Goldfrog
Without getting personal that is how CTC and the rest of admin/ penpushers/facilitaters/non valid, never valid so called air traffic experts are viewed by the operational staff. I was in the forces and in the air force for instance, which is after all in the business of flying, everything revolved around the pilots. Does the same not occur in companies like B.A.? Now I don't want to be placed on a pedestal but in NATS everything seems to revolve around administrators. We seem to be viewed with contempt by management and if they could operate the business without controllers then they would be in heaven.
The difference in mindset can be read each day on Natsnet. Any announcement from management is rejoiced by the CTC and then cynically put down by the operational units (Vision 2011 etc) Except the usual suspects of course who triumph any announcement in the aim of being the next Manager Airports.
When we got into the top layer of UK companies a year or two back I thought I was reading about another company. The opportunities available to its staff like part time, childcare, sabbaticals etc may apply to some but are not available to the operational Atco/Atsa due to a shortfall in staffing. Are they going to close a sector etc because I want to go trekking around India for 8 months? Would a bog standard administrator be in the same boat, I think not.
Whilst i believe to an extent that there is a role in NATS for all parties (what does the chief scientist do?), we are too top heavy with administrators and management positions forever being created for the old Alstrom cronies (the tie-less wonders!) and the like.
Being flippant we could solve it by re-nationalising NATS and getting the pension direct from the government. Profit? Who cares as we are supposed to be a non profit making organisation anyway.