Employee unrest at ET
Just got this e-mail from ET employees in cas anybody is interested.
United employees against the current management group
This is a group formed in association with cockpit crew members, cabin crew members, and some non-flying employees. Our demands are very simple, we do not ask for more money or more promotion. This is a question of fairness and honesty that the management fails to follow. We are very angry with the management’s actions. It is time that they start listening to us and stop fooling us.
Our demands are listed below.
1. Demand from captains and first officers
a) We want a working collective agreement; the management is changing our payment method as it pleases it. Why is it taking so much to come up with a new collective agreement?
b) We want to be well respected by the management team. We believe our input is vital for the survival of the airline and most of us are matured enough to be treated like fools by the airline. Stop fooling us and start respecting us. We are in charge of the aircraft when we fly, not the manager who is seating in his office. We want full authority and respect.
c) We have observed that station agents have more power over us this has to stop; we want to be able to upgrade any one who is dear to us. Most of the time we upgrade cabin crew or crew family members. So, what is the harm, the seat is perishable why do you make a big deal out of this. We want all captains, their family members and first officers to be entitled (In written form) for a cloud nine class seat whenever we travel on our free thickets i.e. there is an available cloud nine class seat.
d) We want promotion to be on the basis of seniority; seniority has been the guideline for promotion ever since the airline has started, however the current flight operations team has started messing that up by promoting those who are very dear to them and passing those who are not in good terms with them and using promotion as a weapon for submission. This is an unethical managerial method that has started to corrupt our system. We want that to be abolished immediately and start promoting those captains and first officers which have been left behind.
e) We want the current flight operations team to be replaced by new ones who are better fit to lead such a work force. We want to be lead by managers who do not mix business with pleasure, give the chance for others to lead. Major cost of this airline comes from expatriate salary had the flight operations team been planning ahead for the airlines expansion they would have trained many national captains and first officers. However, the flight operations team has been busy with fighting our association and anyone who stands against them that they forget to focus on the issues that mattered most. This is poor management and due to their failure we are forced to pay for the situation the airline is in now.
2. Demand from supervisors
a) All of us have been working and toiling for the success of the airline however, the airline has not been working in favor of us. We have been appointed to fly Q400 and 737 flights recently, most of us are old and have devoted most of our energy for the airline. Therefore, we want the acting supervisors to fly those flights and assign us to fly the flights with more layovers. The acting supervisors agree with this idea as they will know that they follow our footsteps when they reach our age.
b) Some lead cabin crew members are overriding our authority we want our authority to be respected we are being treated as insignificant; change that.
3. Demand from all crew members
a) We want Lead cabin crew Meretework who has been serving in the cabin crew association to be returned back to her job immediately. P.s. Merete or other association members are not our group members and they will be surprised when they read this email.
b) We want those cabin crew members who are flying round trip flights because they did not fly a flight that is above their duty hour to be returned back to normal schedule immediately. Why are duty time limitations set if they are not to be respected. The management should have stood by crew member’s side, not punish them. They did nothing wrong they just acted according to the law. Scheduling should have one set of crew ready as standby every day. Why are cabin crew being punished for the failure of crew scheduling.
c) We are very angry to contribute 1$ from our per dime per hour. This is too much for us since some of us save the money we are given for food and run our households. Why are we the one who are contributing a lot? If the airline is in trouble as you say it is then let’s talk about taking 10% from our salary. The allowance you give us is for food most of us eat our food with it or save it. Either way we do not want to give our allowance for the airline. The basic point with allowance is that we spend it for food, tip and laundry you should not take money from food. Do you want us not to eat or not to pay for porters or come to flights with dirty clothes?
Methods to be used for the strike
1. We will not keep your schedules; most flights will arrive with a delay which will be very costly to you. We will consume extra fuel by using APU, reveres power, not using direct routes, following strict SID and STARs and etc.
2. We will drive all your customers away by telling everyone we know that the airline is unsafe. We have hacked into your shebamiles email address we will start sending them news that is unfavorable to this airline.
3. We have talked to some of your competitors that are very happy for the failure of the airline and they are willing to surface negative advertisement about this airline
4. We will communicate with the staralince group and reveal things you don’t want them to know
5. We will tip IOSA and SAFA organizations your unsafe operations
6. We will not follow your cost saving initiatives, we will start dumping the most expensive drinks and every flight will be very expensive for you. We know that you cannot fire every one and every one will do it. We will break all the headsets all the glasses and china wear until all of it will be gone and the airline has to buy new ones.
7. We will use poor customer handling methods.
8. Each of us will be united everything will be run through email and face book accounts and you can try to find this group but you will not. We have taken every precaution not to be found.
The cyber revolution that has brought the fall of president Muberk and president Gadafi has begun in Ethiopian airlines. Our demands are very few take us very seriously we are not bluffing. This revolution is like a forest fire you don’t know where the fire starts but the fire will be everywhere.
Dear employees lets stand together and fight this unjust management team. The airline needs to be run by matured and educated people not by political appointed managers who are dragging us down. Please create a fake gmail address and face book account we can chat we can skype and we can email each other. If the management does not act according to our demand we will communicate and start our strike. Do not trust anybody don’t talk anything we will just act we will not talk. And we shall win.
Dear management team if the airline is in a loss then it’s your failure. As far as we are concerned we have been working so hard. This means you have not been working so hard. All of you have been very busy fighting with individuals, consumed with calculating benefits of cockpit and cabin crew member, or calculating ways how to reduce our payments. You should have been busy with income generating operations. The management is full of negative attitude towards the employees, therefore, you failed. Step down and give the chance for others who are intellectuals and experienced to lead.
Ato Tewelde when you said that the airline needs to save 1billion birr is it so that you commission as a board member does not decrease? If the airline is in trouble show us some financial statements and we can trust you, otherwise we believe it’s for your personal commission that you are forcing us to contribute this money. Shame on you.
The group will give the management one month advance to fulfill our demands as of today. If we do not see any change in one month time then we will initiate the strike using the method above and you will see how powerful united employees are.
Sincerely yours.