Capitalising on a bad situation
My feelings are that management are using an undoubtably difficult time to bring in much desired cost cutting measures that once invoked will never be removed when the situation improves. They are capitalising on a bad set of circumstances rather than managing them for the long term.
I have no problem with putting my nose to the grindstone as required but it would appear that some of the latest changes in T&C's are not entirely necessary, badly thought out and reactionary. All with a view to appear to be taking decisive measures and being indispensible.
Most of these measures might look sensible in the short term but are fraught with long term implications.
Take for instance the increase in productivity threshold. Appropriate in regards to long range flights but totally inappropriate if a roster does not contain LR flights. In fact the letter that justifies these actions says exactly that: Prior to the LR flights, the productivity was appropriate but with more LR flights it is not.
How simplistic to simply then raise the threshold across the board! What if the roster contains no LR flights? By their own definition the productivity threshold is not appropriate.
They could have dealt with a number of rostering issues by addressing this correctly but took a short term view by making a sweeping change that looks good on a spreadsheet but is doubtless going to increase the incidences of serious fatigue and associated pilot error.
Is it co-incidence that some very public errors have been made since this rule was introduced? Call it fatigue, destruction of moral, angst at job security or whatever you want but the ASR's will increase and ultimately a serious incident or accident is inevitable.
"Bad things happen in Bear Markets"
There is little recognition for the difficulties employees are facing outside their employment. Dubai is a miserable place at the moment and many pilots are distracted by events around them and affecting them. Couple this with the constant whittling away by the management and psychological impact is huge. Despite our best intentions and professionalism we are all human.
Management would do well to view the situation as a whole, not an opportunity to push personal agendas of cost cutting to curry favour and remain employed.
We need sensible discussion, sensible decisions, and strong hands. Unlike the rest of Dubai, aviation cannot be reduced to the level driving the hardest bargain.
Historically this has often turned out to be too bitter for anyone's taste.