A good couple of questions to ask TFN , of which he would have no idea of the answers.
' How many times has TIBA been avoided or shortened because a controller came in early on short notice to start their shift, or stayed back late , or came in at short notice on their day off, or allowed their roster to be changed to cover holes?'
Also how often is their airspace kept open with less than required staff, consoles done on combine, etc, etc, and for how many years have these practices been going on?
Is it true that it is cheaper to rely on your controllers doing 'excessive O/T to bump up the bottom line, than hire more?
Is your remuneration directly tied to this bottom line?
The potential for TIBA has been around for years, and there have been incidences. The line about it being tied to the EBA is a convenient scapegoat for someone who has ignored the problem for years. The management decision to create the non-operational ALMs in October was the final straw.
The Aviation Bureaucrats had removed themselves that far from the day-to-day running of the core business, that, they believed that controllers professional pride in keeping the airspace open was inexhaustible.
That our calls for years to staff the place properly and look at the age profiles was all about money. I suppose if your only motivation is the Almighty Dollar, it is reasonable to assume that is what everybody thinks.
It is a high pressure environment, when someone makes a mistake it affects those around them. When you see workmates coming in with their eyeballs hanging out, having major health problems and going through break-ups because of the pressure to attend for work on their days off, and realise that no-one at the top gives a toss, you tend to re-assess your priorities.
Thank you Greg Russell you, and your profit driven sycophants, helped us get there.