Fed up Hong Kong controllers
As a VHHH controller, here are a few comments to pilots who complain about negative comments and worse from ATC. Sure, we sometimes get sarcastic and make comments to pilots who either don't listen or don't comply. Please consider our situation, though:
The Government & Joseph Wong and his gang have cut our salaries 3 times. We are now back at 1997 levels. There seems no realistic hope of any increase in the coming years. With family commitments, I am finding it increasingly hard to meke ends meet financially.
"The Employer's MPF contribution" is actually taken from our gratuity. So in reality, we are forced to invest 2000 HKD per month in a fund we would normally not touch with a barge pole. The employer's contribution is ZERO!
Due to staff shortage leave is almost impossible to get now. The ATCO leave programme tells its own tale: In December TWO radar controllers got leave. Our incompetent management could not care less and basically sit in their offices with their heads up their rear ends. Why should they care? Airplanes generally still take off and land on time. Their leave is guaranteed at Christmas, CNY and Easter. They are - at best - still in Kai Tak - 200 movements per day-mode. At worst, simply petty bureaucrats awaiting their pension. They certainly have no idea how to run a busy ATC unit. To add insult to injury, a recent memo was issued with a warning that management reserves the right to cancel already approved leave with short notice. Not that there is a lot left for them to cancel.
The poor locals are having an even harder time regarding leave. The main difference between them and the expats here is that they are easier to bully as they have a "career" to protect. Some of them have now reached the maximum number of days they are allowed to accrue, (varying from 40 to 180 days) but still cannot get any leave. Our friendly management has told them they must expect to simply lose the leave due to "critical staff shortage". Hardly legal, but our so-called union cannot help. They must also protect their careers, of course.
Last week, one of the nazis from the fourth floor spotted a controller on a shuttle bus 30 minutes before he was expected to leave work. With great management skills the the manager investegated this extremely important matter and had words with the supervisor who released his controller before the end of his shift. The ATCO has been deducted 30 minutes from his TOIL balance and memos reminding staff not to leave early have been issued. No doubt, the ATCO's name can be found in the dreaded "pink book" where all dirty deeds such as this one are carefully noted and kept forever. Useful information for future reference!
With a critical staff shortage, management still run SAR courses and send people overseas for various Mickey Mouse courses. The sad reality of today is that the front line controllers are paying the price for years of mismanagement and poor planning. The problem is massive and gets bigger every day. To say that staff morale is low is the understatement of the year!
Additionally, we daily have to cope with the increasingly ridiculous Fred Flintstones restrictions imposed by ATC China. "10 minutes via Bekol, irrespective of level - you are number 8!".Try telling that to an impatient aircrew. It would be great to see restriction on traffic ENTERING HK FIR for a change - especially with bad weather around. However,this will not happen as it means standing up to big brother.
I know we are free to walk out in search of greener pastures, but this is easier said than done. But I do feel that most of the controllers are rapidly approaching the breaking point. The number of daily movements have doubled since the opening of CLK, but our conditions have constantly deteriorated. On top of that AA are still pushing for more landing slots.
So for all you CX, KA and other drivers out there: We are really sorry if we bark at you at times. We know we should be courteous and professional, we know we have a job because of you and not the other way around. But enough is enough. We despise the people we work for and are very, very angry. Frankly, many of us can be compared to Krakatoa in the days leading up to the explosion in 1883. Please try to bear with our grumpiness - it has nothing to do with you!