What staggers me is that, in a safety concious industry like ours, the very people who have the greatest impact on safety, and who have been identified as the most likely to cause an accident, (pilot error) are being subjected to working 'at the limit' on a regular basis.
While the rest of the EU work force has had a massive improvemnt in general working conditions, we are being pressurised into a degradation. It beggars belief.
What to do about it? How many of the fire-fighters wrote to their MP's?? Count them on one hand.
The bus drivers, lorry drivers. ATC controllers, doctors & nurses. teachers; all of these professions shouted loud over work and made it into print and the public domain. They scotched the myth of overpaid and underworked. Public opinion changed in their favour.
I still think the general public have the impression about our profession left over from the glamorous BOAC days. It was common to hear pax say that they thought we were getting off in TFS for a few days on the beach.
When they were told we flew 4-6 sectors a day for an LCA they were amazed. When they climb aboard at LGW afetr a 6 hour delay in the middle of the night, they do not realise that the crews have also been hanging around at home 'off duty' just waiting for the scramble call. They get on in blind faith.
When asked what they really thing about it all, they say that they assume we are protected by the CAA. Surely the licencing authority would not allow anything unsafe. The pblic are so used to 'sell by dates' and standards of this and that, that they assume an industry such as ours must be regulated upto the eyeballs in safety.
If you want a widget for the toilet door it has to be tested and approved to the nth order. 'Safety'!
For the human element? That's too expensive.
Considering that MP's have changed their working hours to be more family friendly and improve their quality of life, how can they not give the same consideration to our profession?
Ah! Politics.