It appears that all is not well in the frozen north. Judging from what has gone before in this thread I gather that it is not simply a matter of the project being miss managed by HIAL. There appears to be a deeper rooted problem with Management. Those of us in the south keep hearing whispers but nothing concrete. Care to enlighten us I have always fancied seeing out my time up there but reading between the lines would think twice at the moment.
Where does one start?
Well.....
The HIAL board appointed a new MD last year. He has a degree in Transport technology and was previously the MD of Stagecoach East having worked his way up from depot manager (hence the numerous bus conducter jibes).
When he arrived at HIAL, he quickly created a stir by sacking two senior managers. Not long ago, the operations manager resigned. His departure left HIAL without any credible authority on Airport Operations. The current Manager of ATS (whose operational experience in civil ATC consists of a handful of years on a remote Hebridean island) has made a catalogue of poor decisions. Many staff at EGPE and beyond have grievances over many issues.
Last week, HIA anounced the appointment of a new operations manager before the internal vacancy notice had even closed. It is little wonder the majority of staff don't trust the regime.
The MD is on a mission to errode the current company Terms & Conditions and in addition to his intoduction of a second rate T&S policy, he has proposals to introduce a new redundancy policy with reduced benefits. The ultimate goal is to cut costs no matter what. He would appear to have little regard for regulators, viewing certain requirements as unneccessary expenditure. Staff at EGPE who are being de-skilled by being forced into 'tower-only' positions fear for their jobs.
There is no communication whatsoever from management throughout all this and all the long serving staff (not just ATCOs) feel well and truly shafted.
I hope that is sufficient enlightenment!
