Originally Posted by mightyauster
The problem Tailwheel, from a LAME's point of view, is Juliar's "modern" Aviation Award allows a minimum rate of pay which is far, far below what the airlines are actually paying, as they have realised some time ago that no one would work for them. Unfortunately, this is where the bottom feeders like AMSA, IASA and JHAS come in.
Can't comment on AMSA or IASA but JHAS certainly weren't paying low end.
A key concept was to move to annualised salaries so guys get paid a good living regardless of overtime, the theory being that the incentive is then to get the work completed appropriately in less time with no need to do anywhere near as much overtime i.e. JHAS pays a level of overtime regardless but then gets the benefit of productivity boosts as things get completed more quickly and clients get value for money on the basis of quicker turnarounds.
In exchange JHAS needed the flexibility to roster people differing hours per week depending on the work required at that time. When your entire earning comes from selling time then time not billed is a major business killer. If you make 15% margin on a person's total cost then if 1 hour is wasted it takes approximately 7 hours of billed work to cover that wasted hour. That was why flexibility of hours rostered was critical. I know a number of the guys hated that, but essentially that is one of the key differences between working for an MRO and an airline where the load can be balanced and any overflow work outsourced.
I don't know how successful it was in practice, I left before it really got going, but that was the rationale. At the time it also meant that the guys got paid superannuation on the built in components like overtime and all other allowances which didn't all get paid on a more traditional hour based pay system.
Originally Posted by mightyauster
It is not only pay rates that are a concern. Since CASA have foisted the Part 66 system upon us, with the lie that the existing Mechanical LAMEs won't be affected, the reality is a foriegn full B1 rated LAME is much more economically useful than a legacy CASA LAME, especially if said companies don't want to pay for training.
I'm sorry, but the whole system is a complete and utter shambles.
You are correct but I disagree with your conclusion. The system is a shambles, your point that a full B1 is much more economical than the CASA LAME hits the nail on the head. In the modern environment you need those efficiencies or your costs blow out massively.
This is where I think QF have missed THE critical point. It doesn't matter if you give the guys a 3% pay rise, that's not where the problem lies. Heck, as I recall it LAME's took a 0% pay rise around 9/11 and SARS. The problem lies in the restrictive work practices requiring too many people compared to the B1/B2 system. That is just structurally inefficient and the costs associated with that are far more significant than any 3% pay rise.
As for training, one of my beliefs was that a JHAS training school was a must. Any AME who showed the initiative to get their basics in place would be given a type course to become a LAME. From memory the average LAME age when I did the numbers was over 53, to me that represented a major issue. The other key benefit of an in house training school was if there were ever a period when no major work was won then the guys could be given additional ratings or whatever via modular teaching. Multiskilling is also essential if an MRO based in Australia is to be viable.
Ultimately the school was something that didn't proceed, was disappointed that it didn't.