Flat Chat and others,
There will never be a 'right time' for any action by any group. Someone will always be disadvantaged. This is true in all industry throughouit the world. As pointed out, ASA have been ordered to negotiate with Civil Air, but ASA send people who dont have authority to make a decision, or they dont turn up.
Civil Air has been frustrated trying to get our certified agreement up and running for over 18 months. It should have been finalised before the last one ended!
We do not believe our skills have reduced, and dont see why the new guy sitting beside us is paid 1/2 the amount for doing the same job. I thought Australia had adopted an 'equal pay for equal work' ethos many, many years ago.
And, as I have mentioned in a post before, like commercial pilots, we are not paid for what we do 99% of the time. We are also paid for that 1% of the time when things turn to crap with an emergency. Just as I am damn sure I want the best bloke at the pointy end of the plane, I also want the best bloke at the pointy end of the ATC system. You dont get the best if you 'discourage' them by not offering a pay scale that reflects the importance of the job, and the responsibility that a controller (or a pilot) carries on his/her shoulder every time they start shift.
This action is NOT being taken lightly. It is taken thru frustration at lack of committment by Airservices Australia to NEGOTIATE a fair package for existing and NEW controllers.
WE will NOT devalue the worth of our job and skills by sacrificing the new for the short term gains of the old. And we will NOT sacrifice the safety of the travelling public, and all other airspace users, by sacrificing the conditions, and therefore the moral, of the new controllers.
We are a PROFESSIONAL organisation with PROFESSIONAL people, who are all aware of the ramifications that industrial action may have. Once again, it is not taken lightly, and really is only taken as a last resort.
I am still hopeful that common sense, and not a polital agenda, will prevail, and Airservices Australia will make an effort to return to the negotiating table IN GOOD FAITH.
Well, better get off the soap box before I fall off in exhaustion
