the Bristow CLa
I guess this was done to save the company money, no suprise there, has it been posted at what rate the Steling or Dollars will be converted at and if that will change in accordance with fluctuations in the exchange rate. Also I guess that will be the last time we ever see a rise in CLA as it will now be hidden inamongst our salary.
Also, for those of us not lucky enough to live in either UK or USA, we will now have to buy said currencies on our credit cards at airports etc so that will cost us more money in the long run.
It does make you wonder what the next cost cutting excersise will be. Cant be many things left that they can trim back on. Dont have enough people, dont have any spares, dont have any CLA, Aha, an idea, sack the dumb ass accountants.
Location: Still on some west coast...but a bit further south
Age: 38
Posts: 512
The Cla is one thing....
the unexplicable logic another. Hey, I get it!!! The company wants to save money and puts us on 6&6 to save two round trip tickets per year. Unfortunately though if one puts one and one together the CLA we are getting now is the equivalent of two round trip tickets. Now it comes out it will no longer be paid out in cash but transferred on to our accounts. If the CLA is now disguised as a pay increase then I have to say "excrement" again instead of increments. We are busting our humps out there in the Delta every day to make these bean counters look good, and what exactly do we get in return? Occasional AK bullets and a security situation deterioriating to an extend that makes this Delta look like a battle field in Iraq. Stay tuned in on NDST 129.1 or else...
As a voyeur I've been listing to everyone comment on their wonderful life in the Delta. Sacking the bean counters is the most cost effective idea proposed.
If you do finally get feedup and quit someone will willingly take your place. At least from a historical prospective. Nothing seems to change in Nigeria, just more of the same different day! Glad to be seeing this soap opera thru the rear view mirror.
Cheers,
Pokerpilot33
PS. Good luck to everyone still there, but nothing will change until you change!
I see the Bakasi Peninsular has been handed back to Cameroun. Does that mean the Notam that has been on the notice boards for years - saying the Nigerian Army will attack you with anti aircraft fire if you overfly - has finally been withdrawn??
I think you are a tad mistaken - we receive salary and location allowances for working in Countries crap or otherwise!
CLA on the other hand pays for beers, fags, phone cards and even the odd BJ (the choice is yours) whilst you are there!
Yes it is only US$3200 - US$5500 tax free for your 6 months on site at present with BHNL depending on your deal but that does pay for quite a few of the 3P's without having to dig into your own (in some cases incredibly deep and unfathomable) pockets.
It can transform Hopeless Scrooges into Socialites full of wit and Company subsidised Bonhomie! Look at the Escravos Mango Tree since CLA arrived!
Perhaps we all got spoiled from the old days....back when the Old Man ran things and the CLA sufficed for all yer expenses at work and usually had a surplus that allowed for the mad money on leave. But then we also have to admit times have changed.....bean counters rule nowadays unlike those days when a real helicopter pilot ran things.
Unfortunately, most bean counters know the cost of everything but the value of nothing and view the ledgers as being ciphers on parchment reflecting measurable assets.
Add in the Human Resources movement and business has gotten very cold.
IMHO....HR ranks right up there with other "Crimes Against Humanity" and ought to be prosecuted with the same punishment in mind.
HR folks sure amaze you with how they throw out the company dogma without giving it a second thought.
At New Iberia at a Bristow subordinate business unit prospective employee orientation, a gorgeous young lady representing HR explained the pay scale to us. She nicely told us old farts having experience would start at Step Five of the pay ladder and seemed to think that was a good deal. She also answered a question that confirmed those starting at Step Five would not receive a raise until after the fifth year of service.
I then asked her if she understood just what she had said.....and suggested she and the business unit in question must think helicopter pilots to be very dull folk (English "dull"....) only to be greeted with some confusion and lack of understanding by said good looking babe.
When I asked her if she really thought that was a good deal....she actually said "of course...we pay you for your experience."
She got her knickers in a twist when I asked her if she would forego five years of raises in order to get some appreciation of the situation to which she took some offense.
Being neither "dull" nor willing to take advantage of such a good deal as I would have felt a bit guilty.....I failed to complete the orientation and instead headed for other climes.
CLA actually stands for cost of living allowance. For a significant number of us in Nigeria it is what we need to use to pay for our food as we are not fed by client oil companies and either have to pay for meals in a company staff house whose catering has now been contracted out to a local company, or we have to feed ourselves. In the latter case this may be by choice or in some cases (the few people still on 5/1 month contracts) by necessity. This is going to make life very difficult as if one is in-country for a few months it will be necessary to carry in several thousand dollars to pay for food as Nigeria is very expensive and most of us don't have the opportunity to be able to visit a local bank even if the money were paid into a local account. In the present security situation the prospect of travelling around in the Delta with large sums of money is not something which fills me with joy.
That coupled with the lack of any news about a pay review for this year means that morale, already at rock bottom has now fallen to subterranean levels
The quality of life here in the last few years has declined considerably as a result of militant activity; it's pretty desperate when now our own employers are adding to the misery
Crikey....that is too close for comfort....let's stick to Soggy!
Just how low does morale...loyalty have to suffer before folks simply pull up stakes, fold tents, and head off for somewhere else in the world? Could one not be just a bit better off somewhere else and leave the operators looking at all the empty beds, pilot seats, and unused air tickets?
Or....is everyone hanging on in the hopes they will be the cadre upon which a new scheme is founded and thus benefit from the up tick in pay, allowances, and related perks?
But if....enough of you cling to that line of thinking....are ye not doomed to continue suffering along in perpetuity?
At some point a mediocre job in some place nice would be a better deal!
Pack yer bags Squire and leg it for somewhere else!
Lots of BHNL big hitters in Lagos at the moment. Agbami or the pay review ? Ogas don't trouble themselves with employees pay, after all it was a survey by an external agency's survey that delayed the review in the first place. So that leaves.............
CLA
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