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Old 21st Jul 2005, 06:17
  #555 (permalink)  
jettlager
 
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The following cut and paste is from the D&G forum and illustrates the actions of an airline attacking it's own OPERATIONAL staff.

QF mismanagement never have been leaders and have it seems morphed themselves into nothing more than fascist brownshirts.

There is NOTHING in the way of creative vision for this once proud company.

The article does explain the bullying, aggression and out and out fear campaign being waged against us.

Pass the info onto the troops.

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posted 20th July 2005 09:37
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Revealed: Aer Lingus 'quit or be pushed' plan
From Irish Independent:
(need to be registered)
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independ...&issue_id=12759

AER Lingus developed a 12-point plan to make life difficult for its employees in order to persuade 1,800 staff to accept voluntary redundancy.

The plan included:

* Suggesting the airline would introduce a tacky uniform for cabin crew.

* Tedious training programmes for some pilots.

* Deliberately changing shift patterns to make life at the company uncomfortable.

According to one informed source there was also a suggestion that cabin crew, including older air hostesses, would have to abandon their current uniform for jumpsuits and t-shirts.

The total plan is documented in a confidential Aer Lingus report called "Business Plan - HR (Human Resources) strategy 2004".

The 12 initiatives designed to make life difficult for staff are referred to in the documents as "environmental push factors".

A spokeswoman for the company acknowledged that the document had been drawn up by Aer Lingus but dismissed it as a "discussion document". She said: "Those tactics have never been embraced by either the past or present management team."

Nowhere in the 40-page report is there any suggestion that it is a draft or discussion paper.

It states that initiatives to make life uncomfortable for staff were essential to the success of the voluntary severance scheme which was, in turn, essential for the success of the business plan.

The report states: "Environment (sic) push factors are key to driving applications (for the voluntary severance scheme)". The document then details the 12 "push factors".

Top of the list is: " 'Tap on the shoulder' of all relevant superintendents." This is understood to be a reference to 200 supervisor-grade employees who were individually approached by senior management and told they had no future with the company.

The second "push" factor listed calls for performance improvement plans. Sources said these were designed to put staff under pressure at work. The third push factor listed is "attendance management".

One of the more controversial initiatives in the plan comes in at number four and is titled "adverse changes in work/shift patterns". Adverse shift changes would make life at Aer Lingus particularly difficult for employees with families.

The fifth of the strategies outlined is "called lack of availability of IWSL". This is a reference to "In Week Special Leave" which gives cabin crew the option of flexible working arrangements.

The ninth "push factor" is called "assignment to resource centre". It is understood this initiative was aimed at surplus pilots who would be assigned to the centre, known by some staff as 'Guantanemo Bay', where they would spend weeks on training modules which, according to one source, were considered by pilots to be boring and tedious.

A number of the 12 points have already been implemented. These include number 10, "no transport", which is a reference to the abolition of the special bus which ferried cabin crew working unsociable shifts to and from airport car parks.

Other initiatives include "closure/reduction of bases", "significantly reduced overtime" and "working contracted hours".

The HR strategy also deals with plans to reduce employment levels by outsourcing services such as catering and cleaning. Under the terms of an EU regulation written in to Irish law, the 1977 Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment (TUPE), the new contractor is obliged re-employ existing staff.

According to the report the way to avoid transfers is to make TUPE offers "unattractive". It states: "An 'unattractive' TUPE offer will give surplus staff the option to transfer to new service provider with no exit package, reduced pension rights and lessened security of employment."

Tom McEnaney



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Shamjet
Instead of being 'just another number' I could order a Personal Title and help support PPRuNe
posted 20th July 2005 09:38
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Intimidation not just at Ryanair - ALT too!!
Looks like Aer Lingus have been sucked into the world of systematic intimidation of staff. Check out the links below in the "Quit or be pushed " tactics employed by the Human relations nazi's in Aer Lingus.
I remember the cabin panicing about their garish polo shirts with big dots on them thy'd be wearing in the new Willie walsh airline.
ALT are denying all at moment, saying the proposals were never implemented, however i remember also the attempts to redeploy those commuter pilots who ended up sitting on their arse's for nine months.

This can only be good news for the Knight in shinning armour dermot Mannion about to come over the hill to save the besieged Castle Shamrock!

RTE link

Last edited by jettlager; 21st Jul 2005 at 06:59.
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