Originally Posted by
Rated De
Pilots are a vital ingredient to an airline, for without pilots, those expensive aircraft generate zero revenue sitting on the ground.
Smarter airlines realising the demographic structural shortage and are moving away from adversarial IR models.
Interestingly those costs once TRANSFERRED to the employees, including type ratings are now correctly being absorbed by the company as a COST of BUSINESS.
This is not a result of benevolence, it is necessity. There is a real sustained and accelerating shortage.
There is a growing and obvious shortage which is not as Mr Booth from the AFAP alleges, and I paraphrase 'part of the business cycle'
Whilst no one is advocating ambit claims from unions. Unions ought understand the shortage and the leverage it delivers to restore balance to their members remuneration and life balance./ s
So what would you have him say? Admit there is a structural shortage?
Do you even realise that the very thing you’re trumpeting (Structural Pilot Shortage) is the very thing that the Airlines and Government will use to enhance the skilled visa program.
What you’re advocating will allow more overseas pilots into Australia on permanent residency visas, at the expense of the current generation of pilots, and at the expense of forcing Airlines to open up training academies and pay for training – you know, wear the risk of expensive pilot training.
Your agenda on here is as clear as it is misguided. Qantas will never be short of pilots (with the caveat that their useless ‘talent acquisition’ team doesn’t f@#K things up any more than they already have). There will be increased recruitment, and there are be plenty of qualified applicants from cadets, GA, regionals, LCC’s, expats, and other airlines. How many Qantas pilots are leaving to work for other airlines? Paying more to a Qantas pilot does not change the age 65 requirements, medical requirements, or make them live longer to delay retirement. If you want better conditions, man up and take hard action – red ties and PA’s won’t cut it. Don’t try to pontificate and ham up a shortage that will result in permanent residency visas that will f@#k the regional pilots’ prospects of improving their lot.
So the AFAP’s position is clear on the shortage; it’s cyclical – and can be solved with training and retention through better conditions in the operators it’s affecting (predominantly the regionals and GA, but extending to the LCC’s). If you read all of the AFAP’s press on this you’d understand they advocate both increased conditions and increased training.
What’s AIPA’s position? What public statements have they released? Are they advocating a structural shortage? Or are you the lone wolf and all the unions are wrong?
You bang on about Qantas’ ‘adversarial IR model’. I agree, it's adversarial, so why pretend that it will somehow revert to a more gentlemanly or dare I say progressive approach. Under current management the Marquess of Queensberry Rules don’t apply. If they want adversarial, give them adversarial. You know what it costs to ground an airline, get some mongrel in you and get adversarial.