SIA to CAL
Hi All,
Anytime you invest yourself in a company, you don't just think your way through what happens to it, you feel your way!
The SQ pilots are justifiably proud of what they have been part of building over the years, and are angry that they are being used to make three political points to all Singaporeans - everyone's rice bowl is up for grabs, seniority stands for next to nothing, and there will always be enough expats out of work to drive wage bills down that so we don't need loyalty, we just need competent cheap low maintenance pilots.
Historically, SQ management has taken these kinds of "blunt" approaches before. They cannot be sustained over time as supply and demand forces a reality check. All that happens is that instead of a smooth competent process of managing pilots, SQ lurches towards court every few months to solve problems that it seems incapable of solving in-house.
Think of the two major components of a safety system Effective Communication and Teamwork and it is to their credit that the SQ Crew are able to focus on their comittment to their airline, and their pride - inspite of the style used to manage them.
It is also to their credit that SQ pilots have continued to try to keep their community intact, keep looking for small chances to improve their lot, and to go through these cycles bloodied but unbowed. When opportunities to go elsewhere arise, they may not be taken up by many from SQ - not due to any lack of size in their round objects, but to a persistence that is more to do with "This is my airline, I helped build it, why should I be driven out?" than it is to counting wealth from the comfort of the baronial pad.
Don't misundertand me. There are a tiny minority of a-holes in the left seat of SQ just as there are anywhere. They are dying out, and their arrogance becomes less tolerated by the day. However, as a whole, SQ colleagues are great people to go to work with, and are being managed in ways that those of you in the modern world outside cannot begin to imagine.
Instead of bashing, may I suggest a little support for the great majority who are simply trying to keep the faith.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I'm not a fan of generalised pilot bashing, and as one from SQ, I like to defend my crowd.