I'm not holding my breath, but am wondering how long these bureaucrats will take to work out that the 'stick' isn't working and maybe its time to hold out the olive branch and try the 'carrot'.
TFN admitted that they hadn't done any workforce planning, and then went on to streamline (gut) the College, not knowing whether it was prudent to do so or not. The controllers and our Association warned him three years ago that staffing was dire and would become critical in the near future. From other posts on his incentive scheme it is not hard to work out for what personal gain this was done.
His sychophants have been telling him that technology will replace the controllers, if the history of ASA tells us anything then it is that the over-promise and under-deliver culture is ingrained in the Alan Woods Building.
When things are not delivered it is always someone elses fault. For the industry types, the promise of User Preferred Routing will NOT be available as promised by the middle of 2009, it was achievable but was never going to be delivered as they won't put the money towards the software. $106 million profit from the industry but you wont be getting UPRs or much in the way of RNPs. The manager who promised it at Waypoint 2008 is ' all tip and no iceberg'. Controllers on the ground have a far better idea of what can actually be achieved as we can see where the money is going, and where the staff are to implement projects.
SDE due Nov 2007, Flight Plan Conflict Probe pick any date in the last 4 years, Full staffing pick any date in the last 6 years. All of these are anyones guess.
Due to the creation of the ALM AWA positions and corresponding reduction in real numbers of controllers, there are no staff to assist with these projects as it is left to the remaining active controllers to struggle to keep airspace open.
A large proportion of sector simulator exercises at the centres, to train the new recruits, are out of date and not usable due to lack of staff to update them. The place is slowly and inexorably grinding to a halt.
One AWA ALM, who still has the moral compass intact, wrote on an Aviation site of what is wrong. We will soon see him back at the console. Lipservices are still shooting the messenger and ignoring the message.
To try and fix this ASA are attempting to take away our Principles of Rostering ( we have no CAR 48 Duty times protection), sick leave, and obligate us to attend on our days off.
The numbers of new hires PROMISED is NOT ACHIEVABLE, significant numbers of controllers are working, or have worked, out their exit strategies.
Those approaching retirement are bringing their retirement dates forward, and still these bureaucrats are saying there is no crisis.
Wait for the excuses and blame game to start as things get worse not better, we already have instituitionalised overtime and they want more. Refresher training is computer based Q&A, no simulator, there is no staff development
As the place crumbles even more, the blame will be put on the controllers, as the 50 odd people in the corporate spin doctors bunker continue to manipulate the media to protect a short-sighted, and incentive driven, management? team that have failed to plan and therefore plan to fail.
Now , more than anytime in the last twenty five plus years I have been around, ASA need to get controllers onside. Its not happening. In the past if we were rung up to come in our days off and had something on, the answer would be " I have a kids, wifes birthday, have family outing planned etc, etc, but if you can't find anyone else ring me back ". This would be told to the next person and eventually find someone to fill the hole or you would cancel your activity to attend. We got paid for this but rarely thanked. That style of supervisor is almost extinct these days, or that disillusioned with ASA that they have just gone back to controlling and left managing to the new breed. The new breed who have left us with this a staffing crisis, lack of training capability, and a disillusioned and disengaged workforce. But we do have a lot more managers.
Anyway, got to polish up the CV now.