The £45M a year saving is to protect profits... Barron states it clearly here:
However, generating profit is becoming more challenging because of falling traffic levels, rising costs and significant pressure on prices as we consult customers about Control Period 3
and here:
This is why it continues to be important to save £45m from NERL’s controllable operating cost base by the end of Control Period 2
It is ostensibly because of traffic levels etc. Therefore at some point in the future when traffic rises, we will be making normal profits plus £45M at least.
Before I go further, I want to be clear about the £45m, as I think there is some confusion surrounding it.
Does the patronising idiot not realise that we do understand it? I think this is a reference to comments about the dividend payout.
What people are hacked off about is the fact that the £43M could have been used to offset costs until such time as we brought savings sensibly into line.
Hell, with a bit of foresight and planning we could even have said we would use £9M of the profit a year for the next 5 years, therefore only needing to find a saving of £36M per year. Traffic levels in 5 years time will be at least as high as 2007. This is obvioulsy very simplified, but you get my drift.
A simple (fictional) analogy - I no longer get my guaranteed 5 AAVAs a year which I stupidly relied on to survive. I therefore have to make a saving of £2k a year to make up for this. This is for the forseeable future as traffic levels are low.
I suddenly win £2k on the lottery 
. A one-off windfall. Do I:
a). Spunk the money on a holiday because it is a one-of windfall 
or
b). Use it towards the savings I find myself having to make, thus making a smaller burden on my future finances?
Making the savings:
Operational Resourcing
There are already rumours in TC that say ATSAs will no longer be aligned to watches but will in fact be in one big pool with individual rostering.
It is a known fact that Management want ATCOs to do this as well.
Night-Time Operations
Purely from a TC perspective (though I'm sure all other units have similar circumstances)... Every single night ATCOs in TC bandbox different sector groups to reduce the manning burden. This is done voluntarily and is not enforceable.
It is done under goodwill even though our comms equipment has not been approved for cross coupling by management... which would make the process easier and safer instead of the constant closing and opening of frequencies whcih must drive AC bonkers with pain in the arse phone calls at 2 in the morning.
If ATCOs were to work normal bandboxed sector configurations instead of bandboxing different sector groups together, TC would need at least 6 more ATCOs per night shift to operate legally. Considering this is an extra 50% of manpower, it is not insignificant. This extra manpower is currently used to shore up numbers during the day by the use of spin shifts.
The ATSAs in TC are already at the bare minimum for nightshifts after the recent VRs.
This announcement by Barron has been timed to hit the streets whilst the pay ballot is open. It is written in a way that will make people doubt the viability of the companys finances and to make them worry about job security.
Is the timing a mere coincidence?
Nowhere in his e-mail does Barron thank the staff for the hard work and effort they continue to do despite them being worried about job security.
Again in TC (just as an example and I know it is not unique in this), ATCOs work extra sectors over and above contract. About 75% of us do this, the number would be higher but not everyone can be released to cross train due to staffing levels or inexperience on their primary sector (newly valid). This is all goodwill but the OPs room would not run without it.
This extra work ethic extends way beyond ATCOs though. All grades do it, the office workers at CTC who we like to give a hard time are no different... in fact a lot of them work huge amounts of extra unpaid hours to bring projects etc in on time.
Management take this for granted - as is evident by lack of any acknowledgement by Barron in his latest missive.
We are getting briefs from our OMs over the next few weeks which include Vision 2011. I think one of the headlibes of Visions was 'Liberating and Inspiring People'.
Barron has completely failed to do this in his message. Not only does he patronise his staff, but he tries scaremongering whilst not even thanking staff for their continued support (of NATS, not him).
Basic man management principles that our Chief Executive either doesn't care about, or has forgotten about in his scramble to instill fear in the workforce whilst the pay ballot is open.
Vote 'No' to show the Board our feeling about the way we are being treated - we have no other means of doing this at the moment.
More jobs will be shed even with a 'yes' vote so don't fool yourselves into believing otherwise.