No bulli****, I'm not anti-crew, far from it; I work very closely with them on many technical issues and enjoy very cordial relations with them. I do get upset by the insensitive attitude of certain individuals. This thread started as an exhortation to crews to not volunteer for a specific subsidiary contract based in the comfort of Auckland. This exhortation was based on an allegation that lower allowances paid on that contract may then be introduced at home base. Starting this thread at this particular time is grossly insensitive. For everyone in the company there is a wage freeze. No increments are being paid this year, there is an overtime ban and certain allowances were cut. None of these make significant inroads into technical crew salaries, nor for that matter into my own. For most of the airline staff though, annual increments and overtime pay constitute a major portion of their discretionary income. In the case of the lowest paid, their disposable income has been halved. My fellow supervisory staff have to deal with the results on a daily basis - though the work force are de-motivated and thoroughly de-moralised we still have to get the work done and meet the demanding quality standards of aviation.
tottenkopf suggests that I am on Mars; I suggest that it is the militant trade unionists among the technical crew that are on Mars. You are operating machinery that is worked on by staff, who in some cases are coping with car and furniture re-possessions. By all means talk about your allowances in the privacy of your cocktail parties, but please be careful how you treat such sensitive issues as pay and allowances in public.
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Through difficulties to the cinema