Basings RIP
If I were a betting man I would wager on a change in the basings structure. We have all heard the rumours regarding very high level concern about the chaos that the basings system has brought to the CX operation. Before governments took an interest the system worked well. We were all based in HK, had days off at home and were subject to HK law. Governments, spying a revenue raising opportunity, decided we had to be onshore. This has brought with it different laws in different base areas. For example, under Aussie law if you have worked for a company for an uninterrupted period of 10 years you are entitled to 4 months paid leave. With each year that goes by the paid leave entitlement increases. If the Aussies get that, why should not everyone else?
As the pilot body has become more litigious, they are likely to exploit differences between base areas as a gude as to which court to fight in. If the law in the UK were more likely to provide a favourable outcome, the AOA would take their fight there. The onshoring of the bases has created an octopus whose tentacles are an impediment to the efficient operation of the company. The company are extremely concerned at the implications of operating to conflicting and sometimes contradictory laws from base to base, hence the big question mark.
The simple answer would be to scrap the bases and start again with a fresh piece of paper. Housing allowance for Officers who were re-based in HK would be an issue, but it is probably no longer the overriding issue. One idea that should be receiving consideration is a commuting roster. The Koreans and ANA have done this for years. In ANAs case they do 14 on 14 off. Korean is less favourable but the principle remains the same. Their crews are paid in the local currency into a local bank. Crews who accepted a commuting roster would not get housing allowance.
Since the Basings Agreement with the AOA is due for renewal in the New Year we can probably expect some changes.