19 Years

[Fantome]

LONG SERVING AFAP PRESIDENT CAPT DICK HOLT'S ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS MADE AT THE TIME OF THE PILOTS' DISPUTE

TO: All members of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots

FROM: Dick Holt

SUBJECT: The "Award" Applications by your Employers

Brian McCarthy has granted me the privilege of direct communication with you about the "awards" application if I wish. I do wish and I will try to contain my language.

This "award" has been carefully drawn up by and on behalf of persons having a massive dislike of pilots and which under normal standards would cause its originators to be dismissed for stupidity.

It is made possible only by a mischievous and dangerous association between parties and persons in political and commercial fields each of which has a direct vested interest in destroying the protection under which you have worked for several decades.

This is proven inter alia, by the fact that these awards would destroy by elimination, a host of protections which have nothing whatsoever to do with the Dispute at large.

It seems to me that such awards would leave you:

* without representation by your Federation
* without any bid system
* without any grievance procedures
* without any rules for the application of seniority
* locked into a system under the control of the A.C.T.U. and the Politicians of the day.
* subject to "direction" by the Industrial Relations Commission.
* without defined Loss of Licence insurance.
* without the ability to discuss new aircraft types.
* without protection from arduous tours of duty. (particularly in relation to pilot fatigue)
* without any right to be informed why you have been terminated
* without A.F.A.P. support in accident or incident investigation
* without a specified recreation leave arrangement
* without any Equipment Assignment procedures
* without any recognised input into scheduling
* without a savings clause
* without protection against enforced dual endorsements
* without any severance pay.
* without any pay calculation formula
* without recognition of non-flying time spent away from home port.
* without a controlled pay "deduction" rule
* without any input into rostering
* without adequate specified reserve duty rules (a massive loss)
* without any drafting rules
* without any pay protection for cancellation, substitution and displacement
* without any real specification of your duties performed.

and so on.

The proposed Australian Section 6B says: "It is not considered necessary nor possible to specify every detail of the duties, it being generally understood within the aviation industry what those duties comprise" (I wonder who wrote that!) The proposed Ansett award at Section 21 says: "all other conditions of employment shall be as determined by the employer".

So - you are left with your employer making all of the decisions on all of the matters listed above as and when they come up, which they surely will, and a multitude of other matters including introduction of new aircraft types.

The style of management mischief and patronage this would recreate appals me.

Another vicious section of the general approach to the Industrial Relations Commission is the request by the airline management group to set aside all General Aviation Awards - an animal act taken without any thought of the consequences, other than an insane desire to get at pilots.

All in all, this is vintage 1950 - 1959 stuff. In those days:

* you did what you were told
* you rang and begged for information about the next roster so that you could make a few plans
* accommodation was frequently vile - a two bed room over the hangar at Essendon
* a five bed dormitory in the staff quarters of a hotel in Cairns - we weren't good enough to occupy guest rooms!
* advancement - you eased respectfully into the Senior Route Captain's office and asked about your prospects, upgrading etc. The right hand opened a drawer about four inches and looked at whatever was "the list" and said something like - "maybe soon, maybe longer"
* the "good boy" system was rampant - carry the extra weight, bend the regulations etc, very much on the agenda.

I'm not being nostalgic - you may be assured that the 1990's version of that kind of treatment awaits you under such awards.

No other Association or Trade Union in Australia would accept such a disgusting recession to employer savagery and denigration of current working conditions.

Dick Holt. 4.10. 89

ABOUT DICK HOLT

Richard Tweedy Holt retired from Ansett Airlines on 29 November 1978 on his 60th birthday. The Pilots Federation was as strong as it was largely because of his tireless efforts over decades building up the organisation and because of the example of selfless purpose he set for others. (Dick served seven terms as President of the Federation). He was always quick to acknowledge the outstanding work of others, but for many it was Dick's leadership and ethics that formed a large part of the glue that bound Australian pilots together.

When he retired he made a speech which included the following observations:

"Through his seat at the front of the aircraft flow the efforts of thousands of people who provide the means by which he carries out his task. However, it is an undeniable fact that:

* His is the final responsibility.
* His is the ultimate decision in any course of action.
* He can never be complacent.
* He must be humble; the elements keep him so.
* He must prove himself to his peers over and over again throughout his career, or seek another job.
* He must exude a quiet confidence in his own ability and his aircraft.
* He must create an aura of efficiency and capability such that the passengers stream on and off the aircraft without even a thought about what is occurring at the front of the aircraft.
* Finally, he must be ready during every second of his working life to defeat the ultimate emergency he may encounter at any time."

Dick's own flying career exemplified this. On his first flight as captain on the DC9 he had to shutdown an engine in flight. On his first flight as a captain on the B727, he had an engine failure on rotation out of Sydney.

He was a pilot's pilot with a boyish love of flying, but of far greater import than that was his remarkable sense of justice and fair play. This was reflected in the democratic structure of the Pilots' Federation. He had a rare understanding of human nature, one that made him so effective. He bore his detractors and those who attempted to destroy his many year's work no rancour. As he said of those who through their actions so damaged the Pilots Federation, their profession and the careers of their former colleagues: "Their alleged character weaknesses are in us all to a certain extent and we have no right to judge them. Our job is to live by our own personal ethics and ideals and not impose those ideals on others." Dick's definition of ethical behaviour was simple: "Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself."

Dick's funeral in May 2000 was attended by a large number of former colleagues from Ansett and Australian Airlines who came from around the world. A number of pilots who had returned to work during the Pilots Dispute a decade earlier came. Their presence served to remind others less embroiled, less bitter, of how highly Dick was regarded. Many felt a great sense of loss and grief during the funeral, primarily at Dick's passing of course, but inevitably at the destruction of so much that he had built up over his years of service to his profession.

As Captain Sherm said in his originating post here yesterday -

19 years today. Good time to remember mates long gone and those still working overseas and even sadder, those who might just never come back. A loss to us all.

To those who might reflect on a world past where there was a single, robust and respected pilot union...please reflect....and do something.

To those who feel like contributing something negative.....please don't.