Please forget everything you might have heard about sallaries. Sallaries were the first thing to go many months ago, and it is not what we are fighting for.
If you must know as an experienced approach controller at LECB I made 4300 EUR last month. Our last colleagues to join are making 2300 eur.
I love this job and if it was only an issue of money I'd consider myself happy. But it's not. We've gone from 1200 to upwards of 2000 hours. Management has decided unilaterally to increase traffic loads with absolutely no safety studies. We are enduring monthly rosters of 200 hours. When some of us folded to pressure (18 people had already been medically evacuated when I last asked in august) the goverment forced the medical inspection to turn down sick leaves. Colleagues of my have been working while still on anxiety medication, or decided to drop the treatment ot of fear of government retaliation.
Just culture has been completely obliterated, and recordings have been used arbitrarily to attack employees. We have been robbed of our holidays, and sick leaves have gone unpaid. They are losing trial after trial because the company is denying basic rights (leaves to attend small children). Even after having lost these trials the continue the practice (hopefully we will end up having an obvious case of mobbing)
With today's decree it is the fourth time this year that legislation has been passed specifically to change our terms and conditions, collective negotiation be damned.
And to top it all off to this day we are to be available 24/365 to work in the company deems it necessary.
So yes. I _DO_ claim slavery when all the basic rights that had been painfully gained through the 20th centry haven been swiftly dragged from under our feet, all in the name of economic interest and a complete disregard of operational safety.
So please don't bring back the issue of money. Money has not been an issue for a long time now. It's all about basic rights, our dignity and the safety of operations. I don't think I would have to stress that the people that are RIGHT NOW sending untrained military personnel to take control of the operation are not thinking too much about safety.
With all my regards,
Juan Toledo