DEFO/Conditions of Service 2007 Hot Oil
For those of you that are interested, here is the latest on the agreement that the Air Officers Association and the company have reached on the recruitment of Direct Entry First Officers. This agreement forms part of new Conditions of Service (CoS 07). This agreement has yet to be ratified by the AOA membership, and it will be voted on in the near future.
These are the clauses in the agreement that I believe are worse than what we presently have here at Cathay:
5.3.a Ability to Operate Freighter or Passenger Aircraft
This is a significant operational concession that we would be making on behalf of all New Joiner Direct Entry First Officer aircrew, as well as others who choose to take up CoS 2007.
5.3.c Annual Leave Entitlement
The staggered 4-5-6 week leave entitlement, which includes a further ‘two-year, five-week step’ in leave entitlement for a Direct Entry First Officer, is a degradation to current CoS which has a 4-6 week leave stagger, (ie. an initial 'two-year four-week' step then up to six weeks in the third year). Over time, this gives the Company an extra two weeks work, for every newly employed Officer, for nothing in return.
5.4.c ‘Intent’ to still Upgrade Second Officers As Soon As Possible
The term ‘intent’ is wide open to interpretation and is not, in any way, a cast-iron guarantee that this will in fact take place in an environment where training resources will be stretched to the limit. This could lead to Second Officers remaining as Second Officers for appreciably longer than they otherwise would have under present CoS. I do not think the word ‘intent’ should be used in this manner.
5.4.d.ii Bypass Pay
Reducing the ability of an Officer to receive Bypass Pay by insisting on Second Officer service of at least 42 months before becoming eligible is a degradation of the current CoS. In addition, the Bypass Pay received in this instance would be less than under current CoS, because the applicable salary scale would be less.
5.5 CoS 07 Salary Scales
Based on a rationale which includes Freighter Salary Scales, the Company has come up with what it proposes for a Combined Scale under CoS 07. Thus the first years of a Direct Entry First Officer Salary under Cos 07 are significantly less than if he were to join as a Direct Entry First Officer under present Passenger Fleet Salary Scales.
Aircrew have previously come to agreement with the Company on the topics of Freighter Crewing, Housing and the 49ers. I would ask what the aircrew would have to negotiate with, precisely, when it comes to Salary, if agreement is made to give everything away before sitting down with the Company to negotiate? I believe Salary to be a valid topic to be negotiated upon in conjunction with a change in Conditions of Service. The company doesn't see it this way.
5.6.a Voluntary Movement to Hong Kong
This provision, where Officers recruited to a base must serve on that base to SFO1 before becoming eligible for Voluntary Movement to Hong Kong, is a degradation of current CoS where an Officer must only serve two years before becoming eligible to return to Hong Kong.
5.6.b Ability of the Company to Hold an Officer on a Base
This provision allows the company to hold an Officer on a Base where that Officer is operating an aircraft type that is not crewed out of Hong Kong, such as the B747F Classic. Although the Officer is paid ‘Hong Kong Deferment Pay’, equating to Hong Kong SFO Salary, no Expatriate Benefits apply. This is to the Officers detriment if, through no fault of his own, he is recruited onto an aircraft type that is so affected, and he wishes to relocate to Hong Kong as would otherwise be his right.
In addition, this provision could open a loophole whereby the Company may in future, actively seek to change rosters so that other aircraft types are not crewed out of Hong Kong, holding those Officers on a base and therefore saving them Expatriate Benefits.
5.7.b Voluntary Election of CoS 07 for Current Officers
This provision mandates that Current Officers transferring to CoS 07 and taking up a Base, shall serve a minimum of three years or SFO1 before being eligible for a return to Hong Kong. Once again, this is a degradation of current CoS.
Summary
It appears that the Company want to gain everything with this agreement in return for not a lot for the aircrew.
If this agreement is ratified, the Company will gain the following:
· combined crewing for freighter and passenger fleets,
· the ability to hire Direct Entry First Officers without incurring Bypass Pay for Second Officers for 42 months,
· reduction in the amount of Bypass Pay compared to current CoS Salary Scales,
· a reduced Salary Scale for the first number of years of service of a First Officer,
· reduced leave for First Officers,
· ability to recruit directly to a Passenger Fleet base,
· greater period of qualification before becoming entitled to Voluntary Movement to Hong Kong for Direct Entry First Officers recruited to a base,
· ability to hold an Officer on type and on a base, despite that Officer being eligible for Voluntary Movement to Hong Kong, should the company require it in the case where that aircraft type is not crewed out of Hong Kong,
· no cast-iron guarantee for timely upgrade for current Second Officers, merely an ‘intent’ to upgrade as soon as possible.
If this agreement is ratified, the Aircrew Community will ‘gain’ the following:
· current serving Officers will have no appreciable change to their CoS,
· the more junior current serving Officers wishing to take a base will be required to sign up to the inferior CoS 07 in order to do so,
· the aircrew body will have knowingly consigned all New Joiners after January 2007 to an inferior set of CoS, in effect a ‘C-Scale’, whether the airline grows or doesn't grow,
· the aircrew body will have given all this in return for not even a commitment to partake in salary discussions, and will have already given away yet another significant bargaining chip for when, eventually, negotiations take place on salary.
All this will have taken place when the industry is in arguably the greatest upswing in recent memory, and pressures on pilot recruitment world-wide are at an all-time high. If an erosion of CoS is allowed at a time where the industry is in an up-cycle, what will aircrew agree to, or be forced to accept, when the industry commences a down-cycle?
Accepting this agreement would serve only to split the membership further in future, and promote the Company’s ‘divide and conquer’ strategy.
It should be clear to everyone that there is nothing stopping the Company recruiting Direct Entry First Officers under current CoS. It is just a little more expensive for the company.
I believe that the AOA membership should not vote for any proposal that includes degraded CoS for New Joiners. I personally do not wish to explain to a future colleague why I voted for his degraded CoS and I am hoping the membership will comprehensively vote this agreement down.