Post 11 makes it sound flattering in fact. What was not mentioned was that only 10 of these posts exist througout the whole country. Promotion into this post is only when one becomes vacant.
The rest of the controllers with 3 ratings (aerodrome, approach and area) and around 10 years as ATC take home around 10k. If you work every weekend (which is expected of you) then you can add another 4 to 5k to that deal. So in total you'll be taking home around 15k, including everything.
Expenses: average 3 bedroom house around 850k = 10k p/month
average 5year old second hand car approx 80k = 2k p/month
insurance on above = approx 1500 p/month
Now you have about 1500 left to live on. So forget about being the sole provider for a family here. Without a second income life is really impossible. Thats why the majority of ATC's are involved in extra activities to provide extra income. From offering radio lectures to renovating houses to taxi businesses to dealing in airconditioners, you name it. This has in a recent safety audit been identified to be a huge safety risk as it exhausts staff members and devides their attention.
And dont forget, you work 6 days a week, every weekend! If you dare to take a weekend off, you lose income.
I agree that there are probably places worse off than here. But nothing is being done to improve the situation. The attitude is simply, either fit in or f..k off. And thats very sad cause nobody really wants to leave, our lives are here, our families are here. We are forced...