Hello!
It´s been a long time since I last updated the changing situation we ATCO´s are experimenting in the lasts months in Spain. I´m going to throw in some info so that you can make yourself a picture of what to expect when you fly through our skies. Maybe this can prevent some rant from you guys on the radio or in this forum. I´ll try to limit myself only to facts, some other time I´ll let you know my opinion:
- We have been imposed BY LAW (no talks, no agreements, no negotiation with our union) an increase in our yearly working hours, from 1200 hrs to 1670 hrs, 39% more hrs a year.
- Our time for breaks has been reduced, also BY LAW, from 33% to 25% daily, and from 50% to 33% during nights. No previous study about the impact on our work load has been made. This adds to the increase in our yearly hours: we work more hours with less resting time. The distribution of the breaks is sometimes surreal: breaks at the beginning of your shift make you work 6 hrs with only a 45 min. break.
- Mandatory recalls are now legal for us (only for Spanish ATCO´s, this doesn´t affect to the rest of the Spanish workers, yet ...), anytime, anyday, 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. This means that AENA (Spanish ATC SP) can make you work whenever they want, on your days off, with no excuses for not attending the service. They can let you know with only 6 hrs notice, so you can imagine how this disturbs your private life: wife, kids, friends, etc ... SLAVERY?
- Vacations are now assigned by AENA, and you can only know your monthly schedule (including holydays) on the 20th of the previous month: that is only 10 days to plan ahead your holydays, family life, etc ... Even so, AENA can change it anytime, anyway they want.
- Operational decisions are now taken by staff non-operational personnel: runway in use, number of sectors and configuration in use, sector capacity, regulations, calibration-aircraft timetables, ATCO´s at work ... ATCO supervisors must obey their orders without discussion.
- Veteran ATCO´s older than 57 (the most experienced) are not allowed to control anymore, and are now forced to do burocratic jobs. This has been a great loss for all of us, because of their huge experience on the job. At Madrid TMA, about 30% of the ATCO´s have been retired from operational jobs, and have been hardly replaced by already exploited colleagues or by non-operational ATCO´s forced to return to the ACC.
- The limit of monthly working hrs has been risen to 200 hrs. My wife works around 180 hrs from 0900 to 1700, no nights, no weekends, no holydays ... Some people are working 20-25 days in a row, and on their days off it is usual to be assigned an "imaginaria" service: you must be on call 1 hr before the service starts up to 1/2 an hr after because they can phone you and you must report at work. And even if you don´t have an "imaginaria" that day, a recall can be imposed the previous day.
- When we complain about sector capacities being exceeded, the answer we get from AENA or from EASA (Spanish air safety agency) is that it´s our fault for abusing direct routings or clearing FL different from those filed in the FP. They even remind us that there is an Eurocontrol document preventing against direct routing and non-scheduled FL´s.
- Our salaries have been cut up to a 70% in some cases. AENA is not respecting pay agreements signed with the ATCO´s during the last 10 years. We don´t know what we will get paid next month.
- Socially, our profession has been ruined as we are now seen by most of the people as privileged lazy scum with high salaries and low productivities, always on strike, always abusing the rest of the citizens (the last strike in Spanish ATC was in 1986), in a country with more than 5 million unemployed (more than 20%). The media campaign against us reached even international news agencies, and had nothing to envy to that made by Goebbles against jews.
- You can be fired for "disciplinary" reasons anytime. You can consider the concept "disciplinary" in the context in which this whole message is written.
- You can be sent to another destination at AENA´s wish. No excuses, no compensation. We are expecting to see several forced relocations of ATCO´s from Barcelona ACC to Madrid ACC to compensate for the veterans they decided no longer could be operational.
- Sick leaves are on the rise, with the increase of work-load for those still active: at LEAL, 8 out of 18 are down, at Sevilla ACC its 18 out of 120 down, etc ... My colleagues are literally breaking down on a daily basis.
- All the trainning time has been suspended: no more time for new procedures, new LOA´s, new systems ...
- LSA (Air Safety Law) can impose very high monetary fines on ATCO´s, up to 240.000 €, for diverse reasons. In fact, AESA doesn´t have a state budget: they finance themselves by the fines they impose. Bye, bye "just culture" ...
- High season is about to begin in the coasts of Spain and at the Balearic Islands ...
- USCA (Spanish main union, 96%) has repeatedly denounced that SAFETY IS AT RISK in the Spanish skies: 96% increase in incidents in march, with 7 almost-collisions at Madrid TMA (class A incidents) in 4 months. More info at: Caos en los cielos españoles :: Aviación :: Política :: Periodista Digital
- USCA has been spied by Spanish state intelligence, their webpage has been hacked, the mails have been stolen.
I hope this helps you to understand why we can´t give direct routings or FL other than those of the FP, or some other non-desirable situations. I can assure you that we Spanish ATCO´s are doing our best, as we have always done. I will gladly attend any question that arises on this matter.
Saludos!