This is reposted with permission from the author.
Sums it all up very nicely.
Welcome to 20 fully serviced shared apartments with two separate bedrooms and bathroom facilities, common kitchen and living room at Ela Vista /Gardenia …….Would you like ELECTRICITY with that???
I offer these thoughts in the hope that some of those who make these decisions also read these posts.
Let’s Recap then (please correct me if I’m wrong):
A large group of professionals largely responsible for a reputation of world standard aviation safety over a 40 year period, are told to sign a new non-negotiable employment contract in breach of an existing legal enterprise bargaining agreement; with 33% less annual leave, pay cuts of at least 20% and slashed working conditions by 31st December 2014, or consider their employment terminated in 2015.
These Professionals are now known as ’A’ Scale.
About 65 Pilot’s who did sign (under duress) and who were previously based around the world in New Zealand, Australia, Philippines etc. now automatically become Port Moresby based but externally domiciled.
Then, despite roughly 66 /228 pilot resignations/ terminations/ redundancies in the preceding 6 – 12 months (or approx. ¼ Pilot Staff) in March 2015, ANL’s Board and senior staff arrange to relocate the POM accommodation arrangements of the remaining 65 offshore “Domiciled” pilots.
Despite the objections of the Chief Pilot, Manager’s Durrani and Umanga, at very short notice, ANL provided POM staff accommodation was changed from hotel accommodation with minimal transport delays to the airport and access to 24 hour sustenance; to 20 fully serviced shared apartments with two separate bedrooms and bathroom facilities, common kitchen and living room at Ela Vista/Gardenia; which are also rumoured to belong to a senior politician with a conflict of interest in ANL’s affairs.
That’s 65 pilots divided by 20 two bedroom apartments, which obviously doesn’t work if they are permanent digs for POM based crew. Luckily ANL senior managers don’t regard the Ela Vista/Gardenia complex as permanent accommodation.
According to Rei Lagona
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“The accommodation in Moresby is merely transit accommodation for the work period in POM.”
and…
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“ANL is providing the accommodation in fully serviced apartments with two separate bedrooms and bathroom facilities, common kitchen and living room. It has been stated that FIFO don’t do this; that is incorrect as there are FIFO arrangements like this in PNG.”
and…
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“What is stated above is what the company can provide. Should crew decide not to utilise the Company provided accommodation because they refuse to share, then the crew concerned will have to arrange for his own accommodation at his own cost.”
Right, so company supplied, shared, temporary style accommodation a long way from the airport, with no alternative company option. Got it!
(I believe the FIFO arrangements Rei is referring to are in the Resource Sector, which is very far removed from the International Airline environment; and I don’t believe many resource sector FIFO operations have “Top Up” power or outages!)
Funnily enough, affected Pilots are not happy with what they see as a forced sharing arrangement and understand this accommodation issue is extremely important to every pilot. EVEN PX CADET PILOTS DO NOT SHARE APARTMENTS.
Pilots see it is a basic, fundamental component of employment conditions, not a side issue. In other words, A WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE.
Pilots also see the non-negotiable attitude from senior ANL managers as confirmation of being treated with contempt – yet again.
ANL’s Chief Pilot’s view is reported to be:
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“My "advice" was given to Durrani and Umanga after they requested input. They weren't in favour of the move either.
Basically, my point of view is……..no sharing with another pilot. The other issue is transport for shopping etc. I have a car and can fend for myself, not the case for the majority of pilots. If you cannot feed yourself then you will be unlikely to have an adequate rest period.”
Well said.
Although the small bedroom’s are reported to be unsuitable due to aircon and loud laundry noise, ANL managers still regard the Ela Vista/ Gardenia apartments as shared facilities, but neglected to ensure they were provisioned for more than one person; i.e. 1 cup, 1 glass, 4 plates, side plates and dessert bowls. 6 knives forks spoons and teaspoons. medium size sharp knife, spatula, fry pan and pot. (BYO washing powder and dish washing detergent).
If the units are to be shared then each occupant will need to bring his own cup and glass if he/she wishes to have a cup of coffee or a beer at the same time!
Almost immediately accommodation faults surfaced, suggesting a hurried preparation from management. I would argue that some of these issues are ANL’s direct duty of care responsibility to their employees. Examples listed in this thread include:
Bad sewage smells; Poor plumbing resulting in water flow and gurgling noises; Noisy neighbours and very noisy dogs for hours at night which is not restful and makes sleep impossible; Poor build quality, such as a hard to open door which didn't allow for an oven door clearance; Cheap glass doors with flimsy locking mechanism which block no noise on balcony and bedroom because of big air gaps; Sliding balcony security screens are difficult to operate & impossible to lock; No security on bottom gate leading to fire escapes and access to units; 2 pin power outlets; Power Points u/s; No hot water; Leaking shower cubicle because the floor is not recessed; Rooms not serviced; Un-reliable appliances….and no power because it had not been “Topped Up”; Ah well, early days right?
Assuming there is one, it could be argued some of the faults indicate serious flaws in the PNG building code. It does raise the question of what due diligence ANL undertook to ensure the safety of its employees before the unprecedented haste in forcing employees to move into the complex. It’s all good until the place goes up in flames and someone gets hurt, only to discover it wasn’t built to an accepted code.
Despite shared accommodation in a Port Moresby based situation being against ANL’s own current housing policy (Section 4.), the board and certain senior manager’s appear to be indifferent to ANL’s Duty of Care, in spite of contrary advice from other senior managers who have specific experience in these issues.
The Chief Pilot himself has acknowledged that as each pilot is exposed to different work patterns, therefore changing flatmates continually creates a level of fatigue which he/she is compelled to address; Pilots must now cook for themselves regardless of their duty times and must be able to access secure, reliable transport to shops to achieve this outcome. Most “New POM based” pilots do not possess motor vehicles in PNG and must rely on alternative transport options.
According to Rei Lagona, ANL recognise this problem:
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“There will be a bus provided for an interim period to assist to get to the shops and a daily allowance of K100 per day also for the interim period. We will review this arrangement after a transitional settling period.”
As stated above, the shopping bus and allowance is a temporary arrangement only! After whatever unstated time period, ANL will cancel this service in the expectation that everyone will have access to private transportation and food supplies.
Which is all very good, except the company accommodation is “merely transit accommodation” and everyone knows how stable ANL’s roster system is, right?
No-one can plan to buy more than a few groceries at any one time because they will be expected to vacate their unit when overnighting or returning to their domicile. And depending on duty sign on/ sign off times, maybe not even then.
I never thought I would see a situation where aircrews would look forward to a Lihir or Moro Overnight/ Weekend. I can now!
But let’s suppose for a moment that you COULD do a decent shop and store it in your POM unit until you return, with no worries about food theft by your flatmate:
How can you guarantee the REFRIGERATOR you left your frozen and fresh food in, will not be turned off by Port Moresby’s Unique Electricity supply and lack of Standby Power: or because someone forgot to “Top Up” PNG Power’s Easipay Prepaid Electricity supply.
How would you know that your food had not been spoiled while you were way – even for one day? As all pilots know, food poisoning, is a very real issue.
In 1980, (yes, 35 years ago) Port Moresby’s Electricity Outages were World Famous. All hotels had standby power even way back then. PNG Power (Elcom) has possibly the world’s longest running electricity supply issue and is also possibly the most consistently mismanaged utility provider in the world. And it’s now broke!
So, does anyone know if the Ela Beach Gardenia Apartment complex has Standby Power generators to protect against the infamous and inevitable daily power outages?
But, even if there IS Standby Power, with “PNG Power’s Easipay Prepaid Electricity” your electricity may still be turned off! And exactly how much electricity does K400 / Month per apartment buy you anyhow? Apparently, not enough to support the operation of trivialities such as lights, aircon and REFRIGERATION.
Top Up Power? In An International Flag Carrier’s Company Supplied Staff Accommodation? Less than ideal before or after a reasonably busy day I would suggest.
Regardless, the current accommodation arrangements can only encourage poor eating habits due to lack of access to quality meats and good fresh fruit and vegetables; or just lack of access to food; and will make short term fatigue and illness issues inevitable. Chronic Fatigue also becomes an issue.
ANG Mis-Managers have now set a new World Record in Airline Standards: Low, Very Very Low, even by PNG standards! It seems ANL’s Industrial Relations Policy and Duty Of Care to it’s Professional Staff is beyond repair.
The important thing for ANL’s Board and Senior Managers to realise is that it is not just the pilot’s problem! It’s theirs also because their decisions created it!
Just my two cents worth.