I thought long and hard about this but in an attempt to pacify those posters who have criticised the easyJet pilots I am copying from the very latest Balpa newsletter.
As most of you know easyJet has been using newly qualified cadets
from CTC to fill our first officer vacancies over the last 2 years. They
have come from various schemes but essentially all are now
contracted via CTC on their Flexi Crew Contract, via Oxford Aviation
Academy (OAA) on their APP Plus scheme or in the case of a few ex-
BMI pilots via Parc Aviation as contractors. In total there will be
over 200 First Officers who will be contracted for this summer of
which we believe around 100 will be at Gatwick.
There have been changes to the contracts being offered by CTC and
OAA this year, the most significant of which has been the removal
of any guarantee of flying, thus removing any guarantee of
earnings. Because of the financial pressure this has created some
cadets, mainly those not flying for easyJet, have chosen to file for
voluntary bankruptcy. The concern is the financial situation many
cadets are in may result in high levels of stress which could effect
their performance. In addition, as the employers are paying no sick
pay, there is a further concern that some cadets feel pressured into
working whilst unfit in order to maintain their income.
All ePG Local Council’s are extremely concerned about this
situation. As you will have seen, BALPA and the other MA’s are
pursuing this as an industry wide issue and there is clearly some
read across from the US Colgan Air accident report. Whilst the
cadets are not directly employed by easyJet, they are not legally
represented by us as ePG Local Councils. However, we have to work
with them and any impairment in their performance puts our
passengers and ourselves at increased risk. We have conveyed our
concerns to the Company and are formulating a proposal which
could bring the cadets into permanent employment sooner. Trying
to make this proposal work without significant cost is a real
challenge, but one we hope to overcome during the next few
months. In the meantime please understand the situation your
colleagues are in.