!!!!su,
HK ATC used to be a really nice place to work. But the good times are long gone! HK ATC is rotten to the core and dysfunctional, too. Lack of staff is only a part of the problem.
Here are 5 reasons why you should NOT come here - even if they do recruit:
- for the last 10 years our salary has been static. A pay increase is highly unlikely. We work twice the number of aircraft, though!
- leave is too hard (quite rare) to get. For people who appreciate their time off and holidays more than their work it is all just TOO HARD!
- TOIL. This concept is normally hard to explain to others: Basically, our management take great pride in calculating our working hours every month and keep a exact record for each controller - even down to the minute! They insist we must work the same number of hours every week as office workers. No acknowledgement that it is more tiring to work evenings, nights, weekends etc. Invariably, we end up working slightly less than the office people and are therefore called upon to work on our days off. This will sooner or later create fatigue and guess how this affects our morale.
- The place gets busier every day, but our procedures, management and supervisors are behind the power curve. The front line controllers have to cope with it all including the ridiculous restriction imposed by ATC China. No support!!!
- The staff morale is at an all time low. The youngsters on training are fed up even before they get checked out. There is definitely a punishment culture here. Many experienced controllers (locals and expats) are at the point where they would love to leave. Generally, there is a lot of anger and dissatisfaction here. Working in this kind of environment is simply not healthy for anyone.
Anyway, a new recruitment seems unlikely although we are 50 controllers short. Our bosses are still in denial.