I have loads of mates from other units and I'm used to the "all Heathrow controllers are up there own ar$e To$$ers" banter, but I'm amazed by the lack of anti-heathrow feeling on here
Most of you that make these comments probably haven't visited the tower ever! A lot of the negative feeling stems from years ago when Heathrow was very much a place where if your face didn't fit and got a deserved crappy reputation within the company, these days it's actually not at all a bad place to work with real grounded people, our demographic has changed so much in the last 6-7 years I've been here. So before one of you tries to go for a cheeky one liner, knocking the guys and gals here, that you may think is funny, perhaps you should think about exactly what do you know about heathrow and what you don't
Rant over.
This arguement about the move, isn't a Band5 vs the rest of the company arguement, don't be so shallow. Whenever Heathrow has a concern and we ask for your support, are we meant to apologise in advance first, beacause our (Thats yours and mine) union, got Heathrow a good pay deal compared to the Band 1 and 2 units. Would Swanwick, TC and the college also have to come to you cap in hand, head bowed to get any support?
This is an issue about the company screwing us over in the most short sighted manner, if they win this one who's next?
Consider the numbers, we're looking at a minimum 10 minutes extra to a max 30 minutes, so 20 minutes - 1 hour extra per day for each shift (an average of 40 minutes). How is this fair that the company can expect me just to swallow this. I choose to live close to work albeit in a much smaller property than some of my colleagues who live in excess of 1 hour from work in much larger properties, these are lifestyle choices. As a mobile grade I have no problems with having to move or change my lifestyle patterns, it's what I signed up to, but where is the assisted move or other support the company promised when I signed the mobile grade form? Admittedly my unit isn't changing, yet my place of wok is, by a considerable amount of time.
Going back to band 5 vs other units, we were very much told that our pay rises weren't about us being special and that we deserved them
it was about staff retention and recruitment!!! Heathrow can't grow into a six terminal airport with 3 runways if we can't keep the staff we've got and attract good people from other units.
Furthermore if NATS gets us to move and in no way recompenses us for this extra time on each shift, there's even less chance someone from a lower banded unit, or even similar banded for arguements sake, is going to consider throwing their hat in the ring at LL.
This isn't about what's happened in the past, mistakes were made, it's about learning from the past and supporting your colleagues for the future, if we don't then it'll be the TC boys and gals that get shafted next! And if the band 1-4 units feel so strongly about this or just don't want to offer their suport because we got a better pay deal last time, you lot are also mobile grades so why not apply to join heathrow?
Or is it a lifestyle change you don't fancy but are quite happy to see your colleagues down south get dumped with?