LUTON AIRPORT
Following on from a review of its business the previous management at Luton decided to contract out its air traffic control unit. This had been an 'in-house' operation since the airport first opened, but due to the lack of understanding of this area of the company, its management decided to seek a contractor to undertake the provision of ATC.
The union representing the ATC staff convinced its management to contract the entire unit to National Air Traffic Services (NATS). Through many months of negotiations, an acceptable contract was put in place an on November 1st 2000 all the ATC staff transferred from Luton airport into NATS employment.
The staff union UNISON decided that there was no chance of the unit remaining within the airport control soon after it was hit with legal action!
The staff within ATC had been using archaic radar displays and were not being provided with the modern equipment that is needed within a rapidly expanding business and complex air traffic control environment. Their radar displays were over 25 years old and could not support the latest vital data required by a pressuirsed air traffic controller within an increasingly busy environment, which has developed since the launch of a 'low fare airline' in 1995.
The union requested that they be given equipment that would be modern and reliable and even went public over its concerns due to a lack of response from its management; the regulator for aviation safety SRG endorsed this safety issue. The response from the then incumbent management was: -
"We are disinclined to invest in non revenue generating expense" and took legal action against the staff representative, his full time union official and UNISON itself!
UNISON resisted forcibly. Needless to say that common sense and safety were recognised by the barristers. This legal action was soon dropped and a new radar room and radar displays were installed for this summer (At little cost)!
This is a REAL private sector view toward air traffic control. Profit ahead of safety.