forced to pay for a type rating!
The modern trend in aviation of airlines demanding pilots to shoulder the training costs of getting a type specific rating is very controversial.
In the past airlines alway paid for these. It was part of their annual training budget and was considered a normal expense when hiring new pilots.
Most of today's pilots with more than 3 years of line experience never had to straight-out pay for any training. It is true they had in many cases to endure substantially lower pay for the period they where financially bonded. But not before they where guaranteed a job. First the contract, then the training, then the bonding. Today it is the complete opposite. They want you to pay now, train later and maybe in the future if they need you, they will think of hiring you.
The concept of paying for a type rating for a SPECIFIC aircraft is to me insulting. Pilots have no choice in what types airlines operate. We just want a decent job doing what we like, which is flying from A to B. If an airline wants us to commit to spending 30.000 plus euros on a type rating that limits our possibilities, they should at least give us some kind of commitment on their part too. You cannot have your cake and also eat it. If you get a 737 type rating for example, you are commited to this type and to looking for jobs at airlines that operate this type! You are actually increasing your odds of employment but at the same time narrowing your possibilities.
Another thing that is mind boggling is that most airlines not only require pilots to have type ratings but also to have TIME ON TYPE (usually at least 500Hrs) and be CURRENT in the last 3 months.
One thing is having to pay for the TR, ****ty but if you have money it is possible. Another altoghether is getting 500Hrs on type and being current. This means that you have to already be flying on this type at an airline. So what happens is that no new people get in. Pilots are recycled from within.
I severly question these practices. Are they legal? Does this not constitute some kind of abuse by the part of the airlines? Shouldn't the local labour ministries check these practices out to figure if employee rights are being abused? It is illegal to discriminate against race, gender or religion. But doesn't it seem wrong to discriminate against Type ratings? The first three items are of a social nature, the last one is of a financial nature. The Airlines are discriminating pilots on basis type ratings; on basis of saving money. It is a financial driver, nothing more.
Shouldn't pilot labour unions tackle this issue more seriously? Shouldn't governments formulate more stringent rulemaking that better protects future pilots rights to descent and fair treatment?
Isn't the European continent supposed to be SOCIAL in it's way of treating people?
Airlines forget that no company can function without people, be it pilots, cabin crew, ground crew, gate agents or office workers. People are key players. Humans are not the same as a computer or a chair or any other peice of furniture in an office. We are not just a ledger in the accountant's expense books. We make the company happen. People are the single most important asset any company has. This relationship must be nurtured, developped, managed with great care. It is a give and take affair.
If pilots feel exploited and abused even before ever stepping in a cock-pit, how can any airline expect commitment or dedication on the part of the employees? Pilots tend to grow resentment towards the airlines and just use then the same way that they feel they are being used. At the first chance they get of jumping ship to a better airline they leave without ever thinking twice. It cuts both ways. You reap what you sow.
It is very short-sighted of airlines to swap long-term planning for short-term financial savings. If you think short-term most probably there won't be any long-term anyway
Is there any kind of organized movement to counter this phenomenom? Can we do something to stop it, or at least regulate it in a more logical and decent way, in order to avoid the curren catch-22 scenario's?
If this continues unchecked it will be the end of aviation as a respectable way of making your living...