Did some one say 15% payrise for B scale CNs? Really? Must have missed that over the last 2 months! I got 2x3% and 2x2%- as long as you work exactly 84 hours. Work 56 hours and it is closer to 2x3% and 1 x 1.3% (2nd HDP doesn't start till 57th hour). The deal sort of covers the period 1/1/08-31/12/09. Last payrise was for period 1/7/01-30/6/02. So in 7 1/2 years B scales would have received betwen 7.3% and 10% in total!
I will try to be dispassionate here as NC's ethos is 'just the facts m'am'.
This is the best deal that could be negotiated. What would you prefer - that we had walked away 6 weeks ago because the offer was no where near what we wanted/expected? Now you know the maximum of what was on offer, it is up to you to decide whether its worth accepting or not.
Need to make a couple of points clear. Regardless of any vote, RA65 is happening and DEFO is happening. What you are really voting on is the payrise and the removal of the FACA(Freighter Aircraft Crewing Agreement).
You can vote yes or no but RA65 will happen. Over a year ago the company was offering degraded B scale conditions for extension. Now they are offering degraded A scale. I leave it up to you to work out why.
There is some mystery to bypass pay. As I understand it, as long as you have not signed over to CoS08(ie. not gone on a base) you will be entitled to it. The most junior guys may get a year or so as an SO and 2years + as a FO. How it is actually determined vis a vis 3bar, 4 bar, backdated, assessed etc I am not sure. What I do know is that it does not 'pass down the line'. Under current bypass rules, if an FO defers command(eg on an Aus basing and waiting for an Aus CN basing slot) he does not get bypass. That bypass will then pass onto the next most senior FO. The bypass pay system with RA65 does not work like that. If the next FO has signed CoS08 then NO one gets the bypass pay. Clear as mud?
Predicting the effect of RA65 is like reading tea leaves. How many CNs stay and for how long? How much does the expansion rate change due to RA65?
My best guess - and it is a scientific guess - is that it will add about 3 years to a junior guy. I am assuming no Sep 11s, asian contagions or SARS. To be fair, those events will effect us either with or without RA65.
In summary - you are NOT voting for RA65 or DEFO. You are voting for the payrise and letting ASL into our company(about 39CNs and 8FOs). Letting ASL in negates the raison d'etre for the FACA. This means pax crew can man the freighter and work under the freighter rostering rules when operating the freighter. RA65 and DEFO will be included in the deal but please understand they are happening no matter what you vote.
The result of staying on CoS99 is that you cannot take a base as an FO. If you wished to be based, not only will you have to wait longer for your command due RA65, you will have no bypass pay recompense, unlike your hkg colleagues. Go on a base or stay on a base and you effectively make yourself forever ineligible to receive bypass pay - until someone reaches 65 anyway! The difference is likely to be over a $1million HKD for junior SOs. Over 400 of our 1050 FOs are currently based. I have no idea how many junior FOs and SOs planned to take a base but I would hazard a guess and say this arbitrary bypass interpretation affects approx 50% of FO/SOs???
Clear as dirt challenged water?