A challenge to Greg Russell, sit in a room with your Lvl3 ATC managers, and ask each individually how many controllers they believe they are short in their area.
"I am manager of X area , I currently need Y controllers". Take their answers as the truth, don't shoot the messenger, and then you will have an idea of where you are really at.
Was told by an ALM today,after meeting between ALMs and their Lvl3, they worked out that, just this one area was 10 short.
Lvl3 can't understand how this figure of 17 australia wide keeps being bandied about.
Greg ask your managers, they know the real figures. Admit you and your upper echelons stuffed it, take real attainable steps to fix it, forecast a realistic timetable to fix it, one that we can believe, because we all have contacts in the College and in recruitment and KNOW if you are lying to save face. Your spin in the media is just that. Do what we have to do, if you make a mistake put your hand up.
If you take this course of action, you may find that controllers once again might do, your quoted ,'excessive overtime' to dig us out of your hole. It may be personally distasteful to admit you have got it wrong, but that is the path you will have to tread to get us back on side.
We, the controllers, have been told for years 'can you just do more O/T, we have a plan to fix this, we want to give you career breaks,can you do more O/T, we want to let you access your long-service leave, we want you to be able to have a work/life balance,can you do more O/T,we want to be able to offer you career development,we don't want you rotting on one console for twenty years,can you do more O/T, we are building up to an excess of numbers, etc etc'. We have given up believing.
Greg, this is exactly what you promised us three years ago, and your predecessors for years before that. 'We just need to get over this hump, after we implement this, once this restructure is in, etc ,etc.'
Are you really surprised that we don't believe you, another resignation from Brisbane for Ireland yesterday. 2 VRs, one early retirement and another resignation from Sydney the day before. Some people are taking paycuts just to get out of the toxic environment you have created. Your slander in the press might make you feel better, but if you are trying to fix the problem, you are just making it worse.
People will not be continually lied to, your SDE model has some good points and not so good points, it has been floundering for 2 1/2 years now.
Controllers have shown since before TAAATS transition(late nineties) that we will adapt and change,we keep moving the aircraft with new procedures, new sectors , new models, new software, new rosters and less staff.
SDE has been a lab rat experiment. People have trained and then retrained, got endorsements, had endorsements lapse, been given new airspace, had that airspace taken away. Had new rosters implemented , had those changed , and then changed again. The College has been streamlined (gutted) and now is busy trying to ramp up again. New managers who know nothing about ATC are being brought in ,and bringing their mates along for the ride. Consultants are waltzing in, and tangoing out.
You reckon October was when this all ramped up and had something to do with EBA negotiations. BS. Negotiations were not even starting til April. October was when you implemented another management restructure and 100+ controllers with endorsements hung up the headsets and went out the back to work on procedures, rosters, SDE, etc etc. They may still have ATC licences but most haven't spoken to an aircraft since and are no longer endorsed to do so. There are under 800 endorsed ATCs now in Australia, stop quoting 970+.They may still be employed but they don't move planes.
Controllers move planes.
P.S. Greg, I'd love to see the plan for the 500 trainees you are getting for the next 5 years, something more substantial than a press release, as it is now nearly August and there is still no training plan for the 95 this year and the 100 next year. Seeing you run a monopoly, I wouldn't think it is commercial-in-confidence.
It is better to tell the truth, that way you don't have to remember things.
Last edited by max1; 31st Jul 2008 at 03:45.