kumul1
13th Sep 2003, 18:47
I don't believe it. They actually want to work.
Trully the land of the unexpected.
Friday, September 12, 2003
Air Niugini cuts down engineers working hours
By JACQUELINE KAPIGENO and JULIA DAIA BORE
A REDUCTION in working hours for aircraft engineers to save about K250, 000 is raise safety concerns.
The president of the Aircraft Engineers Association Philip Kurivo revealed this to the National yesterday.
The acting general manager for the engineering division Graham Hills on Aug 11 this year introduced the change in work shifts for engineers from 12 hours to eight hours. For the past seven years, aircraft engineers have been working on a 12- hour shift.
Under the new change, two crews combine to work Monday to Friday from 8am to 4:30pm. There are no weekend shifts.
Mr Kurivo said the change meant there was not enough time for engineers to work on aircrafts, especially the routine checks.
"Working hours have been taken off, with engineers not spending enough time to work on an aircraft.
"In the past engineers worked on an aircraft in a hangar for a week. Now engineers only work the day shifts each week day and take the weekend off, leaving the aircraft in the hangar until Monday morning," he said.
He also said with the reduction of working hours, there is a serious safety concern.
"The airline is trying to meeting flight schedules and with the limited time to work on aircrafts, there is a safety risk."
According to Mr Kurivo, the Air Niugini management had approved the change with an aim to save money to pay certain engineers.
He refused to name the engineers, but confirmed they would be getting their salary increment in the next fortnight.
The engineers have disagreed with the change and have met with Mr Hills and the airline's chief executive officer Rod Nelson several times to discuss the matter. However, Mr Kurivo said the management would stick to the new change.
"The engineers think the 12 hour shift should be reintroduced. For Air Niugini to operate regular air transport, it is required to set up manpower ready on line.
"Air Niuigini is not saving costs, it is incurring more when it cancels flights and hires aircrafts from Airlines PNG to run its routes. The company also spends more money booking passengers into hotels."
While sympathising with the travelling public, especially tourists, Mr Kurivo, urged the minister responsible and other concerned leaders to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Don Polye and the Air Niugini Management has denied the engineers claims and blamed the delays on the aging F28 aircraft fleet.
Mr Polye said Air Niugini's increasing delays and cancellation of flights are largely due to the airline's very old fleet of aircrafts that require high maintenance.
He said the national flag carrier has just begun to recover from the disasters being faced world-wide in the airline industry with the Government's injection of K40 million recently for its " flight path to recovery".
Air Niugini Chief Executive Officer, Rod Nelson said, "The main cause of the recent delays and cancellations is the ageing F28 fleet, particularly the F28-1000 series," reiterated Minister Polye's statements he said.
"These aircraft are now very high maintenance and very difficult to keep in service," Mr Nelson said.
He added that last week's introduction of the two additional Dash 8 -200 aircraft beginning in November will help significantly to deliver services over the peak December/January period and will enable the F28-1000 to be exited in February next year.
Copyright © 2003 [The National Online] Private Policy
:confused: :confused:
quick edit to remove dead space. W
Trully the land of the unexpected.
Friday, September 12, 2003
Air Niugini cuts down engineers working hours
By JACQUELINE KAPIGENO and JULIA DAIA BORE
A REDUCTION in working hours for aircraft engineers to save about K250, 000 is raise safety concerns.
The president of the Aircraft Engineers Association Philip Kurivo revealed this to the National yesterday.
The acting general manager for the engineering division Graham Hills on Aug 11 this year introduced the change in work shifts for engineers from 12 hours to eight hours. For the past seven years, aircraft engineers have been working on a 12- hour shift.
Under the new change, two crews combine to work Monday to Friday from 8am to 4:30pm. There are no weekend shifts.
Mr Kurivo said the change meant there was not enough time for engineers to work on aircrafts, especially the routine checks.
"Working hours have been taken off, with engineers not spending enough time to work on an aircraft.
"In the past engineers worked on an aircraft in a hangar for a week. Now engineers only work the day shifts each week day and take the weekend off, leaving the aircraft in the hangar until Monday morning," he said.
He also said with the reduction of working hours, there is a serious safety concern.
"The airline is trying to meeting flight schedules and with the limited time to work on aircrafts, there is a safety risk."
According to Mr Kurivo, the Air Niugini management had approved the change with an aim to save money to pay certain engineers.
He refused to name the engineers, but confirmed they would be getting their salary increment in the next fortnight.
The engineers have disagreed with the change and have met with Mr Hills and the airline's chief executive officer Rod Nelson several times to discuss the matter. However, Mr Kurivo said the management would stick to the new change.
"The engineers think the 12 hour shift should be reintroduced. For Air Niugini to operate regular air transport, it is required to set up manpower ready on line.
"Air Niuigini is not saving costs, it is incurring more when it cancels flights and hires aircrafts from Airlines PNG to run its routes. The company also spends more money booking passengers into hotels."
While sympathising with the travelling public, especially tourists, Mr Kurivo, urged the minister responsible and other concerned leaders to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Don Polye and the Air Niugini Management has denied the engineers claims and blamed the delays on the aging F28 aircraft fleet.
Mr Polye said Air Niugini's increasing delays and cancellation of flights are largely due to the airline's very old fleet of aircrafts that require high maintenance.
He said the national flag carrier has just begun to recover from the disasters being faced world-wide in the airline industry with the Government's injection of K40 million recently for its " flight path to recovery".
Air Niugini Chief Executive Officer, Rod Nelson said, "The main cause of the recent delays and cancellations is the ageing F28 fleet, particularly the F28-1000 series," reiterated Minister Polye's statements he said.
"These aircraft are now very high maintenance and very difficult to keep in service," Mr Nelson said.
He added that last week's introduction of the two additional Dash 8 -200 aircraft beginning in November will help significantly to deliver services over the peak December/January period and will enable the F28-1000 to be exited in February next year.
Copyright © 2003 [The National Online] Private Policy
:confused: :confused:
quick edit to remove dead space. W