SQ pilots under political pressure (merged)

[aviator_38]

Hi all,

An SQ pilot friend sent this ,see below, with the comment that " the political heat and pressure is now levelled at the pilot community. The airline has now lost some 10 senior pilots,who have resigned ".




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http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,221800,00.html?

NOV 25, 2003

NTUC chief weighs in to criticise pilots
By Rebecca Lee
TRANSPORT REPORTER

NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng yesterday slammed Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots for stirring unrest that could jeopardise the airline's chances of hitting a profit target of $600 million.

A failure to reach this full-year profit level would mean that all 28,717 SIA employees will not receive a lump-sum payment equal to their wage cuts of between 5 and 16.5 per cent.

Neither will they get an additional 15 per cent payment that was promised as part of the deal SIA struck with its unions to stem losses from the Sars outbreak and the war in Iraq.

'The hopes of the other employees of SIA for a $600 million profit is now put at risk. Is that fair?' Mr Lim questioned.

He recounted how the four NTUC-affiliated unions and the Air Line Pilots Association of Singapore (Alpa-S) had bargained hard on behalf of their members. In the case of Alpa-S, its leaders went back to their members to get their endorsement for the deal.

'So it comes as a surprise that the pilots, who had given their support to the wage cuts, with built-in protection should the company do better than expected, now boot out their leaders,' Mr Lim said in an email reply to The Straits Times.

He questioned whether in ousting their leaders in a no-confidence vote last Monday, the pilots were merely exercising their rights.

He added: 'It would be naive to think that they are just looking after their interest. It is like starting a fire in your bedroom, and telling your parents, brothers and sisters that it has no impact on them!'

Mr Lim is the second minister to hit out at SIA pilots after Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen warned that he would not allow the pilots to risk Singapore's position as an air hub or threaten the harmonious industrial relations climate here.

Yesterday, Alpa-S spokesman Captain P. James declined to comment further on the issue.

SIA has taken a hands-off approach to the union's leadership squabble, but added that it will honour the wage deal it has struck with the unions.

Spokesman Innes Willox added that the airline's recovery was still very fragile as 'travel confidence can be quickly buffeted'.

On whether staff retrenched will be re-hired - a move that union leaders such as Singapore Airlines Staff Union general secretary Mohamed Hussain Kassim have been calling for - Mr Willox said they will be 'considered on merit'.

[southernmtn]

"The airline has now lost some 10 senior pilots,who have resigned."

The exact tally as from yesterday, 24th November 2003 stands at 14.

[Lithgow]

southernmtn

The exact tally as from yesterday, 24th November 2003 stands at 14.

OK, so when did the tally start from - the beginning of this year, or from the the time ALPA-S members booted out the council, or from the time the newspapers started to bash the pilots?

[southernmtn]

Lithgow, it's from the period when SARS was used as an excuse and opportunity to cut staff salaries,etc.

You sound like you have a more precise period and total. If so, let's have them.

[Lithgow]

Lithgow, it's from the period when SARS was used as an excuse and opportunity to cut staff salaries,etc.

Fair enough. I wasn't keeping track of who left when. I was curious about the start point because if the tally was since the beginning of the year (as HR usually keeps records based on per calendar year) then some resignations may have nothing to do with SARS and the fallout if they were, say, in January.

[I]You sound like you have a more precise period and total. If so, let's have them.[I]

You are entitled to your opinion of why others ask questions. I asked the question because I was curious about the numbers, you appeared more updated and because I didn't know the basis of the numbers.

Perhaps others ask you questions to set you up, as your reaction suggests. I just asked an innocent question. I'm sorry if I sounded like I was challenging you or setting you up. Such reactons usually come from somewhat senior pilots on the 747 fleet...

[b777pilot]

'Perhaps others ask you questions to set you up, as your reaction suggests. I just asked an innocent question. I'm sorry if I sounded like I was challenging you or setting you up. Such reactons usually come from somewhat senior pilots on the 747 fleet...'

i don't think you are really remorseful. or else you would not assume, then lump all of the pilots in a certain aircraft type together. when there was no basis to support your stance.

[Lithgow]

b777pilot

Jump in by all means!

Oh dear, you've cornered me. I confess - I was being sarcastic. There, happy?

or else you would not assume, then lump all of the pilots in a certain aircraft type together. when there was no basis to support your stance.

I did not lump ALL OF THE PILOTS.

I said, "somewhat senior pilots". That is hardly all of them.

I have personal experience to support my stance. Granted it is not a scientific study, but I didn't have such encounters with the B777 guys, senior or otherwise.

Read my opinion again:

"Such reactions usually come from somewhat senior pilots on the 747 fleet...'

Is it flawed?

[greybeard]

As best I can recall the departures from SIA are

April
5 Capts from A-310, 2 as close to 60, 1 contract not renewed, 2 terminations, 1 F/O termination all Expats.
From A-340 at least 3 due close to 60. (Expats)

June
7 remaining Expats from A-310 given options of 6 months NPL, 3 months pay or 3 months notice.

July/August
25 or so terminations which was a selection from all bases, mostly Expats, some F/Os including locals and Expats on local terms.

The other numbers appear to be since that time which includes some very senior SIPs/Management

Yes it's the old GREYBEARD, PPRuNe Towers lost me when we moved

Miss the flying but not the job.


:ok: :ok:

[b777pilot]

i really had a good laugh.

if you don't find senior pilots on the B747, where else would you find them?

i would dare say in any company. paycale=seniority=aircraft type.

that was a good one. you must be a riot in the cockpit! mind like a steel trap eh?

[southernmtn]

b777Pilot, I suggest we stop wasting our time, unless you still want to continue to have a good laugh.

[John Barnes]

The good laugh is that the complete ALPAS body of pilots is dragged into a very personal power struggle between some ex management pilots and the present management. The big laugh is that these ex management pilots all have several millions in the bank, just a few more years to go, residence permits in two or three other places and have nothing to loose. But all the suckers they drag along have an awfull lot to loose and are nowhere in the same financial leaque as their "newly elected leaders". This inhouse storm in the union could very easily run out of control and very soon during the first negotiations the union members solidarity and strength will be tested, something in the form like " Let's work to the rule and report one hour before ETD and read all the notam's, resulting in a 30 minutes delay". Now think real hard, or laugh even harder. How many union pilots will follow this wise advise to work to the rule...... NONE , ZERO , BIG NOTHING. Back to square one. Stop complaining and do what your told to do. No one among the present generation of ALPAS pilots has the guts, hunger,strength,vision, or whatever you want to call it to realy stand up for their rights, so it will always be a very watered down version of what you want when you deal with management.

[Lithgow]

b777pilot

It appears you cannot grasp the meaning of words when used in their context.

My point, in the context I used, was that I was referring to certain pilots nearing retirement, most likely from pre-CRM days, on the B747 fleet. Not all of them are like that, to say the least.

if you don't find senior pilots on the B747, where else would you find them?

You would also find them on the B777 fleet - are you saying that IPs and SIPs are not senior pilots? Are you saying that those with the most experience on THAT FLEET are not senior?

i would dare say in any company. paycale=seniority=aircraft type.

Ah, I see your simple minded equation now. All based on money. Experience is irrelevant. I stand by my opinion, you can have yours. But when you distort my statements, I will repeat exactly what I said so that you (I hope) and the rest can see the difference.

To use your simple equation, what about direct entry F/Os, direct command Capts on the B747 - are they automatically more senior than their colleagues on other fleets?

that was a good one. you must be a riot in the cockpit! mind like a steel trap eh?

Thank you. I got you, didn't I?

[b777pilot]

so many words JB (jeyaratnam??) but i would have to agree with you 100%.

at the end of the day, it is best if the union members voted with their legs. CAL, EK, Dragonair, that may put an end, and i say MAY to all this abuse of the labour office.

someone even mentioned passport restrictions for singaporeans over a jug of beer the other night. not too far fetched i would think once they start playing hard-ball. it would take an act of parliament, you say?? like how long would it take? 10 mins to propose, debate then pass into law?

under a similar post, i think cadets joining the cargo outfit are forbidden to be union members? but again, without confirming, i would not put it pass them.

telling ppl,'if you don't like it, you can leave!' is one thing, when ppl actually walk, i think i would not put it pass them to hinder/block/frustrate your efforts to go somewhere and ply your trade.

remember you heard it here first and not the local daily.

(okay, i guess i should stop laughing now, southernmtn)

[b777pilot]

lithgow, you're back. sharp as ever! total credit to your employer.

[John Barnes]

I wonder if some of the SQ union members slowely are waking up and start to realise that i.s.o.this big deal about the upcoming CA negotiations , they are supporting a big , ex management guy's , personal vendetta. It is bizar that one of the instigators of this motion to get rid of the present union leadership is himself an old union president, who has in the eighties battled higher management before ( In which at the end of the day only some brave expats lost their job!!!! ) and he himself almost ended up in serious trouble with LKY. He then , in true SQ style, turned the corner and became a very influential Deputee Dir Flt Ops , now on the other side of the table of the same union he once lead. A few months ago he resigned from his management job ( or got kicked out by the present generals) and is now one of the instigators of this conflict. ( Offering his help to the pilot body as it is called ) I hope that the younger generation pilots wake up and start thinking real hard if this is the right way to tackle their problems. They have to show a united front, not being bullied by governement , generals , or above mentioned ex union presidents, but come up with strong leadership out of their own group . Sadly I believe that, as I said before, nobody is hungry enough to take the bite!!

[aviator_38]

Hi everyone,

I received the latest mail on the matter this morning.Please see below.

John Barnes' reference to what happened in the eighties has also being alluded to by Singapore's DPM.

The pressure must be immense for the pilot union.


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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/59506/1/.html

SIA pilots should rethink their confrontational approach: DPM Lee

By Channel NewsAsia's Teo Chia Leen in Wellington, New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Recent move by SIA pilots to vote out union leaders whom they felt had let them down, is a confrontational approach which could undermine tripartite relations.

Speaking to reporters at in a wrap-up news conference in New Zealand, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: "The health of the company is critical not only to their well being but to the well being of Singapore and the company has to look after its interest and at the same time, look after its staff. But it has to be fair and do its responsibility as an employer and the unions have to know how to work with the company in order to safeguard the workers.

"I think the deal which the union leaders made earlier which had wage restructuring and wage cuts but at the same time formula and restoration and profit sharing beyond a certain point - that was a very fair deal. And well if now, things have turned out better there's a profit share arrangement which will kick in at some point. So I don't think there's a reason to rethink what was agreed earlier. But as Ng Eng Hen said the pilots, the leaders of this group have to think very carefully, do they really want to take on the government?

"The last time where there was a run in 1980 between the pilots and SIA and at that time the PM stepped in. He was speaking to the pilots union and he said 'I don't want to do you in but I don't want let anybody do Singapore in' and I still think it's a valid message."

DPM Lee is the latest Cabinet Minister to warn union leaders of Singapore Airlines to re-think their confrontational approach to labour relations.

But DPM Lee stressed that on the whole, the government's relations with unions are very good.

He also touched on the issue of whether retrenchment benefits in Singapore are too generous.

The tripartite committee comprising unions, the government and companies last reviewed them some years ago but the economic downturn has raised the question again.

"Lim Boon Heng has expressed the view and which I agree that they are still rather generous and if we want to change them further it will have to (be) another tripartite discussion to see if we can go further. It's symbolically important. Practically the impact is not, maybe not so huge because nowadays not so many workers will be working for 15-20 years for the same employer."

"But psychologically it has an impact on employers because they look at it and say, 'Wow! The chap works with me so many years, it's such a generous benefit he expects from the company,' and it will be a disincentive for people to hire. Because when you hire you must calculate that when you retrench, what the expenses are," said Mr Lee.

Companies usually offer a month for every year year of service. But with the possibility of lowering the ceiling on the years of service, the amount of retrenchment benefits to a worker would be substantially reduced.

As a comparison, Mr Lee noted that countries which have made it the hardest to retrench workers, have the highest unemployment rates.

Said DPM Lee: "The countries that make it the most difficult to retrench workers have the highest unemployment rates. Germany is the best example. In Germany they rule that when you retrench workers, you must retrench the cheapest workers first, last in first out so the youngest workers - those with no family obligations, go.

"Those with family obligations and highest seniority go last so there's no point retrenching. If you retrench cheap workers and you end up increasing your wage costs, the conclusion is that companies refuse to hire and the unemployment rate is 9 or 10 per cent and then the growth of companies is over and the economy stagnates." - CNA

[Lithgow]

Freddie and the Chrome Dome - you're in the news again...

Is this a the sign of a classic pincer strategy? No comments from the powers that be for a couple of days then now a double volley to bring in the weekend?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/59546/1/.html

Unions in Singapore are not like houses on different streets. Rather, they are more like co-passengers on the same ship or families living under the same roof and in the same compound. Hence, how one union behaves will affect other unions and ultimately all Singaporeans.

This analogy was given by Acting Minister for Manpower, Dr Ng Eng Hean, to drive home the message that the government is bent on maintaining and preserving industrial peace.

Speaking at the 39th anniversary dinner and dance of the Food, Drinks & Allied Workers' Union (FDAWU) on Friday, Dr Ng said it would have been easy for union members to insist on their rights and make more demands.

"You too have mouths to feed and bills to pay. It would been easy and populist for your union leaders to dig-in and get the best deal possible at every round of negotiations. It would have been understandable for you to resist the temporary lay-offs and unpaid leave. Even now, some of you may blame your leaders for giving-in too easily. Worst still, a union can boot out its leaders and pass a resolution to demand fresh elections so that new tougher, more confrontational Exco can lead the next collective bargaining.

"But if one union did that, how would other unions respond? Their members too have mouths to feed and bills to pay. Unions in Singapore are not like houses on different streets. We are more like co-passengers on the same ship or families living under the same roof, in the same compound. How one union behaves will affect other unions and ultimately all of us. If a fire is not put out in one cabin, the whole ship is at risk. No one should doubt this government's resolve in wanting to maintain and preserve our industrial peace," added Dr Ng.

Earlier, Dr Ng commended the contributions and sacrifices made by FDAWU members during the SARS crisis to help the hotels save jobs.

"I was told that from April to September 2003, 11,019 FDAWU members from 58 unionised hotel branches took a cumulative total of 101, 384.5 days of unpaid leave to help hotels solve their cash flow problems. If we estimate the average daily wage cost at $50, this sacrifice of union members amounted to $5 million savings for their employers."

He also applauded FDAWU leadership in encouraging their members and hotel workers to go for skills upgrading and retraining.

Looking back, he added, the quick action and cooperation extended by FDAWU to the hotel have helped in ensuring a smooth recovery for the hotel industry.

Dr Ng also said FDAWU's actions serve as an example of how responsible unions can achieve better long-term outcomes for its members by working within the tripartite framework.

"But employers must do their part, and indeed should shoulder the greater burden. Employers must communicate their plans and reward their workers for good performances when the company does well. They must recognise the sacrifices that employees have made to the continued success of their companies. If management is perceived to be taking advantage of their employees, or being uncaring about their workers, morale will be low. This ultimately hurts the company," he stressed.

While Singapore's economic recovery is gaining ground, Dr Ng warned that no one should be over confident to think that there won't be a setback as a result of terrorism or a recurrence of SARS.

"One quarter of good economic results does not mean that our troubles are over. There is still much to do together to get our economy going and help solve unemployment," he said.

[aviator_38]

Hi folks,


I received this in the evening's mail,giving the latest report on this issue.





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http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222508,00.html?


NOV 29, 2003

Shades of 1980 in pilot-union action

Conspiracy theories abound, with some pilots saying internal politics to blame; finger pointed at former union leaders

By Rebecca Lee
TRANSPORT REPORTER

INTERNAL politics could have been a factor in the wholesale ouster of the Singapore Airlines pilots' union leadership, suggested members of the union.

It was not just that members of the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) turfed out the entire executive committee for being too 'soft' on SIA's management when they wanted a tougher stance.

Conspiracy theories abound. Five pilots, including two from the ousted committee, say political infighting led to the 22-member committee being voted out at an extraordinary general meeting on Nov 17.

One of the ousted leaders and a former committee member both suggested previous leaders of Alpa-S may have swayed the vote.

There are even some who see the influence of pilots once involved in the SIA Pilots' Association (Siapa), the now defunct pilots' union. Siapa was dissolved by the Government in early 1981 after Australian pilots led a work-to-rule that disrupted several flights in a month, all on high-visibility international routes.

Now, pilots in management positions and others say Captain Ryan Goh, one of the 22 ousted committee members, helped draft the petition calling for the extraordinary general meeting, although he did not sign it.

Capt Goh is now on holiday in Australia. When contacted by the Straits Times earlier in the week, he said he did not sign the petition, but would not be drawn into saying who had drafted it.

Asked why Alpa-S members initiated the no-confidence motion, he said it was part of the democratic process 'to reconstitute and recharge the team' and was not 'a rebellion or revolt'.

No nominations for the new committee have yet been received, The Straits Times understands. But last-minute nominations are not unusual.

Nominations for president close on Tuesday, and for committee members on Friday.

There are several contenders for president.

Capt Goh has been an Alpa-S member since the start. At one point, he served as vice-president for industrial relations.

Asked if he would run again, he said: 'If my services are required, why not?'

Captain Mok Hin Choon, Alpa-S president from 1999 to 2000, has already told the pilots he intends to run for president again.

There were problems in the leadership during his time at the helm and he quit before his three-year term was up to force elections and get a fresh mandate, but was not re-elected.

Another contender could be Captain Freddie Koh, one-time president of Siapa and the first president of Alpa-S.

As a one-time assistant director of flight operations, he would have wide influence among the pilots and there had been talk that he could have influenced them to boot out the committee.

The pilots interviewed say Capt Koh commands a lot of respect, especially among the more senior pilots who respect him for the way he fought for them in the early years. He is seen as someone who will stand up for them.

But a senior pilot said that Capt Koh, who had moved to management but is now back piloting Boeing 777 aircraft, sounded neutral when he stood up to ask questions at the EGM.

SIA's pilots have received flak from Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, Mr Lim Boon Heng, a minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Mr Ng has told the pilots he will not allow their 'confrontational' approach to jeopardise harmonious industrial relations here.

Yesterday, a 25-year veteran who served on the committee for nearly 10 years said he felt sorry that the union had been split by this issue.

'I feel they should not be throwing the exco out. Although it is constitutionally right, it is not right morally,' he said.

[Lithgow]

Govt's intervention in issue of SIA pilots' union to improve relationship

29 November 2003 2315 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/59671/1/.html

SINGAPORE: The Acting Manpower Minister says he'll speak to both SIA's management and the pilots' union to get them to understand what has gone wrong in their relationship and to work together for the future.

Dr Ng Eng Hen said the government's intervention in the issue is to try to improve their relationship.

He was speaking to reporters after a cultural night at the Toa Payoh South community club on Saturday evening.

"Enough has been said by many Ministers to send a very clear message to the pilots' union that the path that they are on now, the path which they have over the many years been used to, will lead to a lot of difficulty. A lot of difficulty for themselves, for the company and eventually affect all of us. The intervention is really on the course that the whole pilots' union is taking. We will have to, and the purpose of the intervention is to try to improve the relationship.

"And yes, we'd have to deal with the management and the pilots' union. But one piece at a time, currently the message is to both parties. I've spoken to management, I'm now also speaking to the pilots' union, and I hope that both sides will examine how their relationships have gone wrong in the past and try to seriously consider which new direction they want to take," said Dr Ng. - CNA

[southernmtn]

"and the purpose of the intervention is to try to improve the relationship. "

Here's an example from Cathay:

From the Business Times of Singapore
Published November 29, 2003

Cathay Pacific staff get 3 weeks' salary plus bonus

By VEN SREENIVASAN


CATHAY Pacific's staff cheered last Friday as the airline announced that it would be paying them an ex-gratia sum amounting to three weeks' salary this month. The payment virtually covers the entire three weeks of unpaid leave its worldwide staff voluntarily took during the Sars-induced crisis.

Asia's 6th biggest carrier is also paying its 121 Singapore-based staff a 1.5 month year-end bonus.

The airline cut capacity by as much as 45 per cent and suffered losses of US$3 million a day at the height of the severe acute respiratory syndrome pandemic in the April-June period.

Cathay Pacific had asked its staff to take 4 weeks of voluntary unpaid leave. Over 99 per cent of its staff agreed. However, a quick industry recovery which kicked in in July enabled this unpaid leave to be cut to just 3 weeks.

Unlike most other Sars-hit regional carriers, including Singapore Airlines, Cathay did not implement wage cuts for its 14,500 staff worldwide.

Cathay's Singapore country manager James Ginns described the payment as the company's way of recognising the sacrifice made by its staff during tough times.

'The ex-gratia payment is in appreciation of the support by staff around the world when the company was faced with a crisis,' he said.

Cathay reported a record first-half loss of HK$1.24 billion. But the post-Sars recovery has been swift and strong, and analysts expect Cathay to post full-year profit of almost HK$1 billion.

The airline is now filling 75 per cent of its seats, compared with 25 per cent during the peak of the Sars outbreak. Last month it carried 1.02 million passengers, up from 951,703 in September. It has also been recruiting staff and upgrading its fleet.

In a separate development, Cathay has asked CIAS to handle its line maintenance and cargo handling function, which was previously handled by Sats. But Sats still handles Cathay's ramp operations, catering and security. Cathay has also taken over its own mechanical maintenance and passenger handling in Singapore.

[Lithgow]

What can you do when the other side scores a goal? Move the goal posts!

As a side-effect, 2 non-Singaporeans in ALPA-S exco also kicked out by the government. Hmm, wonder who they are and if they had anything to do with all this "acrimony"...

Government to amend Trade Unions Act in a move against SIA pilots' union

30 November 2003 2014 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/59765/1/.html

SINGAPORE : After several warnings by government ministers to the Singapore Airlines pilots' union, the government has taken the first step to what it says is "prevent another cycle of acrimony between management and the pilots' union".

It announced in a statement that it will amend the Trade Unions Act.

The recent ouster of the leadership of the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore (ALPA-S), the pilots' union, led three government ministers to warn the pilots not to embark on 'confrontational industrial relations' or 'take on the government'.

Now the government has announced it will amend the Trade Unions Act, which is likely to take several months.

The amendment will allow executive committees of trade unions to negotiate and commit to collective agreements, without having to go back to its members for approval.

ALPA-S is the only trade union in Singapore where members have to approve agreements struck by its executive committee.

The government noted that ALPA-S and SIA management have had a troubled relationship.

Protracted negotiations often result in deadlock.

Between 1980 and this year, 25 disputes between them had to go before the Ministry of Manpower for conciliation.

This year, SIA management had negotiated with the pilots' union as SARS hit the travel industry.

The Manpower Ministry and the Industrial Arbitration Court had to be called in to help settle the wage-cut package.

But after it was agreed, 55 percent of ALPA-S members voted out the negotiating team.

The Manpower Ministry also announced a move to rescind approval for two non-Singaporean members now on the executive committee of ALPA-S.

In other words, they will be kicked out of the executive committee.

The government emphasised that both SIA management and the pilots must put the past behind them and start anew.

It said SIA must improve its human resource management, so that the emphasis is not entirely on the pilots. Management has to pay competitive wages and incentivise staff as well.

The government statement stressed that aviation is a key industry.

SARS, terrorism, low-cost airlines and other developments challenge Singapore's status as a premier air hub.

It added confrontational industrial relations will add to the problems of SIA and so put jobs at risk.

It ended by saying it will not allow any group to undermine good industrial relations based on the partnership between unions, management and the Government. - CNA

[knackeredII]

Well, what a contrast between SIA & Cathay! One thinks the staff are part of the team while the other thinks the staff are on the other team. SIA will never 'Get it'

[Lithgow]

Get the continuous story here, earlier, instead of having to go back to the Far East main page and jump from topic to topic...

Sacking of ALPA-S executive committee has far-reaching implications: NTUC

30 November 2003 2033 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/59767/1/.html

SINGAPORE : The National Trades Union Congress has said it views the sacking of the executive committee of the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore (ALPA-S) with much concern as it has far-reaching implications.

In a statement, it said the sacking of the committee must mean that the pilots want future councils to take disputes beyond compromise and arbitration.

The NTUC said this in response to a government's move to amend the Trade Unions Act.

The executive committee was sacked even though it had agreed on a package with management and even though union members agreed to the package at a general meeting.

It adds that an uncompromising attitude by one union within Singapore Airlines will set a tougher tone for future negotiations within the company.

SIA has other unions representing cabin crew, technicians, and engineers.

NTUC said it supported the Government's call for SIA management to take the lead in forging a common understanding and improving communication with its employees. - CNA

ALPA-S surprised with Government's move to amend Trade Unions Act

30 November 2003 2337 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/59782/1/.html

SINGAPORE : A member of the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore's (ALPA-S) Executive Committee said he was surprised the government had resorted to amending the Trade Unions Act.

Captain P. James, Vice President of Industrial Relations, said ALPA-S members would be unhappy because the move will remove one of their rights.

He disagreed that the pilots' union has been confrontational by sacking its leadership.

"This is just a normal democratic process that we have had, and we have had it for so many years and it has served us well, even in the past collective agreements. I am quite surprised that they have to resort to changing the act," he said.

Captain James said it would be better off having individual contracts, where each individual can then sign his own contract and take the issue to a contract court instead of the Industrial Abitration Court.

"I'm sure the government has good reasons for that since it's not just Singapore Airlines that you're talking about but the whole economy," he said.

Captain James said ALPA-S was not confrontational.

He said it was just an internal constitutional process which was followed and initiated to change the leadership.

"At the end of the day, if the agreement is not reached both parties can avail themselves of the Industrial Abitration court for a settlement, so that is due process that is provided for," he said.

"We want the company to do not just well, but very well. Our very own survival as an individual as well as a country depends on that," he added.

Captain James said SIA should treat its employees as partners in this process, and not just something with a price tag that can be replaced. - CNA

[Gear Pin So]

Signs of future past.

"This is your Hauptsturmführer speaking."

[Lithgow]

Six - yes SIX articles on ALPA-S and SIA today!

Move the goalposts and also ban a certain troublemaker from union activities...How now, Chrome Dome?

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222837,00.html?

The Straits Times

DEC 1, 2003

Two foreigners will have to leave union committee

THE two foreigners who can no longer sit on the executive committee of the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) are Malaysian citizens with permanent-resident status in Singapore.

They were not named by the statement from the Prime Minister's Office, but a Straits Times check found that they are Captain Ryan Goh and Captain Lee Chee Kun. They are expected to be told of the Government move today.

Captain Goh, who has been flying for more than 25 years, has been a member of Alpa-S since it was formed in 1981 and was its vice-president for industrial relations at one point.

He is a council member in the current 22-member executive committee, which was ousted in a vote of no-confidence by members at an extraordinary general meeting on Nov 17. Pilot sources said he had helped draft the petition calling for the meeting, although he did not sign it.

When contacted, Captain Goh declined to comment, saying he has not been told about the Government's move. However he added: 'If the Government says now they want to impose certain restrictions, then it's not my call, it's the Government's call.'

Captain Lee, who has been flying for 16 years, has been an Alpa-S member since 1987, but has served on the committee for only the last two years. The father of two is a committee member in charge of public affairs and runs the union's charity projects.

He was nonchalant when The Straits Times broke the news to him. 'These things are not important to me. If you're there to serve, you can just be a good member and do other things outside the exco,' he said.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222873,00.html?

The Straits Times

DEC 1, 2003

SIA pilots: Law to be tightened

Changes will mean leaders of pilots' union won't need to get members' approval for agreements, a right now unique to Alpa-S

By Rebecca Lee
TRANSPORT REPORTER

THE Government yesterday hardened its stand on Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots, saying it will tighten the law to remove union members' right to have the final say in any negotiations with management.

This right, unique to the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), requires its elected leaders to get the approval of members before it can conclude any collective agreement or settle a dispute with the national carrier.

In all other unions in Singapore, the elected leaders have the power to bargain and make a deal with a company's management which is binding on their members.

To remove the right, the Trade Union Act will be amended, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office that arose following discussions in the Cabinet, and several warnings by Ministers in the past fortnight about the pilots' adversarial approach in booting out their union leaders.

The Government's latest move to end the existing arrangement suggests that it was a major cause of the often rocky relations between Alpa-S and SIA management as negotiations were drawn out and often ended in deadlock.

Since 1980, at least 20 disputes have driven a wedge between them. In the last dispute over wage cuts, the need to consult members is said to have slowed down negotiations, although the final deal was approved by members.

But SIA's management is not blameless in the repeated episodes of protracted negotiations. In chiding it, the Government said: 'SIA must improve its human-resource management... SIA will have to pay competitive wages to retain the services of its good staff and gain the loyalty of its pilots and other staff.'

In a further signal that it will do all it must to prevent another cycle of acrimony, the Government also took away the right of two non-Singapore citizens to sit on the Alpa-S executive committee.

The statement did not say why the Manpower Ministry is rescinding its approval, which non-Singaporeans must get before they can become union leaders.

Internal politics and simmering discontent in the way wage deals were cut are said to have led Alpa-S members to oust their leaders.

This prompted Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, labour chief Lim Boon Heng and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to warn the pilots that they will not allow any standoff to threaten Singapore's aviation industry.

The statement pointed out that the industry creates jobs and economic growth.

Already, $3.9 billion has been invested in Changi Airport, with another $2.6 billion planned. It provides jobs for 90,000 workers, while SIA employs 12,000, of whom 1,700 are pilots and 6,400 cabin crew.

The travel industry was almost routed by Sars and terrorism and, more recently, Singapore's status as an air hub has been threatened by low-cost airlines and newer, longer-range aircraft as well as neighbouring airports.

Against such a backdrop, 'we cannot allow confrontational industrial relations to add to the problems of SIA, Changi Airport and our travel industry. It will put jobs and Singapore's economy at risk,' said the statement.

The National Trades Union Congress last night said it supported the Government's call for management to take the lead in promoting 'common understanding and improving communications' with employees, and hoped SIA and Alpa-S could put the current episode behind them and work together.

When contacted, Alpa-S spokesman Captain P. James said he was surprised that the Act was being amended.

'This clause was actually a safeguard put in place after the industrial action in 1980 to ensure that excos cannot commence industrial action without consulting members or accept any packages that are detrimental to members.'

The Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222907,00.html?

DEC 1, 2003

Govt: We cannot afford such acrimony

As controversy brewed over recent moves by Singapore Airlines pilots, the Government yesterday spelt out its position on the issue and steps it was taking as a result. On Friday, Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen warned that the Government has to protect the culture of tripartism. While he did not mention the pilots explicitly, his message was clear: Their confrontational approach could spread like a fire to other unions. Speaking at the annual dinner of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers' Union, he praised its leaders for setting the right example for others. We reproduce the Government's statement and Dr Ng's speech.

THE Cabinet has discussed the state of industrial relations in Singapore and in particular the impact of recent developments in the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) union on the aviation industry and other unions.

Aviation is a key industry creating jobs and economic growth. Considerable investments have been made to build up our air hub status and the air travel sector: $3.9 billion on Changi Airport, and an additional $2.6 billion planned for current projects.

Changi Airport provides jobs for 35,000 permanent workers, and 55,000 contract or temporary workers. SIA employs 12,000 staff; of which about 1,700 are pilots (1,000 local, 400 Permanent Resident and 300 foreign) and 6,400 are cabin crew.

Our economy, especially the travel sector, had been under severe stress from terrorism and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

These threats still exist. Further, low cost airlines, newer airplanes with longer flight capabilities and other airports in neighbouring countries will challenge SIA and Changi Airport's position as a premier air hub.

We cannot allow confrontational industrial relations to add to the problems of SIA, Changi Airport and our travel industry. It will put jobs and Singapore's economy at risk.

The relationship between SIA management and their pilots' union has been troubled. They have had repeated episodes of protracted negotiations, many resulting in deadlock.

The latest settlement could be reached only after mediation by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Industrial Arbitration Court.

Even after agreeing to this settlement, 55 per cent of members subsequently voted out the negotiating team. We cannot afford a continuation of these dysfunctional relations marked by confrontations and stand-offs.

To prevent another such cycle of acrimony, MOM will amend the Trade Unions Act to ensure that the rules of registered trade unions enable executive committees to negotiate and commit to collective agreements without the need for formal ratification by the general membership or the branches.

This practice of obtaining ratification from the general membership is unique to Alpa-S' constitution. MOM will also rescind approval for the two non-citizens currently on the Executive Committee of Alpa-S.

These changes of themselves will not produce good industrial relations. For this to happen, SIA management and pilots must put the past behind them and start anew.

They must break away from their old attitudes and move towards consensus and cooperation. SIA must improve its human resource management.

Management must forge a common understanding with its employees on the way ahead and explain its plans to grow the company.

SIA will have to pay competitive wages to retain the services of their good staff and gain the loyalty of its pilots and other staff.

Employees will be incentivised to be active partners of change if they can share in the rewards when the company performs well. Such changes will raise morale and increase cooperation.

MOM will help SIA and its unions, including Alpa-S, to achieve flexible and responsive wage systems that adequately reward and motivate good performers.

Our harmonious industrial climate based on tripartite partnership is a key pillar for our economic and social progress. It has enabled us to make necessary changes, like painful wage and CPF cuts, to move our economy forward.

The Government will not allow any group to undermine this vital factor in securing good jobs and economic growth for our people.


The Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222881,00.html?

DEC 1, 2003
Unions are like 'passengers on the same ship'
THIS year has been an unprecedented one. As union leaders in the thick of action, many of you can relate to the difficult challenges your industry had to face.

Business activity in the tourism and hotel industry plunged after Sars struck Singapore in late March. I was told that from April to September this year, 11,019 Food Drinks and Allied Workers' Union (FDAWU) members from 58 unionised hotel branches took a cumulative total of 101,384.5 days of unpaid leave to help hotels solve their cash-flow problems.

If we estimate the average daily wage cost at $50, this sacrifice of union members amounted to $5 million in savings for their employers. Therefore, I salute the contributions and sacrifices made by FDAWU members during the Sars crisis to help the hotels save jobs.

It is in times of crisis that character shows. I think that the difficult Sars experience has helped the union reach greater heights.

The specific actions taken and sacrifices you made are commendable, but the most important point is that this union understood that the tripartite relationship based on cooperation, trust and give- and-take must be preserved.

Many of you have met unionists from other countries that visit Singapore. Many of you have told me that, often, they cannot understand why our labour conditions are so harmonious.

They marvel at the way we stay nimble. They are envious when they see how quickly we can adjust wages to reduce job losses.

How we have achieved this relationship is not to be found in the written rules of your union constitution or the Trade Union Act or Industrial Relations Act.

The spirit of Singapore tripartism is unique and is inscribed onto our hearts and shows in the attitude we choose in dealing with one another.

It would have been easy for members to insist on their rights and make more demands. You, too, have mouths to feed and bills to pay. It would have been easy and populist for your union leaders to dig in and get the best deal possible at every round of negotiations.

It would have been understandable for you to resist the temporary layoffs and unpaid leave. Even now, some of you may blame your leaders for giving in too easily. Worse still, a union can boot out its leaders and pass a resolution to demand fresh elections so that a new, tougher, more confrontational Exco can lead the next collective bargaining.

But if one union did that, how would other unions respond? Their members, too, have mouths to feed and bills to pay.

Unions in Singapore are not like houses on different streets. We are more like co-passengers on the same ship or families living under the same roof, in the same compound.

How one union behaves will affect other unions and, ultimately, all of us. If a fire is not put out in one cabin, the whole ship is at risk. No one should doubt this Government's resolve in wanting to maintain and preserve our industrial peace.

Your union's actions serve as an example of how responsible unions can achieve better long-term outcomes for its members by working within our tripartite framework. But employers must do their part and, indeed, should shoulder the greater burden.

Employers must communicate their plans and reward their workers for good performances when the company does well.

They must recognise the sacrifices that employees have made to the continued success of their companies.

If management is perceived to be taking advantage of their employees, or being uncaring about their workers, morale will be low. This, ultimately, hurts the company.

While our economic recovery is gaining ground, no one should be over-confident to think that we will not suffer a setback as a result of terrorism or a recurrence of Sars.

One quarter of good economic results does not mean that our troubles are over. There is still much to do together to get our economy going and help solve unemployment.

My ministry set up the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in September. One of the immediate tasks of WDA is to help Singaporeans find jobs in the hotel sector.

Officers from WDA and Spring Singapore are helping hotel management to redesign jobs, making them attractive for Singaporeans to take on hotel jobs.

In this area, the good rapport and trust established over the years between FDAWU and employers in the hotel industry can be maximised to achieve successes in job redesign and creating job opportunities for more Singaporeans.

The Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222866,00.html?

DEC 1, 2003
Pay well and gain staff loyalty, Govt urges SIA
THE Government was even-handed in its comments on the state of industrial relations within Singapore Airlines, targeting not just the pilots' union, but also the airline's management.

The statement from the Prime Minister's Office last night made the point that SIA must improve its human resource management. It said that besides explaining its plans to its staff and forging a common understanding with them, the airline will have to pay competitive wages and gain employee loyalty.

Employees will have the incentive to be active partners of change if they can share in rewards when the company performs well, the Government said, adding that this will 'raise morale and increase cooperation'.

The statement, which was also critical of the 'troubled' relationship between SIA's management and its pilots' union, said the Manpower Ministry will help SIA and its unions in developing wage systems to reward good performers.

SIA could not give its response to the Government's statement by press time.

For almost 25 years, the relationship between SIA's management and union has been stormy, with at least 20 disputes escalating beyond the two parties and requiring mediation from the ministry or, at the highest level, the Industrial Arbitration Court.

In a fracas last year, when the management proposed that the pilots rest in economy-class seats instead of business class, the union accused management of making a 'unilateral' decision which altered the terms of their collective agreement.

An SIA pilot, who asked not to be named, agreed that both sides have been fighting 'for decades' as the pilots are constantly unhappy with management decisions.

'The management definitely has to improve. It has no choice, especially since morale right now is rock-bottom, what with the pay cuts and retrenchments,' he said.

He said some of his colleagues were leaving SIA to join other airlines which offered better salaries. -- Wong Sher Maine

[jubilee773]

Looks like this topic is getting hotter.

With the intervention of Singapore’s government, it defeats purpose of union.

[mooney59]

Help me here guys: is it true that a cabin crew[say 15 years seniority] on CX in grosses S$8000 a month?. If so, must be one one of the highest paying flying jobs around!.

[highcirrus]

mooney59

Have you wandered through the wrong door here? We're talking about SQ on this thread, not CX!

[Slasher]

Is there ANYONE whos truley surprised by this latest move by the Singapore 4th Reich government? If there is where the bloodey hell have you been the last 23 years?

An "anschluss" of ALPA-S will be the next obvius tactical move by the Party (see N.T.U.C. 1987), with the full support of the SQ High Kommand of course.

[Lithgow]

Here is number six of six articles to appear in The Straits Times:

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,222911,00.html

DEC 1, 2003

NTUC calls for management and union to work together

THE National Trades Union Congress said last night that it supported the Government's call for Singapore Airlines' management to take the lead in forging a 'common understanding and improving communications' with its employees.

And it expressed hope that the company and the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) could put the current episode behind them and work together.

In a statement issued last night, the labour movement said that it took the effort of both the management and union to achieve a more harmonious industrial relationship.

Although Alpa-S is not an affiliate, the NTUC said that it viewed the sacking of the Alpa-S executive council members with 'much concern', pointing out that the move had far-reaching implications.

The issue was not merely an internal union matter nor a question of members having the constitutional right to act, it said.

It recalled that during the Sars crisis earlier this year, SIA had proposed cost-cutting measures, and the Alpa-S executive council took the matter all the way to the Industrial Arbitration Court.

A compromise was finally reached which included the sharing of gains should SIA's business pick up again. This was put to the members of Alpa-S in a general meeting and was agreed on. 'To now sack the council must mean that the pilots want future councils to take disputes beyond compromise and arbitration,' the statement said.

'Otherwise, why should there be a vote of no-confidence against the team that led the negotiations?'

It added that Alpa-S is not the only union in the SIA group. The statement had also noted earlier that Alpa-S was not an NTUC affiliate.

'There are other unions representing cabin crew, technicians, engineers, airport workers and other staff. Their livelihoods depend on the continued success of the company,' the NTUC said, adding that Singapore's tourism industry and development as an air hub depended highly on SIA's growth.

It said: 'An uncompromising attitude by one union in SIA will set a tougher tone for future negotiations in the company as a whole.'

And when the disputes become public, the NTUC said, these 'will raise concern about SIA's operations among its business partners and passengers'.

It was of the view that any adverse impact would reach beyond the pilots' union - to other parts of SIA, as well as to Singapore's industry and economy.

'Unions should work hard to get the best deal for its members and workers. But they must always have the broader picture in mind,' the statement said.

[highcirrus]

The Singapore Government, and perhaps in particular, DPM Lee, shows every sign of being thoroughly frightened by the recent display of genuine democracy in action, as exemplified by the latest Alpa-S EGM, which produced a vote of no confidence in the Association’s Exco, thus forcing this committee’s subsequent resignation. Perhaps in pique, the Government seems to be exercising singularly poor judgment in peremptorily legislating to fundamentally alter the constitution of Alpa-S at the very time when the Association looks to be possibly fielding an effective Exco to square off with the SQ management in the upcoming CA negotiations.

The contemporary production of a number of red herrings, disseminated by tame mouthpieces and reported in the similarly tame organ, the Straits Times, in preparation for and in support of this move, seems to have further reduced the Government’s credibility both amongst ex-pat and, most significantly, local SQ employees. This latter group’s stance, I’m told, now mirrors the general population’s opaque but ubiquitous derision of its Government’s authoritarianism and high cynicism of the new leader’s meteoric rise to power on the long advertised meretricious basis.

When DPM becomes PM, on some emergent date in 2004, I suspect that the above will merely be shown as a harbinger of future events to befall the wider Republic.

[sq111]

Government will not allow work-to-rule situation, SM Lee warns SIA pilots
By S. Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia


SINGAPORE : Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew has warned Singapore Airlines' pilots that the Government will not allow a go-slow or work-to-rule situation to brew in the airline because of the tensions between management and pilots.

In the strongest words from a minister, Mr Lee said when trouble was brewing, the Government had two options - either do nothing and hope it will resolve itself or move in early to avoid severe consequences.

Advertisement


Mr Lee was speaking at the Global Brand Forum in Singapore on Monday.

Mr Lee said: "This is a service industry, you have stewards or stewardess or pilots playing work-to-rule, you lose that cache. So we are telling them, both management and unions, you play this game there are going to be broken heads, let's stop it.

"They know what this is all about, we are not fools, we know what the management knows, we know the union side too, we have got unionists on our side and we are going to solve this before it gets troublesome, solve it we will.

"If we sit back and do nothing and allow this to escalate and test the wills, then it is going to loose hundreds of millions of dollars in one, two, three months. We are not going to have that." - CNA

[Slasher]

sq111 you quoting Lee K.Y. 2003 or R.J. Hawke 1989? Sorry but I cant seem to find any diference.

[highcirrus]

Interesting to note on the front page of today’s Straits Times (2 Dec 2003) that SM Lee is quoted as saying that:

“SIA has had troubles with the pilots for a long time. As I’ve said, pilots believe they’re special. They’ve got huge egos, I’m told”.

Perhaps these words beg the three questions:

1. Has nobody in government, in all the time intervening between the present day and SM Lee’s last public intervention in SIA/Alpa-S affairs in the early eighties, ever asked themselves why this should be so?

2. Do the latter words not reveal a worrisome and unhealthy personal antipathy towards a particular grouping of employees and which antipathy is surely likely to cloud any even-handed decision making in a controversy largely of the Government’s own manufacture?

3. Who are the advisers to SM Lee who can so accurately differentiate between a markedly inflated ego and a moderately sized one?

Of further noteworthy interest to readers conversant with the Singapore way, is that any opposition politician who suggested that SM Lee thought himself special and had a huge ego would instantly be in receipt of a defamation suit, the hearing of which would be miraculously expedited through the court system, following which, guilt would quickly be apportioned and punitive damages would then bankrupt the wretch, rendering him unfit to hold public office.

Does SM Lee not consider that his statement defames the SIA pilot group and is he even now fearful of the writ arriving on his doorstep?

[millerscourt]

How on earth SM Lee has the nerve to write a book about Singapore named "From Third World to First World" beggars belief.

Singapore may be First World in some areas but is most definitely Third World in most. eg Exploitation of Maids,ferrying building workers around in the backs of lorries, Draconian Labour Laws etc etc

The Government now wants to stop members of Alpha-S having the right to vote on any deals and instead leave it to the Committee to decide on behalf of the members!!!

SQ get the same fares as competitors such as BA,Qantas,United.Air France ,Lufthansa yet have a hugely lower cost base ie Salaries.

All SQ Pilots want is a Salary closer to those Pilots. Singapore is not Third World when it comes to the Cost of Living !!

As High Cirrus says any political opposition is taken to Court for Defamation which renders that person ineligible to seek nomination as a candidate for Election,

Recently an eminent Australian Defamation Barrister was barred from supporting a client as he had made comments about the cosy relationship between Judges and the Government Barrister having tea together in a defamation case which surprise surprise the Govt won!!

The Whipping up by Govt Ministers against the Pilots is deplorable. Unfortunatley Joe Public in Singapore look at Pilots with a certain amount of envy due to this kind of Govt antics so we are on our own.

[Lithgow]

ALPA-S did not even update this development on it's website. It is embarassing to have to read about your own Associations' events on the local news website. I thought only SIA did that to it's staff...

Two candidates to contest airline pilots' union presidency

02 December 2003 2103 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/60092/1/.html

SINGAPORE : Two captains have come forward to contest the post of president of the controversial Airline Pilots Association of Singapore (ALPA-S).

They threw their hats into the ring just before nominations closed at noon on Tuesday.

None of the union leaders from the committee that was recently booted out are planning to seek re-election.

The two men eyeing the top post in the pilots' union are Captain Mok Hin Choon and Captain Syed Abdul Kader.

Captain Mok was president of the union from 1999 to 2000 and is no stranger to controversy.

He quit the helm before his three-year term was up to force elections and get a fresh mandate, but was not re-elected.

The other contender, Captain Syed, also has labour relations experience.

As former chairman of the Flight Engineers Branch, he negotiated a collective agreement in the 1980s.

He said he would distribute his "manifesto" to pilots on Wednesday.

Some pilots were surprised the top post in the union is being contested, especially after the harsh words levelled at the pilots for their confontational approach to labour relations.

In a speech at the Global Brand Forum on Monday, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said: "Pilots believe they are special, they got huge egos, I'm told. We are telling both management and unions - you play this game, there are going to be broken heads - let's stop it."

In 2001, Captain Dilip Padbidri was the only nominee for the post of president.

He and the rest of his executive committee were booted out recently, and none plan to stand for re-election.

Over the past few days, several Government leaders have repeatedly emphasised the importance of harmonious industrial relations and the role it has played in Singapore's economic growth.

So it is no surprise that these leaders have expressed concern over the state of relations between SIA's management and its pilots, especially if there are calls for work stoppage.

But the outgoing union president has assured that there is no danger of this.

Captain Dilip said: "I need to allay everyone's fears, the pilots I believe strongly will never embark on such a mission to go on a work stoppage. I am very confident the incoming exco will not embark on a route to self-destruction for the airline. Work stoppages I do not think will ever occur."

Another challenge will be to renegotiate the current collective agreement which expires in mid-December.

Talks with SIA's management are expected to resume in late December or early January.

Captain Dilip added: "One of the key concerns was that the company has to take into consideration market rates when they pay salary. Recently after the wage cuts there has been some unhappiness."

Voting for the new president of the pilots union will take place between December 5 and December 19.

Nominations for committee members close on Thursday, and voting for this group will be held from December 8 to December 22. - CNA

[Lithgow]

Here's another ("official") version of the same story. Notice any differences?

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,223136,00.html?

DEC 3, 2003

Two want top job at SIA pilots' union

Voting begins on Friday to choose new president

By Rebecca Lee
TRANSPORT REPORTER

TWO pilots are bidding for the hot seat of president of the controversy-ridden Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), which ousted its executive committee last month.

The immediate past president, Captain Mok Hin Choon, 50, and first-timer Syed Abdul Kader Syed Ali, 49, have submitted their nominations and members will cast their votes from Friday, when a two-week election period begins.

While The Straits Times has reported that Capt Mok had made known his intention to run, Capt Kader submitted his name just before nominations closed at noon yesterday.

Their decision to run comes amid the controversy that has swirled around the Alpa-S members' decision, by a 55 per cent majority, to oust its executive committee, led by Capt Dilip Padbidri, on Nov 17.

Members were said to be unhappy with the wage-cut deals that the exco had struck with the management and regarded the union leadership as being too soft.

Their moves were roundly criticised by the Government for being confrontational, and it is tightening the law to rein in members' right to have the final say on union-management negotiations.

Yesterday, Capt Kader said: 'I'm of the position that the problems that the members raised could be handled in the union instead of having the EGM and casting votes on the current leadership.'

The junior captain, who pilots a Boeing 777 aircraft, started his 26-year career with SIA as a flight engineer and became a pilot in 1992.

Although he has never been on the Alpa-S executive council, he served two three-year terms at the SIA Staff Union in the late 1980s and chaired its flight engineer branch for a term.

The father of six said that he had been approached by Capt Mok to run in his team. However, he decided to stand on his own as he did not agree with Capt Mok's position that the current leadership had to go.

But he praised his opponent: 'Capt Mok is a gentleman. He was my flight instructor and a good one.'

Capt Mok could not be contacted last night as he was flying from Melbourne. But sources said the pilot of 26 years and one-time president of Alpa-S decided to run for president to fill the leadership vacuum.

During his term, a collective agreement on pay packages that was negotiated with the management was rejected by 90 per cent of members at an extra-ordinary general meeting in January 2001.

The matter was referred to the Industrial Arbitration Court and eventually resolved out of court.

The subsequent resignation of two key office bearers in the exco led to Capt Mok resigning to call for elections to get a fresh mandate from members.

However, he did not stand for re-election after Capt Dilip challenged him. Capt Dilip then became president.

Nominations for the other exco posts close on Thursday.

[Lithgow]

Another minister joins the Pilot Bashing Party...

Transport Minister urges SIA, pilots' union to adopt long term view

03 December 2003 1339 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/60218/1/.html

SINGAPORE : Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong has called on Singapore Airlines and the pilots' union to adopt a long term view and improve industrial relations.

He urged them to stick together in the face of intense competition that is expected from the entry of budget airlines.

Speaking on the issue for the first time, Mr Yeo said SIA will have to get its act together to improve its rocky labour relations.

But he fell short of saying exactly what the government expects the SIA management to do.

Asked if SIA should be doing more, Mr Yeo only said he has confidence in the company's management.

"We all have to face the future together because we are in it together. And the pilots, even more so. I think we have to adopt a long view and realise that if we don't work together, it may get some short term gains, but over the longer term...they are all going to lose out.

"So it is in their individual interest to ensure that SIA remain strong. And it is also in the interest of the SIA management themselves to work closely with all the staff, whether it's the pilots or cabin crew to make sure that the morale is high, the company is cohesive and everybody is doing their best to ensure passengers remain loyal to SIA and will remain flying with SIA regardless of whether there's a budget airline around," Mr Yeo added.

On the election of a new executive committee for the Airline Pilots Association, Mr Yeo said new members should act calmly and rationally in the interest of SIA and Singapore as a whole.

Mr Yeo was speaking to the media after giving out this year's National Courtesy Award for the transport sector. - NewsRadio 93.8

[GreatWayToFly]

Nothing much can be done.Too tight a control by the goverment.Best way to show contempt and displeasure is to leave for other airlines.A lot of them are doing it now, not all expats.The choice for FO either EK or KA.For most capts CAL is the choice.
For so many years i thought things will work itself out,to be better.How sad not true.Where is the logic?Management with no compassion,and the BIG BRO there totally all out to screw the ""BIG EGO"" pilots.

[BlueEagle]

I wonder if the Government of Singapore will ever wake up to the fact that they can't go on paying out top dollar to shareholders and expect the employees to foot the bill.
If the employees are expected to bear cuts then so too must the shareholders.

[burnoff]

GWTF,
You are right but the airlines you mentioned are currently not all too fond of accepting SQ pilot, specifically the locals.
I know of many who wishes to leave but the offers from KA and EK are not forthcoming.
Not to mention the bond these poor FOs has to pay.

As for Captains leaving for CAL, just read that many has joined KA as FOs. Especially those ex-Ansett pilots from MI.

After reading the latest text issued from the management wrt industrial relations(dated 1dec), the tone seemed to be one of "we were right, we are still right and now we have really big guns behind us." albeit delivered more gently.

For those who read between the lines, notice that both LKY and his son's statements said nothing of paying SQ pilots market rate.
And people, no matter what is said by others, on this tiny piece of rock, it is the words of these two men that counts.

Also note that the word "market rate" was not mentioned by any NTUC statements, which ALPA-S will be affiliated to very soon.

[Lithgow]

Good job, Kader, show 'em what yer made of...

Talk about being monitored closely, this article came out as soon as Kader made known his manifesto...

Candidate for pilots' union president accuses SIA of abusing staff goodwill

03 December 2003 1857 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/60253/1/.html

One of the SIA captains who wants to lead the pilots' union has accused the airline's manangement of abusing the goodwill of staff, and acting on its own whims and fancies.

These rather blunt accusations have surprised some, who thought the pilots' union election would be a tame affair after the Government warned the pilots repeatedly about their confrontational attitude.

The pilot's union is facing plenty of turbulence and one of the two captains who wants to take control, has just written an open letter to the 1,600 members of the airline pilots' association.

In the letter, Captain Syed Abdul Kader, a junior captain on SIA's triple-7s, accused the airline's management of "abusing the goodwill" of SIA staff by implementing unilateral decisions without consulting the unions.

He also took issue with the number of pilots who were retrenched, pointing out that since July the airline has had to hire even more Captains and First Officers then it let go.

Captain Kader says SIA management also should never have forced the pilots to take compulsory no-pay leave to cut costs.

He claims it was not equitably distributed and pilots still have many days of annual leave to clear.

The outgoing union was also not spared.

Captain Kader claims some of them have not been totally transparent with the pilots.

But at the same time he says he does not support the move to boot out the former union leaders.

So what exactly is Captain Kader promising pilots?

He says: an open channel of communication with management and the Government, so that the position and views of pilots are represented clearly and not through a third party or the media.

He also wants to "coerce" SIA not to take unilateral decisions that will destabilise industrial relations and lower staff moral.

Captain Kader also revealed that the other pilot standing for election - Captain Mok Hin Choon - had earlier asked him to join forces and not contest the post of union president.

But Captain Kader says he refused because he does not share Captain Mok's position, and he does not know his vision. - CNA

[GreatWayToFly]

So much for the white knight to be,with open letter and promises to all.Guess what will happen when you get guys knocking at your door at night.Shrivel up,scared **** and promise to tow the line.Next is you get"yes sir,yes sir three.....".Nothing changes.
You need GOD there now to be on the pilot's side.

[John Barnes]

Great Way to fly, although I agree that fear is well spread inside the working community here in Singapore, it is very often the fear of unconfirmed stories, that slowely become an unconfirmed fact. Don't get me wrong, the governement tries to rule with an iron fist but sofar I know of nobody in the pilot community who has had this knock on the door or was dragged of into a freezing airconditioned interrogation room, to be quized for 36 hours non-stop. ( These are some of the stories) Perhaps it is time for the union members to do a reality check and ask themselves, especially after the enormous flood of articles who really is the scared party.

[Jim Morehead]

Is the statement true that SQ had to hire MORE pilots than it let go recently just to stay even? If so, why did they dump the 26 to start with?

Also, I've seen the news clip on the BBC about the SQ situation. Anybody else see it or can vouch for its accuracy? It certainly dosn't make it look like any kind of a picnic over there.

[Lithgow]

Jim M - I don't have access to the hiring and firing numbers so I can't comment on Kader's claims.

For some variety, here's a Business Times article on Kader:

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/storyprintfriendly/0,4582,101607,00.html?

Business Times - 04 Dec 2003

Candidate's memo revs up race for top job in SIA pilots' union

Reinstatement of salary seen among key objectives of Capt Syed's platform

By VEN SREENIVASAN

(SINGAPORE) The buzz is already palpable in the race for the top job in the Singapore Airlines pilots' union.

With the closing date for the election just weeks away, one of the candidates for the presidency of the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore (Alpa-S) - Capt Syed Abdul Kader Alhadad - appears now to be very much the focus of attention.

While he declined to elaborate on a memo he sent to Alpa-S members yesterday, the document - a copy of which was obtained by BT - suggests several elements in his platform.

These are: better communication between the union and SIA management, the upholding of the terms of the wage cuts, and the preservation of the independence of Alpa-S.

Among his key demands to SIA management would be reinstatement of salary that pilots lost through compulsory unpaid leave during the Sars-induced slowdown. He believes there were 'errors' in the manner in which the unpaid leave scheme was implemented and wants management to rectify these.

In the memo that Capt Syed sent to Alpa-S members yesterday, he said: 'The problems that were raised by members could have been handled in a previous council through a proper forum. If we are not happy with the CA (collective agreement) team we could have held the EGM to form a new CA team, and not throw out a fairly good operating council. We must learn to act and work within the system and not at our personal fancies. I definitely do not agree with the way the petition and the EGM was pushed through, but that is water under the bridge.'

Capt Syed is standing against long-time colleague and friend Capt Mok Hin Choon for the top union job. Both men have been with SIA for almost three decades and are Singaporeans.

Capt Mok, who has been with SIA 27 years, indicated his intention to run for the presidency last month. He is no stranger to Alpa-S, having served as president from 1999 to 2000.

He could not be contacted as he was in Melbourne yesterday.

Capt Syed said he had been invited to be part of Capt Mok's team but declined. 'I know Capt Mok very well and he is a gentleman,' he said yesterday. 'But I am standing on a different platform.'

That platform has apparently also become the subject of innuendo, and rumours have started circulating among pilots against Capt Syed.

He is being painted as someone closely allied with the National Trades Union Congress, to which Alpa-S is not affiliated. The NTUC has been critical of the decision by Alpa-S members to sack their entire executive council two weeks ago.

Some pilots think the smear campaign may relate to Capt Syed's opposition to the ousting of the Alpa-S exco last month.

Contacted yesterday, Capt Syed expressed dismay at the turn of events.

'I am very disappointed that this has happened because I came forward with conviction and belief that I could make a difference,' he said. 'But I suppose this is part and parcel of standing for elections.'

In his memo, Capt Syed also referred to his significant experience in collective agreement negotiations during his time in the Flight Engineers Branch of the Singapore Airlines Staff Union, including a stint as chairman for three years in the late 1980s.

Nominations for the 19-member branch committee of Alpa-S close this week, to be followed by voting for all posts from Dec 8-22.

[millerscourt]

I really am surprised that the Singapore Government allows SIA Pilots to actually vote for who they want to have as their representatives to the Alpha-S Council!!!!

As in future they want all decisions to be decided by the council without consulting the membership, then I would have thought they would impose their candidate.??

All SIA Pilots want is the market rate for the job. An Airline that employs large numbers of ex-pats cannot expect to hold people or attract the right people unless they pay the going rate compared to other High Fare and High Cost Airlines, who are the real competitors.

SIA might have to reduce in size and let the LCA do the short haul routes and concentrate on Long Haul. They already have Silk Air which could adapt to the Low Cost Model assuming they can get Pilots on their salary scales!!:{

[Lithgow]

No elections needed for council members - it's a walkover.

Thank you ALPA-S for posting the names of the incoming council members. Much better than having to hear it on the news.

Suffice to say no sign of Freddie or the Chrome Dome.

This is what CNA has to say:

Too few nominees for SIA pilots' union council, so no election necessary

04 December 2003 1928 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/60452/1/.html

SINGAPORE: There won't be an election to chose the members of the pilots' union council. Nominations have closed, there aren't even enough nominees. Only 17 pilots have come forward to serve on the council of the pilots' union - four short of the 21 seats available so there won't even be an election for these posts.

The union has recently been on the receiving end of harsh warning by Government Ministers for their confrontational approach to labour relations.

But even though there are so few nominees, not all may get in.

It's understood that among the 17 who have thrown in their hat, are several foreigners with PR status.

Foreigners have to get approval from the Manpower Ministry before they are allowed to serve as union leaders.

Just last week, the Manpower Ministry rescinded approval for two Malaysian pilots with Singapore PR who were on the pilots' union council that was booted out.

It's understood they have not re-applied. But two other Singaporeans from the outgoing exco have come forward to serve again.

So as it stands, only the post of pilot union president is being contested. - CNA

[Dibble&Grub]

This article appeared in the Today Paper. An interestingly candid piece :

No direct URL - just look at the last item...

Today Article (http://www.todayonline.com/index_home.htm)


New leaders could still face old problems

Alpa-S chiefs will face members' ire if they reach an unpopular deal with SIA

Friday • December 5, 2003

I REFER to the move to amend the Trade Unions Act, which has a direct impact on how the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) operates.

Though its new leadership can negotiate as it pleases and deems fit with the management of Singapore Airlines (SIA), I believe it will still feel the wrath and displeasure of a majority of its member pilots, should it ink a deal which they do not agree to.

In other words, the facade may have changed, but the substance still remains. The new leaders would then realise that their positions and their daily work relationships still depend on the goodwill of their colleagues.

Would they not take on a confrontational position any way to safeguard their positions and prevent being voted out in an extraordinary general meeting or at the next annual general meeting; or worse, encounter an uncomfortable and cold work environment?

As long as the leaders are elected democratically, they know they have to answer to their members, as they do have to work with their electorate most of the time on a daily basis.

The tension between the pilots and SIA will not be resolved by changing a law. While I agree that any damage to SIA would damage Singapore's image, its economy and ultimately me, let us also see further ahead.

Are pilots all over the world so difficult to please? Are they literally high-fliers and high earners so their grievances are those of a spoilt child?

Or are their complaints worthy of consideration, because taken in the context of their irregular work hours, their situation cannot be compared to the usual eight-hour employee?

If this is not resolved, we will see the pilots bickering still and taking on SIA at every turn, whether it is a bad economy or for some other reason.

News will eventually go out, if it has not already, that pilots in Singapore are always unhappy with SIA and many foreign pilots may even get the impression that pilots in Singapore are treated badly. That cannot be good for SIA's image.

Even if in a lightning move, all SIA pilots are fired during a protracted dispute in a game of chicken, would other pilots — barring the desperate and inexperienced — knowing the existing deep-seated unhappiness, step voluntarily into the fire and take up the vacant jobs?

Will the image of SIA be that of a glamorous airline but a terrible and uncaring employer? Frankly, even to a Singaporean, it seems that way.

SIA's silence on how to deal with such unhappiness, that is if it wants to, is more damaging than the pilots' anger.

[Lithgow]

D&G, here's da link...

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/11087.asp

Feel free to cut and paste it into your post.

[Jim Morehead]

I wonder why Singapore doesn't just decide to take the 26 pilots back that they sacked. Somehow I think life would be better for all concerned.

[Goofyfoot]

With the way they were treated in the first place plus the current goings on, I doubt whether they would want to go back!

[Insider107]

millerscourt

Your observation, whilst tongue in cheek, has the ring of absolute reality when applied to the Alice in Wonderland world of Singapore and Singapore Airlines – the latter a partly owned and wholly controlled subsidiary of Lee & Son (Pte) Ltd, majority shareholder of the former enterprise.

It would seem to be entirely possible that Captain Syed Abdul Kader Alhadad, who has recently popped up from nowhere, could be the regime’s imposed candidate, introduced in the customary oblique manner of the much vaunted Asian values and masquerading as the pilots’ saviour in the face of an imminent return to the “confrontational” ancien regime of Mok and Co.

Captain Kader’s presented credentials indicate that he was in the Flight Engineers Branch of the Singapore Airlines Staff Union during which time he included a three year stint as chairman in the late 1980’s. The Staff Union, of course, was then and still is, affiliated to the NTUC and hence neatly corralled by the Ministry of Manpower in its operating capacity as ringmaster to the cosy Singapore “tripartite” system of “arrangement” between government, employers and employee associations. Needless to say, it is entirely within the bounds of possibility that a new and compliant Alpa-S President, with former extensive NTUC links, in a newly legislated environment that has abolished individual Alpa-S members’ voting rights, could decide on the members’ behalves that affiliation with NTUC was in everyone’s best interest. Without wishing to draw everyone a series of pictures, the forgoing would appear to be an elegant solution to the ongoing irritant of a truly independent (though fearful) pilots’ association, continually prodding the flanks of an increasingly cantankerous dynamic duo.

Of which duo, the senior member recently mentioned that SIA would have to devote more attention to its management of human resources. Presumably this was a spur to the redoubtable Mr Loh, Senior Vice President Human Resources, SIA and, entirely coincidentally, PAP MP for one of the larger GRC’s. It remains unclear the extent of Mr Loh’s former HR experience and training as, indeed, it remains similarly unclear the extent of his past airline management experience. However, Mr Loh has had the aptitude to unilaterally and without any form of consultation whatsoever, wind up the SIA Provident Fund, as a “cost saving measure” and so deprive the eligible pilot membership of a further 10% of their remuneration. Resulting unreasonable squawks have been presented, I’m told, as further examples of pilots believing they’re special. They’ve got huge egos, apparently!

And finally, whilst alluding to misrepresentation of actuality, it’s amusing to note the Singapore Transport Minister’s laboured attempts to extrapolate an EU and US open skies regulatory framework to that of the highly regulated asian theatre when presenting the bogey of the dreaded buget airlines, aka the low cost carriers (LCC) laying waste to SIA’s profit profile. It was similarly interesting to note the central message of Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, on BBC Hard Talk, that the only environment in which an LCC could start up and survive was an open skies one. Perhaps we could have some accurate information as to when this arcadian state of affairs will come about within the region?

[Lithgow]

Business Times makes public the ALPA-S nominees...

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/storyprintfriendly/0,4582,101741,00.html?

Business Times - 05 Dec 2003

SIA pilots nominate 3 non-citizens for council

Two Malaysians and an Indian national are all PRs

By VEN SREENIVASAN

(SINGAPORE) Singapore Airlines pilots have nominated three non-citizens for membership to their incoming executive council - after the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) rescinded approval for two non-citizens to sit on the outgoing council.

Two Malaysians and one Indian national - all permanent residents - are among 17 nominees.

The Malaysians are First Officer Viswanathan Ramasamy and Captain Park George Howard, and the Indian national is First Officer Srihari Vaidun, according to a list obtained by BT.

Given that the 17 names fall short of the 19 spots available, all the nominees are expected to be voted to sit on the council when the members of the Air Line Pilots Association of Singapore (Alpa-S) meet on Dec 22 - assuming that MOM approves the three foreigners.

MOM recently rescinded approval for two non-citizens who sat on the council that was ousted by members unhappy with the way it handled wage negotiations. They are currently serving in a caretaker capacity until a new council is formed. The rescission notice was sent on Monday.

Alpa-S will seek MOM's nod for the new nominees.

'No elections are required as there are only 17 names nominated,' said spokesman Capt P James. 'The honorary secretary of Alpa-S is in the process of forwarding the names to the ministry for approval.'

Under Section 30 of Trade Unions Act, unions have to provide a list of changes in officials to the Registrar of Trade Unions at MOM within seven days of their election or appointment. Non-citizens have to be approved by the Minister for Manpower.

What if approval is not given for the three non-citizens nominated for the new council? 'I guess Alpa-S will have to manage with what they've got,' Capt James said.

According to the list obtained by BT, the other 14 nominees are Joseph Chern, Chew Choong Cheong, Dave Lai, Gerard Ee, Kuan Swee Heng, Lee Boon Hup, Lee Leong, Victor Lim, Lim Lu Chih, Alfonsus Low, Nicholas Han, Tan Ooi Mien, Randall Tang and Teng Beng Piow.

Meanwhile, the election for the presidency of the union will go ahead up to Dec 19, with two candidates - Capt Syed Abdul Kader Alhadad and Capt Mok Hin Choon - battling for the post.

Capt Syed is standing on a platform of better communications between the union and SIA management, upholding the terms of the wage cuts and preserving of the independence of Alpa-S.

Capt Mok, who arrived from Melbourne on Wednesday night, is yet to present his manifesto. He could not be contacted yesterday.

Both Capt Syed and Capt Mok, who are SIA veterans, have support bases among pilots.

[jstars2]

Err, who would be the dynamic duo you are refering to, 107?

[Lithgow]

jstars2 - perhaps this article may give you some idea...

Excerpts from the Lee Kuan Yew School Of Airline Management...

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,223198,00.html?

DEC 3, 2003

SM: Govt can't let pilots have their way

Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew issued a stern warning to Singapore Airlines pilots on Monday that the Government will not allow them to go slow or work-to-rule, which would damage the airline's reputation and cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in losses in a matter of months. He made the remarks in a speech and a question-and-answer session at the Global Branding Forum. He also spoke about his style of governing compared to that of the younger ministers and the branding of Singapore. We reproduce excerpts:

RIGHT at this moment, we're having a little problem with our pilots.

Because of Sars, Singapore Airlines lost a few hundred million dollars that quarter. They persuaded, with the help of the Ministry of Manpower, the unions - not just the pilots' union but the five unions across the board in SIA - to take pay cuts, adjust work schedules and generally trim down.

But the second quarter, July to September, they showed a profit. Whereupon the pilots say: 'We've been taken for a ride.' They sack the committee.

But they approved it and this is just the first glimmer of recovery in an industry that's facing very grave challenges.

No one can say how mainline carriers will fare in the next one, two years. Budget carriers are coming into Asia and it's a matter of time before they pose the same challenge to mainline carriers as they do in America and now increasingly in Europe.

But the pilots' union is not interested in that. They just say: 'You squeezed us when the going was bad, now we want it back.'

Well, we're not going to have that. Both management at SIA and the pilots' union, and all the unions in SIA, know that when the Government decides that its industrial relations is a key factor in its progress, in its economic well-being, and it says no, it means no.

And if they're confrontational, then either the union gives way or the union is able to knock the Government down.

Now in Europe, when Air France goes on strike, sometimes the minister has to resign or Air France management has to make adjustments.

I can assure you that in Singapore, when we decide that they are breaking the rules of the game, the unspoken rules as to how we survive, how we have prospered, then either their head is broken or our bones are broken.

And when that is understood, we then talk sense.

I come back to the pilots. They're a special breed. The pilots know that the company has spent half a million or three-quarters of a million dollars training a person to fly a 747.

So, it's a capital-intensive industry and if they decide to go slow or walk out, then all that capital is just going to lie frozen on the ground.

So after the Sars debacle, SIA lost money for the first time in its history, they accepted the pay cuts, no-pay leave, certain adjustments in work schedules with a proviso that if SIA makes money, as it makes money it will restore all its cuts.

And it goes up to 115 per cent of what was taken away if it proves to be as successful as last year.

When - after settling this and voting in favour of the executive committee saying, 'yes, we support this' - SIA makes $300 million in one quarter, they decide 'We'll sack the committee, we're going to take over. This collective agreement ends in a few months, we're going to be tough'.

If we sit back, and SIA has had troubles with the pilots for a long time, as I've said, they think they're special, they've got huge egos, I'm told.

So, for instance, when SIA changes first-class seats to totally flat reclining seats and so there are fewer first-class seats. I think now the first-class cabin, from my recollection, has only about 12 seats when there used to be 16 or 18 seats.

The captains were allowed, when they were resting, to take a first-class seat which could recline.

But now, there are not enough first-class seats. The company says: 'We will pay you the difference.' No, they want the first-class seat. In other words, there'll be fewer than 12 passengers if you have two being used by pilots.

We know that, if we allow this to go on, there'll be a go-slow, there'll be some work-to-rule and we'll get the Cathay Pacific situation.

Now you can have that in Hong Kong. You're not going to have that in Singapore. I will not allow that because I literally decided, in the early days, that I will preserve this potential business for Singapore.

We had Malayan Airways, which was based here. When we joined Malaysia, we became Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, a joint airline.

Then they decided they wanted to go off on their own so we built up workshops in Kuala Lumpur so they could go off.

And from that moment, way back in the 1960s, we built ourselves up as an international airline because, where were we going to fly to? From Changi Airport to Sembawang Airport, to Seletar, to Paya Lebar?

So we had to go international or nothing.

Today, with our population of three million - plus another one million foreigners, it's four million - we are carrying the loads of Australia, with a population of 20 million, or for that matter, many other airlines.

In other words, we're carrying other people's passengers. There's no catchment here.

You do that because your service is not only safe, it's not only reliable, but it is exceptionally good.

This is a service industry. You have stewards or stewardesses or pilots playing work-to-rule, you lose that cachet. So we are telling them, both management and unions, 'you play this game, there are going to be broken heads'. Let's stop it.

They know what this is all about. We are not fools. We know what the management knows. We know the union side too because we've got unionists on our side and we are going to solve this before it gets troublesome and solve it we will.

If we sit back and do nothing and allow this to escalate and test the wills, then it is going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in one, two, three months of nastiness. We are not going to have that.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I belong to the old school. I believe that it is better to be feared than to be loved. My younger colleagues sometimes want to be both.

I decided a long time ago that popularity is something volatile. They feel good, they get their bonuses, you're popular.

They are squeezed, there's a recession, you're blamed for it, your stocks go down. And the key is not to hold an election when people are not feeling good.

I do not believe that popular government means you have to be popular when you govern. I think the best thing to do is to do all the unpopular things when you are governing so that at the end of your term, you have the choice of a date when you feel that they will be most grateful that you've done all these unpopular things and they vote for you.

I don't know about branding. I do know that you need a good reputation, not just outside Singapore but within Singapore, with your own people.

This is a place that works, that must work and continue to work because it is based on principles. And the first principle is nobody owes us a living.

[Insider107]

The dynamic duo to which I refer, is, of course, that of the venerable and gothic creation of the cinematographer’s past art, Papman and Robin, the fearless fighters from Gotham of special cases and huge egos.

One has only to imagine the scene within the Pap Cave during dinner, joined by Robin’s perennial partner, Temasek Rose:

Robin: “Gee Pop, those pesky pilots produce the perfect pickle to a profitable portfolio.”

Papman: “Holy conflicts of interest Robin, pass us the procedure per these perfidious pilots Rose.”

Temasek Rose: “ Precisely Papman, purloin their paltry pay packets and perk the profit profile of the portfolio.”

Robin: “Holy NTUC Pop, that’s potentially punitive of a putative PM. When can I precipitate the pilots’ partition?”

[jstars2]

SM Lee, DEC 3, 2003

“But now, there are not enough first-class seats. The company says: 'We will pay you the difference.' No, they want the first-class seat. In other words, there'll be fewer than 12 passengers if you have two being used by pilots.”

Err, up to a point Lord Copper. Could the SM have become a little confused as to the actual detail of the situation and not realized that the seats at issue were in fact the far more numerous Business Class seats. Still we don’t want inconvenient facts spoiling a colourful speech, do we?

[highcirrus]

The Straits Times Editor must have made a mistake letting this one through

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,4386,223899,00.html?

Give SIA pilots some credit

I REFER to the article, 'Govt acting to prevent 'broken heads' at SIA' (ST, Dec 2), and the comments made by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

I have tremendous respect for SM Lee and have noted how he had personally seen to the growth and development of Singapore Airlines. I also applaud the Government's decision to improve working relations between SIA management and the pilots' union.

However, I feel strongly that SM Lee's remarks might be misplaced when he commented that pilots think they are 'a special breed' and how he was told 'they have got huge egos'.

It was only a few months ago that SM Lee praised with much emotion how SIA swiftly and efficiently responded to his call to bring Mrs Lee home from Britain, shortly after she suffered a stroke.

My son-in-law, a young co-pilot, has been with SIA for almost four years and I would like to point out to SM Lee that it was people like him and his colleagues and their team of cabin crew who flew Mrs Lee home.

I understand from my son-in-law that due to the nature of the medical emergency, pilots had to immerse themselves in careful flight planning and fuel management prior to the flight because of increased oxygen requirements.

Also, the safe manoeuvring of the aircraft to avoid poor weather conditions and air turbulence was vital to Mrs Lee's comfort and safety during the 13-hour journey.

The pilots and the crew had to stay alert and vigilant in case of an emergency so that the passengers might rest easy. At the end of the day, with the job done, the flight crew did not ask for any recognition. To them, it was part of their job. They saw themselves as having a 'huge responsibility' to the travelling public - and our leaders who travel with them - as opposed to having a 'huge ego'. I applaud their professionalism in carrying out their duties.

In every profession, there are sacrifices to be made and different sacrifices are made in different professions. It takes two to three years of vigorous training - during which trainee pilots receive meagre wages - to be a confirmed and operational airline pilot in SIA.

They spend what little time they have at home, making up for lost time with their families.

They fly to and stay in sometimes-treacherous places, where terrorist acts and natural disasters are not uncommon, so that our citizens may find their way home.

They are constantly scrutinised and tested by the aviation authorities to ensure that they are well versed in emergency procedures. A single mistake could cost them their entire career.

These are sacrifices that only a very small number of people are prepared to undertake. Pilots take on the job because they want to provide a good life for their family.

SM Lee cited pilots defending their right to be seated in Business Class during their rest period as an example of their belief that they are a special breed.

The way I see it, pilots defending their rights as stated in the terms of the collective agreement are no different from our leaders challenging Malaysia's bid to raise the price of water, contrary to the water agreements. As our Foreign Minister so aptly put it during his speech in Parliament, 'the sanctity of all agreements must be upheld'.

I agree with the Government that this issue must be resolved quickly and that confrontational approaches should be discouraged. However, one must question the events that led to this incident and it will not be difficult to see why the pilots are unhappy.

Let's not start labelling SIA pilots. They deserve some credit for the job that they do and our leaders should take the first step.

Name and address supplied

[jstars2]

Whilst recently passing a happy half hour in the dentist’s waiting room, I came across the article below, published in a British magazine I won’t name, for fear of it being banned in Singapore:

Letter from Singapore

From Our Own Correspondent

There are countries where the people in charge have to take responsibility for the mess they make. Singapore, where times have been particularly tough in recent years, isn’t one of them.

First came the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s. Then the terrorist attacks of 11 September hit our tourism sector, which was given a second body blow by the outbreak of SARS. Unemployment and GDP are worsening while rates for utilities, public transport and our Goods and Services Tax (GST) are all increasing.

Now we learn that the payments our employers make into the Central Provident Fund (CPF) – which is used to pay for our mortgages, medical bills and retirement – are also to be slashed in a bid to make Singapore more competitive for employers. Many of us wonder how we’ll make ends meet.

By contrast, the fat cats in government have no such worries. In a country where the average annual salary is US$15,500, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong earns a healthy US$600,000 – more than George W. Bush or Tony Blair. Not bad in a country the size of your Isle of Wight with a population of just four million.

Many of us grumble privately that we’re having to shoulder the burden of economic reforms as Singapore tries to compete with cheaper upstarts such as India and China, while our politicians live the high life. But rumbling is about all we can do. We’ve been ruled by the People’s Action Party (PAP) continuously since 1959 and are managed with an iron rod by our founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, and his entourage.

We do have opposition MPs but they are a rare and some would say fool hardy breed. J.B. Jeyaretnam, for example, the former secretary-general of the tiny opposition Workers’ Party of Singapore, has had seven defamation actions brought against him by Prime Minister Goh since 1997, thereby bankrupting him. This meant he lost his seat in parliament and his licence to practice law.

So we tend not to grumble too loudly. And even if we were to grumble loudly, it’s unlikely the Lee dynasty’s grip on power might end any time soon. When Lee Kuan Yew “retired” as PM in 1990, he established a new position of Senior Minister for himself. This influential advisory cabinet post enables Lee to pull the strings from the sidelines. Now his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Goh, has announced that he is planning to retire and will soon hand power over to …. Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s son, whom most of us dislike. A recent unofficial online poll – “If you could vote for the next Prime Minister, it would be…..” revealed that just 12 percent of us voted for Lee younger.

It also looks as though the two Lees will be in power simultaneously. We had expected Lee the elder to step down so Prime Minister Goh could take up the Senior Minister’s job. But the octogenarian has other ideas. Lee, who once said he would rise from the grave to sort out any problems that might emerge in Singapore after his death, has announced that he intends to stay in public life as long as he is fit.

“I will retire from office when I am no longer able to contribute to the government,” he said in an interview with the Straits Times recently. “You don’t have to tell me. I can feel it when I am no longer making a contribution.”

Should the elder Lee remain Senior Minister while his son is Prime Minister, between them they would occupy the two top government posts in one of the richest nations in Southeast Asia. To tighten the Lee family’s stranglehold further, Lee junior’s wife, Ho Ching, is head of Temasek Holdings, a state investment firm that controls many of our leading companies such as Singapore Airlines and Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel). Talk about keeping it in the family! It could in fact be that cozy couple who are strangling the pilots in SIA, but that’s just what I have been told….!

[mooney59]

I find it astounding that under the current climate,Cathay is giving back the pay cuts imposed during the Sars period plus a year end bonus.That really is a fillip for company/ union relations.
How dod they do it i wonder?

[Gladiator]

As quoted by Lee Kuan Yew:

"there is going to be a few broken heads"

Lee Kuan Yew is an idiot, a communist under the cloak of democracy.

Have ya all not yet come to the realization that Singapore is a dictatorship?

If ya all go slow, the thought of losing money might give him a heart attack. Oh oh.

[Lithgow]

Make a wild guess who she's talking about and what just might happen...

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/columnist/0,1886,84-223805,00.html?

DEC 6, 2003

INSIGHT: Militant unions are going out of fashion

By Chua Mui Hoong

THINKING ALOUD

THE air traffic controllers thought they were on to a sure thing.

Nearly 13,000 of the 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organisation (Patco) in the United States went on strike to force the federal government to give in to their demands for higher wages, a shorter work week and better retirement benefits.

This was in August 1981. Then-president Ronald Reagan threatened to sack all those on strike if they did not return to work in 48 hours. Negotiations broke down. The strikers called his bluff, expecting to see the aviation industry come to a standstill.

Instead, the US federal authorities put in a contingency plan, roping in the military to help direct air traffic, while asking airlines to curtail scheduled flights.

Travel was disrupted and airlines, losing US$30 million a day, laid off workers. Public sentiment was against the strikers, whose pay was higher than national average.

In the end, the strikers were sacked, the leaders charged under laws that prevented federal employees from going on strike, and the union was fined US$1 million per day by federal judges for the strike period.

Patco was decertified.

This wasn't the first time such a union-government showdown took place in the US.

In 1943, coal miners went on strike in the middle of the Second World War, ignoring personal pleas from then-president Franklin Roosevelt to heed the national interest and go back to work to support the war economy, which was fuelled by coal.

Union chief John L. Lewis' famous reply: 'The President of the United States is paid to look after the national interest. I am paid to look after the interests of the miners.'

Public opinion turned against the union. As reported in Peter Drucker's book Post Capitalist Society, that strike marked the beginning of the decline of unionism in America.

In Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, fed up with militant unions that disrupted business, then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher diminished the reorganised trade union structures to clip their wings.

Many people instinctively want unions to be adversarial and combative like those above.

It's a natural emotional response: Employers have the weight of capital behind them. How else can unions fight for workers' interests, except to battle management, threaten strikes and take industrial action, and haul errant employers to court?

Hence a spate of criticism directed at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in Singapore, which values consensus and peaceful industrial relations.

This instinctive wish to see someone take on the mighty employer, is probably the reason why there's quite a bit of public sympathy for the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), after it was rapped by four government ministers for ousting its executive committee, reportedly for being too 'soft' with management.

Some of the sympathy may have arisen from the sentiment that ministers shouldn't interfere in a private association's leadership tussle. But some observers may also wish to see the Alpa-S challenge management and get a showdown.

But the sober reality is that unionism is not a spectator sport.

More to the point, workers who think an adversarial union best represents their interests, are dead wrong.

As the above examples show, history is littered with the corpses of once-powerful militant unions who lost public favour, caused capital to flee and then were hung out to dry by governments.

The Anglo-Saxon model of unionism has been an adversarial one. Many Singaporeans grow up thinking this is the way unions in democratic countries should behave.

It doesn't help that it's striking unions who make the headlines, not peaceful ones. These give a picture of militancy being the norm.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

Look beyond those summer transport strikes in France, the efforts by German unions to block social reform, and the high-profile South Korean rail and truckers' strikes.

In many countries, unions are quietly plugging away on consensual efforts to protect workers.

In much of Europe, the concept of social partnership - akin to Singapore's tripartism - is well-entrenched.

Unions in Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands, to take just a few examples, consider themselves social partners with employers and government, responsible for protecting workers' interests within the framework of ensuring sustainable livelihoods for all.

It isn't just Singapore's NTUC that does seemingly inexplicable things such as support wage moderation.

In the Netherlands, unions supported wage moderation in two economic downturns: In 1982 when one in 25 manufacturing firms went bankrupt and 300,000 jobs were lost, and in 1993. When growth stalled last year, social partners discussed remedies, chief of which was again wage moderation.

In Ireland, despite a legacy of industrial battles, the unions sat down with employers and the government and developed a social pact that has been widely credited with creating the industrial peace pivotal to the success of the so-called Celtic Tiger in the 1990s.

Militancy could even be going out of fashion.

A report on the European Industrial Relations Observatory website ( www.eiro.eurofound.ie ) surveying industrial action between 1998 and last year, concluded that these were 'low in historical terms'.

Unions as social partners in these countries have equal status with employers and government. They are consulted on wage policy.

Tripartite arrangements institutionalise the relationship. They safeguard workers' interests on issues such as gender pay inequality, discrimination and promoting the participation of disabled people in the workforce.

In Singapore, management and government must treat unions as equal, not junior, partners. Workers' right to form unions, and unions' right to negotiate pay and work conditions without interference, must be protected by law.

Only when workers believe a peaceable union movement has as much say at the bargaining table as the other partners, will they give up urges to egg on unions to take a confrontational stance.

E-mail: [email protected]

[highcirrus]

Re: DEC 6, 2003, INSIGHT: Militant unions are going out of fashion

By Chua Mui Hoong

THINKING ALOUD

“A report on the European Industrial Relations Observatory website surveying industrial action between 1998 and last year, concluded that these were 'low in historical terms'.”

- Well yes, but this is because unions have legal rights to withhold their members’ labour, following a laid down procedure, as a final resort. Employers know this and as a result, their minds are wonderfully concentrated around the bargaining table. Employees in turn know that they have this last resort power and hence the generally mature contemporary European trades union memberships tend to favour the fruitful negotiations made possible by this capability rather than, as an opening shot, exercising this power for its own sake.
- In Singapore, no such rights exist, as a matter of enshrined PAP policy, hence bargaining between the parties is, unsurprisingly, one sided.

“Unions as social partners in these countries have equal status with employers and government. They are consulted on wage policy.”

- Precisely so, but this happy situation has only arisen following significant past conflicts. when unions have demonstrated they mean business by withholding their members’ labour.


"In Singapore, management and government must treat unions as equal, not junior, partners. Workers' right to form unions, and unions' right to negotiate pay and work conditions without interference, must be protected by law."

- Absolutely so, hence the bold scrip. The only people in Singapore who do not agree with the above statement is the membership of the oligarchy which runs the place.


“Only when workers believe a peaceable union movement has as much say at the bargaining table as the other partners, will they give up urges to egg on unions to take a confrontational stance.”

- Again, I think that most reasonable people in Singapore would agree. Please include this last part in the memo to the oligarchy.

[jstars2]

During the flurry of intimidatory statements pushed out in the Singapore media last week by various ministerial mouthpieces, plus SM Lee himself and all directed at the Alpa-S pilots of SIA, implication was made of the disastrous effect that the low cost carriers, including the startup ValueAir, would wreak on the bottom lines of both SIA and majority shareholder, Temasek Holdings (govt). To my great surprise (though really it shouldn’t have been), I now find that the vast majority of ValueAir’s shares are in fact owned by the self same Temasek Holdings and that the carrier’s debut is being accelerated to quickly establish ValueAir well ahead of any competition. The view “Through the Looking Glass” continues to be as opaque as ever Alice saw and Lewis Carrol intended.

PS. ValueAir's business plan now seems to have changed from low cost carrier to full(ish) service airline. Curioser and curioser.

[Lithgow]

Is this for real? Or are they just faking it?

Even a blind man could have felt the low morale, and this meeting comes a whole week after SIA management is told to wake up...

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,224314,00.html?

DEC 9, 2003

SIA bosses meet union leaders

Low morale? Let's talk

The closed-door meeting tackles concerns over spate of resignations and staff morale, sources tell REBECCA LEE

SINGAPORE Airlines top brass met leaders from the five SIA unions yesterday for what sources said was a discussion on flagging morale at the national carrier.

The closed-door morning meeting, involving SIA chairman Koh Boon Hwee, chief executive Chew Choon Seng and union officials, was an indication that a recent spate of resignations has raised concerns among management.

It is not clear who initiated the talks, but The Straits Times understands that the meeting, which lasted a few hours, centred on the low morale among staff.

'The morale is very bad and all of us are concerned because we care about the company. The unions were called in to see how they can assist in this area,' a source said.

Morale has apparently been affected by the 5 to 16.5 per cent wage cuts which followed the Sars outbreak; the retrenchment of nearly 600 staff; and the release of another 145 on special retirement packages.

SIA's quick turnaround in the July-to-September quarter did not help matters because some employees felt this recovery warranted a restoration of their pay.

The national carrier made a profit of $306 million in that quarter, reversing a first-ever loss of $312 million in the previous quarter.

SIA has not indicated what its thinking on this is, except to say it will honour the June agreement with unions to make a one-off lump sum payment to compensate for the wage cuts.

It has also not said whether pay cuts will be restored.

Even with the Government's intervention over escalating tensions between pilots and management - which saw bosses being told to improve on human-resource management - SIA could not say, when the press asked, what concrete plans it had to improve staff morale.

But yesterday's meeting was called to explore ways to get the airline out of the 'rut', a management source said, referring to what he saw as a startling number of resignations in recent months.

The unions also wanted to find a way to resolve the issue without government intervention, the source added.

It is understood that simmering unhappiness and the lure of higher paying jobs have led to more than 10 SIA pilots resigning recently, with another 12 having secured jobs elsewhere. More than five pilots have also left SilkAir, SIA's regional wing. Unions say at least 11 SIA aircraft engineers and several cabin crew have also left, and that many more executives have quit.

A source said yesterday's meeting was 'very interactive', with both Mr Koh and Mr Chew reacting in a 'very positive way' and listening to the feedback from unionists.

At least two representatives were present from each of the five SIA unions: the SIA Staff Union; SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union; Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union; Air Transport Executives Staff Union; and Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore.

SIA would not comment on the discussion, but a spokesman said: 'We have regular meetings involving management and unions representing SIA staff.

'We have a commitment to continue to better communicate with SIA staff and their representatives. As a matter of principle, we do not provide a running commentary on this dialogue.'

Union representatives contacted also declined to comment on the meeting. It is understood that both sides agreed that they would not go public with the meeting or what was said.

SIA's problems have been in the spotlight recently, especially after last month's ouster of leaders of the pilots' union, which drew criticism from several ministers.

The election for the post of president is now under way and will end on Dec 19. But there will be no vote for the executive committee because only 17 candidates stepped forward for the 19 seats.

At the weekend, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said he did not think the lack of candidates was a result of pilots being scared off by the Government.

Instead, he attributed it to the fact that the election had been called suddenly.

He also dismissed talk about candidate Syed Abdul Kader, who is standing against pilots' union veteran Mok Hin Choon, being closely aligned with the National Trades Union Congress.

[highcirrus]

DEC 9, 2003
SIA bosses meet union leaders
Low morale? Let's talk
The closed-door meeting tackles concerns over spate of resignations and staff morale, sources tell REBECCA LEE

“… At the weekend, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said he did not think the lack of candidates was a result of pilots being scared off by the Government.

Instead, he attributed it to the fact that the election had been called suddenly.”

- A quite remarkable statement in light of last week’s carefully planned, well spread and superbly orchestrated media rhetoric by ministerial mouthpieces plus SM Lee’s own invective, during which he intemperately revealed his personal antipathy towards the pilots of SIA and ominously threatened “broken heads”.

“… He also dismissed talk about candidate Syed Abdul Kader, who is standing against pilots' union veteran Mok Hin Choon, being closely aligned with the National Trades Union Congress.”

- Obviously when a stooge is planted he doesn’t come along with an admission of such!

[Lithgow]

The real reason for wanting to look like a concerned employer?

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,224440,00.html?

DEC 10, 2003

SIA to start budget carrier

Tiger Airways set to take off next year with Europe's no-frills leader Ryanair among Singapore Airlines' partners

By Kelvin Wong

SINGAPORE Airlines will start a budget airline called Tiger Airways next year, in a joint venture that includes the shareholders of Ryanair, Europe's second-largest discount carrier.

The new carrier is expected to start flying in the second half of next year, to destinations within four hours of its home base, Singapore, said SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng yesterday.

The airline's decision will intensify competition in a market that already has Malaysia's AirAsia, which wants to fly here, and Singapore-based Valuair, which plans to take off next year.

Thai Airways is also considering a budget carrier.

But SIA is unperturbed. Said Mr Chew: 'The more the merrier and that is good for the consumer. And we are the fittest group.'

You're so modest, Mr Chew.

In giving an indication of what a passenger can expect on Tiger Airways, the Ryanair model is obvious.

Passengers will pay for food and drinks they want on board. Tickets will also be sold directly to customers via the Internet.

'So, buying a ticket just means getting a seat from point A to point B,' said Mr Chew, adding that details of the destinations, fleet size, type of aircraft and fares would be announced later.

But Ryanair's average fare of 40 euros (S$84) is a likely guide. Also, Tiger Airways will operate a fleet of single-aisle aircraft of one type.

Mr Chew did not rule out plying some SilkAir routes, 'but they will vie for different segments of the market'.

He foresees the new venture expanding the travel market, as low-fare carriers did in Europe and America.

Indeed, it was the success there that coaxed SIA to enter the market here. However, he noted that almost all attempts by full-service network airlines to operate wholly-owned low-fare carriers have been unsuccessful because 'completely different methods and procedures, marketing approaches and skills' are needed.

Hence, the decision to tie up with US-based Indigo Partners, which owns 24 per cent of Tiger, and the Ryan family's Irelandia Investments, which holds 16 per cent.

SIA's stake is 49 per cent but, together with Temasek Holdings' 11 per cent, Singapore has the lion's share.

At the press conference, Mr Chew was flanked by Ryanair founder Tony Ryan, Mr Bill Franke, Indigo Partners' managing partner, and Mr Charlie Clifton, Ryanair's former director of operations who will set up Tiger Airways in the coming months.

'The intention is to have a Singaporean CEO,' Mr Chew said.

SIA decided against using SilkAir as a budget carrier because 'to transform SilkAir with its methods, procedures all in place is going to be much harder than for us to have a green field start up'.

Meanwhile, SilkAir said it would suspend its twice-weekly flights to Chittagong, Bangladesh, from Jan 19.

Rival Valuair said that it had been expecting SIA's move 'for some time'.

Spokesman Jimmy Lau told The Straits Times: 'We welcome the competition. We just hope that we will compete on a level playing field.'

The venture was also welcomed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore as a move 'enhancing Singapore's position as an air hub'.

It has had preliminary discussions with Tiger Airways, which will have to apply for an Air Operator Certificate and then for air traffic rights.

As for the name, Mr Ryan said: 'Tiger is very reflective of Asia. It is a simple name.'

Mr Chew, whose T-shirt under his jacket carried the tiger head logo of the former Malayan Airways, saw it as a return to SIA's early history.

'Everybody liked the name Tiger... It's connected to our roots as well.'

[highcirrus]

Interesting development. Readers should, however, cast their minds back to the heady days of our previous CEO’s daring forays into the Australasian skies when buy-ins to Air New Zealand and Ansett lost many billions of dollars (covered exhaustively in past threads). Minds should also be cast back to the track record of the star “name” bought into by SIA/Temasek, who is none other than Tony Ryan, ex-Chairman and CEO of Guinness Peat Aviation (aircraft lessors for those who have forgotten) and mastermind of its flotation debacle, during which, following a series of disastrous decisions fueled by greed and hubris, the great businessman and many others in Ireland lost their shirts. Fortunately, Tony had previously set up a “train set” for his three sons to play with and had a hard nosed and successful airline CEO, P.J. McGoldrick run the 748/ATR operation for a time, so the boys could dabble but not fatally screw up the new entity, which by now was named, unsurprisingly, Ryanair. At the time that Tony found himself on his “uppers”, following the flotation failure, a bright young accountant, Michael O’Leary came along with the proposal to transform Ryanair’s operation and market focus and, following acceptance, MOL became the architect and driving force behind what really is Ryanair Mk2. The rest, of course, as they say, is history. So perhaps SIA/Temasek is really buying into the wrong man?

Of Ryanair (Mk2) of course, its success lies on the twin pillars of operating in an open skies regulatory framework (ie free to set any fare it wishes, fly to any airport within the EU and have absolutely no capacity restriction at all) plus being utterly and ruthlessly unconstrained in its competitive stance towards other carriers by offering staggeringly low fares (last time I flew with them, Dublin – UK was 12 Euros!). Now is the management of “Tiger” going to be as ruthlessly competitive towards owner and big brother SIA/Temasek and is the SE Asian regulatory patchwork of tortuous bi-lateral agreements going to disappear overnight? Don’t hold your collective breaths!

So, the fanfare may be impressive and the names apparently glittering and you may think me a Cassandra but if fares are not rock bottom and the required traffic critical mass not quickly reached, someone, somewhere is going to have to explain away (or probably hush up) yet another multi billion dollar loss. But then that’s OK isn’t it, there’s always the SIA employees’ salary budget to dip into isn’t there?

[jstars2]

Straits Times 10 December 2003

The target, under a wage deal struck earlier, is achievable and will see employees getting compensation for their wage cuts, he says.

Mr Chew, who took over the helm (of SIA) in June, also commented on staff morale at the airline.

“I take this opportunity to assure all staff that management is placing high priority on the building of morale and trust in the company,” he said.

Responding to this yesterday, Air Line Pilots Association – Singapore spokesman Captain P. James said: “I think it’s a good rallying call and I share the hope for a profit target of $600 million.”

Should Captain James’ response not have been: “We have heard many fine words from the Company over the years but the benefits they have referred to have never come to pass for the employees. What are the specific actions which Mr Chew now refers to in respect of morale improvement of the employees, when will the employees have their pay restored to the pre SARS levels and can we please stop talking of compensation when referring to the money, cut from our salaries, held by the Company and currently owing to us since the SARS panic of earlier this year?”

[Lithgow]

More sycophantic articles...

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,224682,00.html?

DEC 11, 2003

Tiger Airways strategy can work, say analysts

Other big airlines have failed in no-frills ventures, but SIA's link-up with the right partners looks to be a winning formula

By Karamjit Kaur
TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT

SINGAPORE'S new budget airline, Tiger Airways, has the right blend of financial muscle and industry know-how to survive a price war as more low cost carriers start up, say aviation analysts.

Taking off in the second half of next year, the joint venture involves Singapore Airlines, shareholders of Europe's second-largest discount carrier Ryanair, Temasek Holdings and United States-based Indigo Partners.

This combination will ensure the best outcome for SIA, believes Mr Kevin O'Connor, regional head of transport at research firm CLSA (Hong Kong), as almost all attempts by full-service network airlines to operate wholly-owned low-fare carriers have failed.

Keeping Tiger Airways independent of SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir is a good strategy because there will be some route duplication, he added.

Tiger Airways will eat into SIA's business - by as much as 20 per cent say some analysts - if it flies to points like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Still, it is better to lose business to a family member than a stranger, they note.

Mr Ian Thomas of the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation felt SIA had to start a budget carrier, given the recent proliferation of such airlines in Asia.

These include Malaysia's AirAsia, Australia's Virgin Blue, Japan's Skymark and Air Do, and Valuair here.

And with Virgin founder Richard Branson looking to set up another one, is Tiger Airways too late?

No, said Mr O'Connor. 'Many of these airlines are only now starting to go international and I am sure Tiger Airways will be able to catch up fairly quickly.'

Analysts note that Tiger Airways' shareholders have deep pockets and more access to capital than others.

SIA may not have the domestic market of Malaysia's AirAsia, but there is demand in the region, said Mr Vincent Ng, an associate director at ratings agency Standard & Poor's Asian Equity Research.

And while governments in Asia are less liberal than in Europe about dishing out air rights, Mr Thomas says this will change as they are eager to promote tourism and build traffic at their airports.

With Asia's huge population, analysts say there will be more than enough business.

Still, AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes believes there is room for only two Singapore-based budget carriers, although he is not ditching plans for another one here.

'If anything, SIA's decision to enter the budget market shows there must be strong demand out there. We will press on with our plan but in the end, I think that between Tiger Airways, Valuair and AirAsia, one of us will die.'

Valuair, the other Singapore-based budget carrier aiming to take off next year, is certain it will survive as a much smaller 'niche player', spokesman Jimmy Lau said.

Analysts, however, believe that size matters.

Mr Ng said: 'The key thing is not to fail, and SIA has taken care to avoid that with strong partners.'

Still, whether or not Tiger Airways makes money, 'the impact on SIA's bottom line will be small' he said.

SIA's shares lost 0.84 per cent yesterday, finishing at S$11.80.

[highcirrus]

I mentioned yesterday two pillars on which Ryanair’s success lay. There is, of course, a third pillar and that is the cooperation and enthusiasm of the company’s tech and cabin crews to keep the show on the road. Simply put, to make the aircraft pay, they have to be utilized to the very maximum during the time of day when the customer wishes to fly (ie not at the dead of night), hence, out of a twenty four hour period, perhaps eight of those per aircraft will be spent on the ground (no cozy overnight flights to up the utilization). So all the work has to be crammed into a fourteen to sixteen hour period – and I do mean a lot of work, to make those low, low, fares work. Therefore, turn-round times are around twenty five to thirty minutes and are made to happen, partly by the traffic staff but mainly by the crews (tech and cabin). Why do these crews make it happen? Obvious isn’t it? They are treated and paid well by the airline, who regularly reviews (upwards) payscales and they don’t have their contracts changed at the drop of a hat because the shareholders look as though they might have to take a little pain over short periods in the business cycle. Do we all think that the majority shareholders of the new “Tiger” have these simple concepts squared away yet?

[jstars2]

Straits Times. 12 December 2003

Travellers are back at Changi

Airport was used by more travellers last month than in November last year - the first year-on-year increase since March

By Karamjit Kaur And Goh Chin Lian

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,224857,00.html?

AFTER eight months of turmoil caused by the Sars outbreak, it's clear skies again for airlines, the latest figures from Changi Airport show.

More passengers used the airport last month than in November a year ago. This is the first year-on-year increase since March this year, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).
Last month, Changi handled 2.4 million passengers, 2.3 per cent more than in November last year.

At the height of the Sars scare, the comparable numbers for April and May were down by nearly half.

No wonder CAAS director-general of civil aviation Wong Woon Liong was all smiles when he welcomed Qatar Airways on its first landing at Changi yesterday at 11am.

The CAAS said in a statement: 'The arrival of Qatar Airways marks a double joy for Changi Airport as we also celebrate an increase in our passenger traffic for November, the first year-on-year increase since Sars hit.'

The Sars scare all but emptied many flights, causing Asian carriers to lose more than $2.5 billion and forcing Singapore Airlines to axe more than a third of its flights.

With the arrival of Qatar Airways, Changi's fifth new customer this year, the airport now services 68 airlines and is linked to 150 cities in 51 countries. The other four are Xiamen Airlines, Air Hong Kong, Riau Airlines and Lion Air.

The addition of a new airline and a new link is significant, said the CAAS' Mr Wong, as it 'reinforces Singapore's position as an aviation hub in the region'.

In April, before the full impact of Sars hit, 64 airlines used Changi and connected Singapore to 134 cities. By June, the number had fallen to 56 carriers and 122 cities.

Qatar Airways will fly three times a week between Doha and Singapore.

Changi Airport handled just over 3,200 flights per week last month. It has some catching up to do. The week before Sars hit Singapore, there were 3,400 flights.

Since the CAAS earns its living mostly from food and beverage outlets - about 60 per cent of its revenue - the number of passengers handled is more significant.

Outside the airport, cash registers at restaurants, shops and hotels have also been ringing in the past months.

Since September, restaurants have seen more tourists, mainly from China, Indonesia and Japan, said Restaurant Association of Singapore president Lee Tong Soon.

Hotel Phoenix is 95 per cent full, the best this year, said general manager Noel Hawkes. 'We were chock-a-block with Indonesians during the Hari Raya period and there are a lot of corporate meetings.'

April was the lowest point, when occupancy plunged to 23 per cent.

The outlook for next year is positive, with three major events - Asian Aerospace 2004 in February, Food&HotelAsia 2004 in April and CommunicAsia2004 in June - expected to bring in about 55,000 business travellers.

Said Mr Hawkes: 'People are travelling again - barring any unforeseen circumstances, we'll have to say.'

Perhaps now SM Lee can be a little reassured that last quarter’s SIA $300m+ profit was not a flash in the pan and that things are now back on course?

[boofta]

YOU can all theorize over unions, pay rates, morale, even the
airlines desperate attempts to start LCC's etc.

THE reality is more people are flying, simple as that.

AND because pilots have been quietly screwed by airlines over
the past decade or so there will now be a correction.

YES Mr. airline manager the big wheel is finally turning.

NOW even the singapore Govt. won't be able to control the
rebalance of supply and demand.

WHEN the present growth spurt ends the pilots/unions will
recover some of the past decades management rapaciousness.

[highcirrus]

SIA feels heat of global competition

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4386,225280,00.html?

THE airline industry is going through very significant changes, and Singapore Airlines is feeling the heat on the global and regional fronts, said NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng.

Newer airlines in the United States and Europe and the emergence of low-cost carriers all make for a difficult operating environment where only the fittest survive, he said.

In the US, mature airlines have been under great pressure from new and budget carriers. And seniority-based wage systems are not helping. Some have cut pilots' wages by up to 30 per cent.

The airline industry in Europe is also consolidating and the general view is that only three airlines there will survive the competition.

Low-cost carriers in the US and Europe have snatched away as much as 20 per cent of business from established airlines, said Mr Lim.

Here, AirAsia and Lion Air have started marketing their flights and two homegrown budget carriers - Valuair and Tiger Air - are also in the works.

And it is in this competitive environment that SIA is operating, he added.

'And we don't have the advantage of a huge domestic market to generate air travel - we are carrying other people's passengers.'


- It is once again edifying to hear such authoritative words on the global air transport industry from specialists of Mr Lim Boon Heng’s standing.

Perhaps Mr Lim could clarify his words by answering the questions that in most other countries could be posed publicly but, as egos are so huge and usually so brittle in Singapore, can only be asked in private forum, lest they be deemed “confrontational” and attract defamation suits or deportation?

Mr Lim, which are the newer airlines in the United States and Europe who are competing directly with SIA? Which US airlines have cut pilots’ salaries by 30%, can you be specific on the percentage of pilots within these airlines who received cuts of such magnitude, what were the debt:equity ratios of these airlines at the time and were the agreements reached in consultation with Aalpa? Please compare the ratios with the corresponding SIA ratio at the time.

How does the consolidation of European carriers adversely affect SIA’s position as a core member of the Star Alliance, which alliance will have definitely one and possibly two of the consolidated organizations as members?

On which routes are the European low cost carriers competing with SIA and which intercontinental carriers do they interline with? Does Mr Lim not remember that deregulation is running apace within the Indian domestic market, reducing fares and raising product quality, but he has forgotten to mention this phenomenon as a threat to SIA.

Does Mr Lim not know that AirAsia competes with SIA up to KL by operating from JB’s Senai Airport and that the Singapore Government recently refused to licence that airline’s coach shuttle from Singapore to Senai, effectively torpedoing competition from AirAsia?

Similarly, has Mr Lim not noticed that the LionAir fare, Singapore – Jakarta could not in any way be described as low cost and directly compares with those of SIA on the route?

Mr Lim, is however, I’m absolutely sure, well aware that the Singapore Government has Singaporean start-up carrier, ValueAir completely within its power in respect of Air Operator’s Certificate issue and nomination as carrier in the relevant bi-lateral air service agreements. If he is not aware of this, then certainly the putative financiers of the venture are, and even the most naïve of readers would draw the conclusion that money would not be invested if the venture was not part of the overall Government plan.

Unless Mr Lim has been visiting Mars recently, he must be aware that “Tiger” is mainly owned by SIA/Temasek, which situation places a major question mark over the entity’s competitive effectiveness against parent, SIA.

Maybe Mr Lim should stick to releasing generalized red herrings, rather than trying to be specific on industries he obviously hasn’t a clue about.

[jstars2]

Why Govt slammed pilots' union ouster

NTUC chief says it could push unions towards militancy and destroy SIA

By Ho Ka Wei

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4386,225302,00.html?

LABOUR chief Lim Boon Heng yesterday used strong language in speaking out against the way some members of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots' union had ousted their leaders recently, and explained why the Government will not stand for such behaviour.

The way he sees it, a group of people had taken advantage of some of their colleagues' unhappiness over the airline's wage cuts to change the leadership in the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).

He said their actions have created a sense of uneasiness, restlessness and even uncertainty among the employees of SIA, leading to low employee morale.

The SIA pilots passed a no-confidence vote last month, ousting the executive council of the union at a special meeting.
After the ouster, several ministers, from Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen and Mr Lim himself, spoke out against the union revolt.

The Government is also tightening the law to remove the union members' right to have the final say in negotiations with management - a right unique to Alpa-S.

Speaking to reporters at a community function yesterday, Mr Lim said union organisations are like democratic institutions: members vote in leaders, and give them the mandate to act on their behalf.

'Otherwise, it's going to be very difficult for union and management to resolve industrial relations problems, including negotiations of collective agreements,' said Mr Lim, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's Office.

It was time that Alpa-S set things right, he added.
'If they don't put this right, then a vocal group can rip up the ground and it will lead to union leaders having to take an ever harder stand with the management, degenerating to militancy,' he said.

'And the other four unions in SIA would have no choice but to adopt a similar stance, and that would destroy SIA.'
SIA has five unions: the SIA Staff Union, SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union, Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union, Air Transport Executives Staff Union and Alpa-S.

Mr Lim also said the pilots have put SIA at risk at a time when the national carrier is still recovering from the after-effects of Sars and is steeling itself against competition from global industry consolidation and budget carriers.

He said: 'So perhaps the people who have started the action among the pilots did not calculate the consequences of the actions which they have taken.'

The Government cannot stand by, he said, and allow what has been painstakingly built up over the years 'to go down just like that, because the jobs of tens of thousands of Singaporeans are involved, not just the pilots'.

SIA is an icon, he said.
'We should do everything we can to maintain SIA as a competitive airline, delivering premium service in an increasingly difficult operating environment.'

[knackeredII]

Mr Lim said union organisations are like democratic institutions: members vote in leaders, and give them the mandate to act on their behalf.


Mr Lim didn't finish his sentence - 'and then vote them out if they don't perform to their liking'!

[Insider107]

Where else in the world but Singapore would such a gross conflict of interest be possible whereby a national union chief sits on the main board of a major national corporation and from which position publicly castigates, as both union chief and board member, the membership of a union (Alpa-S) that represents a section of the employees (pilots) of that corporation and which union is currently and peaceably exercising democratic proceedures, as laid down in its constitutuion, to change the President and membership of its Executive Council along lines more conducive to the mood and aspirations of the membership?

The fact that government lackey and NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng is in such a position with SIA, neatly illustrates the difficulty faced, certainly by the pilot employees of this government corporation (any innocents reading this please, please be assured that through Temasek Holdings plus cross holdings of Temasak in other Singapore corporations, this is the case), notable for its key posts being filled with the ideologically unchallenged but definitely competence and intellect challenged placemen such as Lim.

[mk1eyeball]

according to an article in the straights times today a minister was quoted as saying that the days of seniority based wage systems is not in the future vision for pay systems.
it mentioned various pay collective agreements expire in SIA and so i would imagine this indicates there may be big plans afoot to completely restructure pilots pay scales , possibly to a 'fixed base' pay with variable wage supplements depending on company performance etc etc..
as mentioned above its incomprehensible the conflict of interest that exists with this board member/union member ??????
get out while you can guys its going to get worse and worse for you there.
:ouch:

[highcirrus]

Straits Times, 16 December 2003

Time to get out now?

SIA chief tells staff gains will be shared

His assurance: Days of high-base wages may be over, but the total compensation given will reflect the airline's standing

By Rebecca Lee </msendmail/0,4391,EmailReporter--225562,00.html?>

SINGAPORE Airlines chairman Koh Boon Hwee has told employees that while they no longer enjoy a fixed high-base pay, they will earn in normal and good times wages that match the airline's standing.

Their wages will become more flexible and their total package, comparable to SIA's position in the industry.

'This is a principle we are committed to, not just for 2003, but also going forward,' he said in a message to staff in the latest issue of the airline's inhouse newsletter, Outlook.

Emphasising that employees would benefit if the company did well, Mr Koh said: 'I have said so many times...that it is not the purpose of the company to make its profit off the backs of our people.

'But I have also told all of you that fixed high-base wages are no longer possible. We must have a structure where the base wage, under the worst of economic situations, will allow the company to break even.

'But in normal times and at the height of each cycle, the additional compensation, in the form of a year-end bonus, will ensure that our total annual compensation is comparable with what it was before and comparable with our position in the industry.'

The more flexible wage structure will be the new collective agreements, he said.

The airline's existing collective agreements with the Air Transport Executives Staff Union expired in October, while the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore's agreement expires this month. The deal with the SIA Staff Union expires in June.

SIA staff and management took no-pay leave and wage cuts of between 5 and 27.5 per cent during the Sars outbreak when the airline lost an average of $3 million a day.

The company reversed a first-ever loss of $312 million in the April-June quarter to make a $306-million profit in the succeeding quarter.

As part of the deal, employees will receive a lump-sum payment ranging from 75 per cent of the wages cut if full-year profit hits $400 million, to 115 per cent if they hit $600 million - or 15 per cent more than what they would get under the old compensation system.

'This year-end make-up formula is based on a simple principle. If the company does well, the gains should be shared,' said Mr Koh.
He made plain his unhappiness over recent murmurings that the bonuses would not be repeated if the company did well next year and the wage cuts were, thus, effectively permanent.

He did not name anyone but said: 'It is disappointing, therefore, to hear that some, and I emphasise the word 'some' because I believe it is a minority, are saying that this is a one-off 2003 programme. By doing this, they arouse unnecessary concern among our people.'

Addressing criticism that management should have waited rather than urge for the wage cuts, he said it was easy to say that on hindsight. But it would have been irresponsible not to act then.
'To do nothing and jeopardise the future of the company and the jobs of even more employees is just unacceptable,' he said, adding that the issue was not just about Sars but also the changes taking place in the aviation industry.

He also acknowledged the sacrifices made by SIA's staff. Sounding an optimistic note about the airline's recovery, he urged them to 'put history behind us' and work together.

[Dibble&Grub]

Just to keep everyone on speed....

StraightJacket Times Front Page 18 Dec 2003 (http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,225836,00.html?)

DEC 18, 2003
SM to pilots: Face up to new realities
Low-cost airlines and other uncertainties pose serious threats to SIA and its staff if they do not adapt quickly, he warns

By Paul Jacob

SENIOR Minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday served up a reality check for Singapore Airlines and its employees - particularly its pilots - on the oncoming serious competition from low-cost carriers.

And even as he did so here, back in Singapore the Government showed its determination not to lose out in this new race, by announcing its interest in building a low-cost, low-charges terminal at Changi Airport to attract the budget carriers.

The aim: to retain Changi's hub status.

Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong revealed the plan at an airport event in Singapore, while SM Lee, at a press conference after a four-day visit here, drew lessons from the industry's upheavals elsewhere.

If the region's main carriers like Singapore Airlines do not heed the experience with low-cost carriers in America and Europe, they will face an uncertain future, he warned.

Already, there is a slew of new carriers emerging in the region - Valuair, Tiger Airways, Air Asia and Lion Air, among others.

So main carriers, like Singapore Airlines, face competition not just from one another but low-cost carriers as well.

But the Senior Minister wondered if the reality of the serious challenges ahead had sunk in.

Not for the first time, he cited the example of the impact that Sars and the Iraq war had on SIA, and the decision taken then to cut costs.

'So they agreed to cut costs, including the pilots after a lot of argy-bargy,' he recalled.

'And because we cut costs, profits rose $300-plus million in the third quarter. So they say 'Oh you cheated me', sacked the committee that negotiated the agreement, 'restore our wages'.

'Is that helpful? Does that show an understanding of the rough ride that's coming? Are we going back to what it was before or are we going into a new situation?

'I think it's necessary to spell out to everybody - and not just the pilots - that we are into a new situation.'

The comments marked the second time he was addressing the squall in the pilots' union, after a 55-per-cent-majority at a special meeting of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore ousted its leaders last month.

Yesterday, Mr Lee said that he believed the regime of regulated and restricted traffic rights will change because of the growing demand for low-cost travel - within 10 years or sooner.

In the United States and Europe, deregulation led to a sprouting of budget carriers, of which only two or three survive.

But they eat into the margins of the mainstream carriers, as the latter also have a large chunk of tourist class passengers.

In the US, he noted, airlines emerge, grow and then go under - some seeking Chapter 11 protection from creditors - and try to start again with a lower cost base.

Do Singaporeans want to see SIA go into the equivalent of Chapter 11, he asked, warning that it would be a painful process for everyone, as jobs would be at stake.

He noted that SIA, with assets of $11-billion, is hoping to make earnings of $600-million in its current financial year ending March 31 - about a 6 per cent return on equity.

But some union members think it is a huge gain.

'If in fact it is a magnificent profit, the price of SIA shares would have risen. It didn't rise. So I think it's necessary to educate the workers that if the company does not produce an adequate rate of return in the end, you lose jobs,' he said.

Yes, the low-cost carriers may have jobs, but he asked: 'If you are a pilot or worker in a low cost airline, do you think you'll get perks and salary as you get in the main airline?'

In Europe, pilots of some low-cost carriers help clean aircraft to save time and cost.

'You don't do that in SIA. You come in clean, nicely dressed,' he said.

Urging them to recognise the rough business conditions ahead, Mr Lee said: 'Think carefully.'


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright @ 2003 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

[wotwazat]

:confused:

So the plan is that SIA will pay staff as little as possible each month. The rest of the "package" will be held back by "the world's most profitable airline" just in case some unforseen event happens to reduce the profits. That way you don't have to steal it back from the staff because you haven't given it to them in the first place! Brilliant!!!!

Better still, if it looks like the profits are going to be too high (don't want to have to pay those lazy egotists too much bonus) they can exercise those stunning management skills by investing in say, Air New Zealand. Perhaps they should start a new trend with something called a LOW WAGE CARRIER! Pussy Airways perhaps?

If they really screw it up and have to pay a bonus they could put a maximum ceiling on it, pay some at the end of the year but hold some back for another six months just in case anybody gets "confrontational". Sound familiar?

This is all entirely reasonable. So much so that it could be done the other way round. Pay the staff 6 months bonus at the start of the year. If times are hard and profits not so good the staff will pay some of the bonus back at the end of the year..... and some more six months later. Government ministers could join in with abusive comments about the SIA management and we could bond all senior managers in the company to make sure that they can't leave.

SIA should not stop at running airlines. They have the mentality and HR skills to run a very good double glazing company, or even a used car dealership!

[GreatWayToFly]

How do they intend to hire pilots with such low rate?As it is SQ is not attracting enuf wonder what about TIGER and VALUE.Maybe they will wet lease.Also someone pointed out to me that SILKAIR have to cancel some of their flts due to shortage of crew.Anyone being hired by the low cost yet?Any adverts for such jobs?Any info on this greatly appreciated....thanks

[The Prisoner]

I think SIA will give an effective pay rise in the form of variable bonus at the end of the year. I expect about equivalent of upto 12% increase over current levels as long as they make XXX profit. Presumably basic salary will not be allowed to creep up too much... cant have the boys earning too much money when on leave can we. Of course the damage has been done, trust is lost and as we all know therse more to life than hanging out for that bonus every year. If SIA pay too much, then the rest of government will want more leading to inflation, Singapore costs rise. LKY wants Singapore to be cheap, however to maintain this will promise everything in the form of xtras if money is made above a certain threashold.

Its the carrot and the donkey. But who are the donkeys??

[highcirrus]

DEC 18, 2003
SM to pilots: Face up to new realities

'So they agreed to cut costs, including the pilots after a lot of argy-bargy,' he recalled.

'And because we cut costs, profits rose $300-plus million in the third quarter. So they say 'Oh you cheated me', sacked the committee that negotiated the agreement, 'restore our wages'.

- As usual we are treated to the familiar blistering rhetoric from SM Lee but, again, as usual, we are left a little short on specifics.

For “negotiated”, read, “threatened the committee with being dragooned to our Ministry of Manpower and then onwards to court for an imposed, even more detrimental settlement”.

And secondly, could the Senior Minister present us publicly with the sum saved, by salary cuts, during the third quarter, when “profits rose $300-plus” (actually $306 million)?

I think that he’ll find the sum not unadjacent to S$15m, which then begs the question of what other cost savings of S$291m produced the startling third quarter turn-around?

Perhaps SIA could come to the SM’s aid and produce an abbreviated third quarter P&L Statement to back him up? But then SIA has never been known as a transparent organization and the actuality may embarrassingly reveal that the vast part of the profit was simply due to the inevitable post-SARS up-swing, confidently forecast by the pilots and which continues to this day.

So could it therefore be adduced that what have been dressed up as SARS related, short term, emergency pay cuts, in light of the SM’s latest pronouncements, are actually long planned strategic realignments of remuneration packages and that the SARS flap was merely a convenient start point? I think we should be told.

Don’t hold your collective breath, however; generalized invective is the specialty round here, not cold hard facts.

[jstars2]

The following from The UK Government in its lead up to publication of its White Paper on air transport

“Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said expansion had to cope with the number of passengers travelling through UK airports tripling over 30 years.”

Err… if this kind of growth can be expected in UK then it must be reflected around the world, thus leading to the supposition that, unless there is a huge professional pilot training programme shortly to be instigated throughout the globe, there is a major pilot shortage imminent.

Why then is SM Lee proposing to pay less for the pilots who staff his airline? Surely market forces will dictate that he has to pay more? But then he could be attempting the trick of many before him, who have believed that they could make water run uphill or command the tides to their will.

[highcirrus]

As the Alpa-S ballot closes today and a new President and Exco are voted in, expect a fresh flurry of anti-pilot invective from SM Lee, (who’s son, BG Lee, has now been relegated to a bit-part in the unfolding pantomime) following the defeat of unknown, NTUC affiliate, Captain Syed Abdul Kader Alhadad.

The idea of the invective, as usual, is to make the employees take the risk in the SIA enterprise, leaving the shareholders (gov’t) in a “steady as she goes” profit situation.

Viz:

SARS Crisis (four months). Slash employees’ remuneration packages rather than raise short term loans or even consider a rights issue to repair the balance sheet. These finance measures are employed everywhere else in the world (maybe not North Korea) but have the side effect of reducing profits further, when the year end accounts are finally tallied. What better way round this unfortunate possibility than looting the employees pay budget, for a free bail-out?

Low Cost Carriers (home grown bogey running at indeterminable length). So SIA is at grave risk from the LCC’s, in particular “Tiger” (prop, gov’t) and “ValueAir” (completely at the mercy of gov’t)? Interesting to note that the SM is now talking of the probability of “quasi open skies” within the region in the next decade or so, following discussion of this core issue on Pprune in the last week or so (do we have ever more august readership?)! Even more interesting is that his solution to his manufactured bogey (forget ministerial mouthpieces now, this is strictly SM’s baby) is, guess what, more of the same (full marks for consistency)! What better way to meet the situation (which he simplifies and dramatizes out of all recognition) than reduce salaries to maintain profit profile and then if there are a few crumbs left, dish them out to the serfs as “performance related elements of the total remuneration package”? Neat hey? Risk taking employees, insulated shareholders.

[jstars2]

LABOUR CHIEF'S SOLUTION TO AVOID DELAY

Settle with all 5 SIA unions at one go

The management can negotiate common issues with all unions at the same time with a timeframe, says Lim Boon Heng

By Laurel Teo

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,226275,00.html?

NEGOTIATIONS for the separate collective agreements between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the five unions representing its employees have often proved to be long and drawn-out affairs.

One way to avoid this, says labour chief Lim Boon Heng, is for SIA to settle issues common to all the unions at one go, within a specified timeframe.

Mr Lim, who is also on SIA's board of directors, spelt out the problems with the present system in an e-mail interview with The Straits Times.

His reply yesterday comes just days after the expiry of the pilots' collective agreement on Dec 14. Agreements with the other unions are also due for renegotiation in the next 12 months.

Mr Lim said that often, terms that the SIA management had struck earlier with one union might not be accepted by another union later.

'When management, for expediency's sake, concedes better terms with the second union, then members of the first union would think their leaders had been soft.

'Progressively, this made rational leaders unwilling to be the first to conclude negotiations,' he said.

He proposed that the management 'negotiate with all five unions at the same time on common issues, setting a timeframe for conclusion'.

If matters cannot be resolved in time, than all parties should seek help from a mediator, or go to the Industrial Arbitration Court.

Underscoring the importance of speedy settlement, he said: 'The uncertainty caused by issues left unresolved unsettles the employees, and causes a loss of morale.'

Earlier in the morning, SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng said at a media briefing that the management hoped to 'conclude a new agreement in the shortest possible time'.

In previous cases, the process could take as long as two years, he said.

Ties between SIA and its unions, notably the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), have been rocky.

Alpa-S can trace its strained relationship with the management back to 1980, when pilots initiated a work-to-rule action after negotiations for a new collective agreement broke down. The month-long dispute disrupted 14 flights.

That controversy threatened to make a comeback last month when Alpa-S members threw out their leaders, reportedly for giving in too easily to the management on wage cuts and layoffs.

Their action drew flak from Mr Lim, Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and most recently, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Mr Lim, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, explained why the Government took such serious issue with the Nov 17 ouster.

By throwing out their leaders, Alpa-S members not only caused other SIA employees to think the agreement was bad, but could also influence them to follow the pilots' example.

'When this happens, few sensible and responsible persons would put themselves up for elections as union leaders,' he said.
'The unions will be run by militants. That would spell the end of SIA.'

Mr Lim's position that negotiations with every union be held around the same time was supported by Mr William Wee, general secretary of SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union.

He said: 'It makes a lot of sense because staff also look forward to the conclusion of collective agreements. Otherwise, there's no certainty as to what lies ahead for the next three years.'

[jstars2]

Straits Times, Sunday 21 Dec 2003

Shades of the past

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4386,226438,00.html?

THE sharp rebuke Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots received from Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew three weeks ago is almost an uncanny replay of the warning he issued to them 23 years ago, to the very day.
On Dec 1, 1980, Mr Lee, then Prime Minister, sternly told SIA pilots that he did not want to do them in, but he 'won't allow anyone to do Singapore in'.

Those words have since been immortalised when on Dec 1 this year, Mr Lee warned SIA management and pilots that there would be 'broken heads' if tensions over wages continued to escalate.

But unlike the latest warning, which was made at a public forum, the first was given at a closed-door meeting in the Istana. Striding in at 5pm, Mr Lee was reportedly in a 'fighting' mood when he met 10 officials from Singapore Airlines Pilots Association (Siapa), predecessor of the current Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).

In their 65-minute exchange, he told them bluntly that they ought to have their heads examined by a psychiatrist for trying to undermine Singapore's industrial relations, built on cooperation among workers, the trade unions and the Government.

Like today, the crux of the pilots' unhappiness was the issue of wages and SIA's unsatisfactory human resource management.
Recalling those months of discord, a pilot closely connected to Siapa tells The Sunday Times: 'Staff morale was very low. All that we wanted to do was to fight for better working conditions.'
Specifically, the 400-strong union, led by Captain Freddie Koh, wanted a 30 per cent rise in basic salaries, higher meal allowances, and other fringe benefits.

To back their claims, they produced a year-long study their union did of other airlines. An SIA Singaporean captain, it showed, made $5,700-$7,650 a month while a British Airways captain got up to $10,700.

When the management ignored Siapa's Oct 17 deadline for counter-proposals, the pilots retaliated with work-to-rule.
Some refused to fly when the flights exceeded 12 hours, leaving their planes stranded in transit. Siapa argued that this did not amount to industrial action as the collective agreement stipulated that pilots were not required to work over 12 hours a day.
Others reported sick when standby duties were activated.

In all, 14 flights were disrupted between Oct 23 and Nov 4.
This angered some passengers and one of them, Mr M.W. King, led a revolt on board a flight. In a letter to SIA's then managing director Lim Chin Beng, he described a 'full-scale revolt by first class and business passengers' who refused to leave the plane until they were told when they could continue their journey.

The backlash against the pilots' actions came fast and furious. Labour chief C.V. Devan Nair accused them of being disloyal to Singapore by trying to inflict maximum damage on SIA while soliciting the support of international unions dominated by Western pilots of rival airlines.

SIA then dismissed four cockpit crew for not finishing a Singapore-London flight after the plane landed in Zurich, Switzerland.
Mr Lee stepped in 10 days later. On Dec 1, he summoned the Siapa officials and threatened to ground SIA, sack all the pilots and build a new national carrier unless all flight operations returned to normal and the airline's image restored.

He also ticked off the SIA management for failing to counter-propose, which could have prevented the industrial action.
However, Mr Lee refused to let wage negotiations proceed 'under duress' and ordered a cooling-off period during which the pilots had to demonstrate their sincerity in resuming operations.

On Feb 26, 1981, Siapa was deregistered and, in the same month, 15 pilots appeared in court after admitting to illegal industrial action but were given an absolute discharge.

They had been adequately punished by the 'public chastisement', ruled district judge Chandra Mohan. 'I have also considered the facts that the defendants... are persons of excellent character and have made important contributions to the growth of SIA.'
Recalls the pilot source: 'It was a very rough time. We were apprehensive and scared that we'd lose our jobs, and of course, when the Government came into the picture, we knew we were up against the whole country.'

Despite the turbulence, he felt some good came out of it. 'A new package was negotiated, the company recognised that it couldn't take its employees for granted,' he added.

The new collective agreement drawn up raised salaries by 10 to 20 per cent.

Asked if there were parallels with the situation today, he says with a laugh: 'No way will industrial action happen again. The pilots today are not as rebellious.'

To the same question, SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng says pilots today are 'professional in their approach'. 'No question of doing the company in or anything. They continue to be very flexible... and going beyond the call of duty - even right now. I give them full credit.'

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 24 December 2003

Battle for the skies

A four-part series that looks at what is at stake in Singapore's flight to retain its air hub status

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,226846,00.html?

By Karamjit Kaur

THE THREAT: The phenomenon of budget airlines, which swept through Europe and the United States, has swooped into the region - and Singapore Airlines (SIA) is not taking any chances on this front.

The Western experience shows that demand for low-cost travel hastens the dismantling of regulated and restricted traffic rights. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew predicts the market is likely to be freed up in 10 years or sooner.

When that happens, budget carriers will sprout, as they did in the US and Europe, although only two or three survived there. But they eat into the margins of the mainstream carriers, who have a large chunk of tourist-class passengers.

Also, full-service carriers appear inept at running discount carriers, with those of British Airways and United Airways failing miserably.

THE GAME PLAN: SIA, faced with at least three budget airlines planning to take off in the region next year, will unleash Tiger Airways in the final quarter of next year.

But, unlike its 100 per cent stake in SilkAir, it holds only a minority share in the joint venture, which has the owners of Europe's second-largest discount carrier Ryanair as one of the stakeholders.

Changi Airport also appears keen to support the low-cost carriers, saying it is considering a no-frills terminal, which could be ready as early as in 2005.

Analysts have applauded the moves, pointing out that discount airlines are the biggest threat confronting SIA now.

Says Mr Vincent Ng, an analyst at Standard & Poor's Asian equity research agency: 'It's good that we are not thumbing our noses and taking the threat too lightly. Clearly, the priority now is how to benefit from it.'

Mr Chris Sanda, an associate director and aviation analyst at DBS Vickers brokerage agrees. 'The experience in the US and Europe shows that full-service carriers that ignored the threat from budget airlines regretted the mistake.'

In America, budget carriers have wrested more than 25 per cent of the market share from the mainstream airlines, and in Europe, about 6 per cent.

These discount carriers also make enviable profits. Ryanair and easyJet were the most profitable airlines in the world last year.
And America's Southwest Airlines continues to make profits, even as the Sept 11 attacks caused Swissair of Switzerland, Sabena of Belgium and Ansett of Australia to go belly up.

For SIA, the response is to counter especially the threat to its short-haul market - flights of three to four hours - because 'people can tolerate inconveniences for short periods', says Mr Peter Harbison, managing director of the Sydney-based Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation.

In fact, travellers such as housewife Maurice Tay, 45, and businessman Andrew Teo, 41, say they will dump SIA if a budget carrier offers fares at half the airline's price.

For that size of savings, they would willingly give up such frills as free food and drinks and assigned seats.

Says Mrs Tay: 'If I can save up to 50 per cent, there is no way I would fly SIA or any other main carrier, especially if the flying time is less than four hours.'

Some analysts, however, feel a stiff competition is not imminent in the region. Despite the spurt of start-ups next year - when AirAsia Thailand and Jetstar of Australia and homegrown Valuair would take off - they argue that conditions in Asia, unlike those in Europe and the US, are not conducive for budget carriers to grow as if the sky's the limit.

The pace will be slow, mainly because of the absence of airports and infrastructure that fit their needs and the slow adoption of open skies agreement.

The economics of budget carriers demand that costs be kept at a minimum but in Asia, they are not going to be spoilt for choice of cheaper secondary airports.

Adds Mr Sanda: 'There are other barriers too, like the lack of proper customs and immigration facilities and telecommunication services.'

Bilateral services agreements also govern flights across borders and they often limit the number of flights allowed, the airlines and the type of aircraft used.

Says Mr Ng of Standard & Poor's: 'No fairy godmother is going to wave a magic wand and lift all the restrictions overnight. The freeing up of the skies in Asia will be a very measured process, subject to many rounds of bilateral negotiations. There will be hits and misses and at best, the results will be patchy.'

In the US, where the domestic market is huge, discount carriers can make money even without having to fly international routes, while in Europe, these carriers took off only after the formation of the European Union led to the lifting of border restrictions.

Still, airlines such as Qantas, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific and United Airways have told The Straits Times that they will do or are thinking of doing what SIA did.

The jury is out on whether budget carriers are sure winners.

As former SIA chief executive Cheong Choong Kong warned earlier this year: 'Aviation history is littered with the carcasses' of those who bet that low-cost airlines could be killer propositions.

[highcirrus]

Despite all the hyperbole surrounding the Low Cost Carrier red herrings that the Senior Minister has set swimming in Singapore waters, the facts remain as stated in Karamjit Kaur’s piece of 24 December 2003:

“Some analysts, however, feel a stiff competition is not imminent in the region. Despite the spurt of start-ups next year - when AirAsia Thailand and Jetstar of Australia and homegrown Valuair would take off - they argue that conditions in Asia, unlike those in Europe and the US, are not conducive for budget carriers to grow as if the sky's the limit.

The pace will be slow, mainly because of the absence of airports and infrastructure that fit their needs and the slow adoption of open skies agreement.

The economics of budget carriers demand that costs be kept at a minimum but in Asia, they are not going to be spoilt for choice of cheaper secondary airports.

Adds Mr Sanda: 'There are other barriers too, like the lack of proper customs and immigration facilities and telecommunication services.'

Bilateral services agreements also govern flights across borders and they often limit the number of flights allowed, the airlines and the type of aircraft used.

Says Mr Ng of Standard & Poor's: 'No fairy godmother is going to wave a magic wand and lift all the restrictions overnight. The freeing up of the skies in Asia will be a very measured process, subject to many rounds of bilateral negotiations. There will be hits and misses and at best, the results will be patchy.'

In the US, where the domestic market is huge, discount carriers can make money even without having to fly international routes, while in Europe, these carriers took off only after the formation of the European Union led to the lifting of border restrictions.

Still, airlines such as Qantas, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific and United Airways have told The Straits Times that they will do or are thinking of doing what SIA did.

The jury is out on whether budget carriers are sure winners.

As former SIA chief executive Cheong Choong Kong warned earlier this year: 'Aviation history is littered with the carcasses' of those who bet that low-cost airlines could be killer propositions'."

It is perhaps possible that the Senior Minister has adroitly adjusted the timing forward, for the introduction of the LCC “menace” to the Singaporean consciousness, as a bargaining lever to assist in his determined plan to make the SARS salary cuts at SIA permanent and, in his own words, allow that airline to remain highly profitable even in the worst of times (as I’ve said before, transferring risk from the shareholders to the employees by slashing basic salaries but raising “performance related elements” – about the only innovation ever to come out of Singapore!).

Readers should note that the much vaunted “Tiger” is only at “wet ink” MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) stage and word has it that a business plan is now being hastily cobbled together by a Ryanair minion to fit the “facts” on the ground. Readers should also note that “Tiger” is, for all practical purposes, SIA/Government owned, which situation flies firmly in the face of the received doctrine of success that “Full-service carriers appear inept at running discount carriers, with those of British Airways and United Airways failing miserably”.

Similarly, the putative LCC (or semi LCC) Valuair, relies entirely on the Singapore Government for nomination in the myriad bi-lateral agreements that control all air transport operations in the region (remember, no open skies at the present, or for a very long time, notwithstanding the Senior Minister’s view), hence its competitive potential is effectively zero.

Indonesian carrier, Lion Air, if its fares SIN-CKG are anything to go by, cannot be described as a low cost carrier – merely one nibbling round the edges of SIA’s dominance of the Singapore-Indonesian market.

Which really leaves AirAsia – now looking like a success for the future and leading those of a Machiavellian disposition to consider that the real game plan may be along the lines of a quietly cut deal by LKY with AirAsia/Malaysian Government (pace that between Thaksin and the Malaysians to form AirAsia Thailand) to form AirAsia Singapore. Leverage to force the deal with AirAsia (a favoured entity of Mahatier) is the competition ostensibly threatened from “Tiger” and Valuair. Sweeteners are oceans of cash from Temasek Holdings and unlimited access to Changi as a hub (thus neatly negating Senai as a hubbing force and providing a future revenue stream from an investment that looks like it will really work). Further advantage is that risk need not be taken by going ahead with “Tiger” and Valuair will be toast (who’d finance it with this situation to deal with?).

But the real, present day advantage of all this maneuvering is that the associated smoke and mirrors (a Singapore Government specialty) hides the fact that LCC’s present zero threat to SIA’s profitability but do provide a stick to beat the hides of Alpa-S and the naughty pilots, in the up-coming CA negotiations.

Merry Christmas everybody and good luck for the New Year – we’ll all need it!

[jstars2]

Economist – Double Issue, 20 Dec 2003 – 2 Jan 2004

Singapore

No More Mr Nasty Guy

A kinder, gentler BG

Singaporean politicians are a stern and technocratic lot. Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s founding father and first prime minister, was a famously severe and hectoring leader. Goh Chok Tong, his successor, is a much friendlier fellow. That prompted many Singaporeans to write him off as a mere seat warmer for Mr Lee’s son, Hsien Loong, though Mr Goh has already lasted 13 years. Now the younger Mr Lee – universally known as BG, since he used to be a brigadier general – is indeed set to ascend to the premiership, probably in 2005. But before he does so, Mr Goh recently said, he has to learn “to let his soft side show.”

Since then, the local media have dutifully bombarded Singaporeans with proof of Mr Lee’s softness. Alongside the usual photographs of ribbon-cutting ceremonies and formal receptions, the papers have printed snaps of Mr Lee eating dinner with his children, walking arm-in-arm with his wife, and practicing the clarinet as a child. The normally sober Straits Times devoted a two-page spread to Mr Lee’s private life, highlighting his thoughtfulness (despite his busy schedule, he still finds time to advise old friends), his heroism (he once helped rescue passengers trapped in a cable car) and his humility (he uses public transport). Having described how Mr Lee broke down in tears during an interview, the paper concluded, “here is a man of deep emotion, who’s not afraid to show his feelings.”

Some impassioned pundits have even argued that Mr Lee’s warmth and humanity are so obvious that they do not need advertising. In an article entitled “Mirage of Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s Image Problem”, one columnist pointed out that Mr Lee had once shaken a fishmonger’s hand, and, unlike his father, was fond of children. Another commentator dismissed all the fuss his colleagues were making about Mr Lee’s new, fashionable red shirts, saying, “It’s not just the shirt. It’s how you wear it.”

These are unfamiliar concerns for Singapore, whose leaders are more or less immune to the swings in public opinion that plague politicians elsewhere. The prime minister is chosen by parliament, not the electorate at large. Only one party ever manages to get more than one or two candidates elected: the ruling Peoples Action Party, which has strolled easily to victory in every election since independence. When the prime minister announces his retirement, the party elders choose a successor, and then reveal him to the voters, as they recently did with the younger Lee. Having been handed the prime ministership on a platter, it is touchingly public-spirited of him to show any concern for his image at all.

[Insider107]

The SIA management charm offensive, directed at the pilots, has now moved into gear, to convince us that the Company is fuzzy, cuddly and pilot friendly and that we are not approaching the apocalypse – even as the management realization dawns of the visceral loathing with which the Company and the Government are held by the vast majority of both local and ex-pat SIA pilots.

The accelerating exodus from Singapore is beginning to frighten even that hardest bitten LKY ideologue, armchair general L.G. Bey, who’s famous ignorance of the air transport industry has been exemplified by his arrogant assertion that as SIA pilots now operate increasingly automated aircraft, they have less to do in flight and should therefore be paid less.

Little god will shortly have to explain to LKY why the airline has too few pilots, despite the attractive and exciting new concept of remuneration dreamt up by his master, and why, shortly, the airline will have to start parking expensive jets in the desert again.

He could always, of course, draw to the Senior Minister’s attention that maybe the ground breaking concept of low basic pay coupled with a high variable proportion of total remuneration is perhaps more attractive to the shareholders than the pilots and that a rethink might be prudent.

But as always, lackeys have faced the dangerous dilemma of pointing out reality to such similarly authoritarian but out-of-touch figures as Saddam Hussein, Slobodon Milosovitch and Kim Jong Il. Good luck little god!

[skycoolie]

Beautiful, Insider 107! Gave me a smile as I wrote out my resume's today

The year of the goat sure made me feel like one for coming here!

Happy New Year! Chinese or otherwise!

[Anotherpost75]

Just returned from that unhappy island, Singapore, where my SIA buddies tell me that things have never been worse. Three of them (all previously loyal, long servers) have serious applications in with CAL/Emirates and will leave regardless of what happens with the new Collective Agreement (CA) to be negotiated (if Lee Kwan Yew allows it, that is). Other acquaintances are seriously considering jumping the bond if they don’t get their “SARS confiscated” cash back and a good CA. They sound like they’re happy to see SIA in North American/European courts, where they can publicly air SIA/Government methodology and subject the “contract” to the withering scrutiny by the outside world that it has for so long needed.

The consistent message (of the ex-pats) seems to be that they signed commercially binding contracts that have constantly been dishonoured by SIA/Government and that trust in any Singapore institution has been transformed into disgust and loathing – they just want out, regardless – and they tell me that their feelings are just about universal within the airline.

Sounds like the great helmsman may be in for a squall or two!

[Lithgow]

More warnings from The Mighty Leadership...

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,227847,00.html?

JAN 1, 2004
Economy grows by 0.8 per cent
The last quarter's 3.7% growth lifts the full-year figure for a difficult year. Harmony on labour front crucial, says PM

By Tan Tarn How

SINGAPORE'S economy grew by 0.8 per cent in 2003, within the 0.5 to 1 per cent range forecast by the Government.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who revealed the figure in his traditional New Year message to the nation yesterday, also said that the economy expanded by 3.7 per cent in the last quarter.

'The Singapore economy has started to turn around.'

Hence, he added, this year the economy should grow by 3 to 5 per cent as earlier estimated.

Looking back on 2003, he described it as 'a difficult year that will linger in our national memory' as terrorism, Sars and the Iraq war took a toll on the economy, and choked off hopes of an early recovery.

'Fortunately, the sky is brightening,' he said.

The United States, Japan and Europe are growing or starting to grow, and trade with China will increase.

The global electronics industry, an important driver of the economy, is expected to expand robustly this year. Mr Goh revealed that last year, Singapore drew in $7.5 billion of fixed asset investment commitments in manufacturing, and investments in the services sector worth $1.9 billion in annual total business spending.

These investments and other projects will create thousands of new jobs: 'They signal firm confidence in Singapore's future.'

The turnaround requires not just a favourable external environment, but also a positive domestic response, he said, adding: 'Here, we have shown group solidarity to advance our collective interests.'

More challenges and changes will arise, and Singaporeans must keep adapting.

Harmonious industrial relations in which the Government, employers and workers trust one another will be vital in meeting the challenges, he said. A strong tripartite relationship is Singapore's 'unique competitive edge, which we must do all to strengthen'.

On this issue, he singled out Singapore Airlines and the pilots' union, which is due to negotiate a new collective agreement.

'Take SIA. SIA is a metaphor for Singapore: its success, strengths, vulnerabilities and challenges mirror those of Singapore,' he said.

The carrier faced formidable challenges, from low-cost carriers to longer-range aircraft and new airports in the region.

Overcoming them will require all - from pilots to engineers, ground crew and management - to pull together. 'If pilots refuse to fly, the airline will be grounded,' he said, adding that if the crew, engineers and management also did not cooperate, SIA would flounder.

'No group of employees in Singapore should act without regard for the impact on others, or hold the company and fellow workers hostage to their narrow self-interests.

'This is especially so of skilled workers like pilots, who have benefited from heavy investments in training, and thus occupy well-paid positions in their company.'

Mr Goh concluded by saying that 2003 showed that in an unpredictable and volatile world, 'we have to stick together' to overcome uncertainties.

A younger generation of Singaporeans has shown its fighting spirit, he added. 'That is why I am upbeat about our future.'

Commenting on the growth numbers, IDEAglobal senior regional economist Nizam Idris said the growth forecast for this year is conservative, with many analysts expecting it to be at the upper end of the 3 to 5 per cent range or even exceed it.

[highcirrus]

Re: PM Goh, Straits Times 1 Jan 2004

“Harmonious industrial relations in which the Government, employers and workers trust one another will be vital in meeting the challenges, he said. A strong tripartite relationship is Singapore's 'unique competitive edge, which we must do all to strengthen'.”

- For which, read, “Employers and workers will do exactly as they are told by government and trust be damned, it’s fear that will ensure the ‘unique competitive edge’ (gospel according to Saint Harry).”

“A younger generation of Singaporeans has shown its fighting spirit, he added. 'That is why I am upbeat about our future'.”

- Which fighting spirit would this be? The handful of lads in the patrol boat, off Basra harbour, as reported in the same edition of the ST ( http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,227904,00.html? )?

[Jim Morehead]

Geez...based on the last few postings ,it doesn't seem like SQ is creating a very user friendly place to work <bfg>.It sounds like it is going from bad to wrose. Maybe all of the people unhappy are posting things and are lined up. Is there an opposing viewpoint at SQ? Really?

It doesn't sound like SQ is a place where they hold Christmas parties and friendly employee gatherings. Never worked there,so sure isn't a rosy picture if one even believes HALF of what they read.

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 3 Jan 2004

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,228160,00.html?

• UNIONS AND SIA

CHANGE may be in the air for Singapore Airlines' five unions, as there are hints that the unions may be reorganised, at least in the way wage negotiations are conducted.

Labour chief Lim Boon Heng said as much when he told The Straits Times recently that SIA should settle common issues with all five unions at one go, rather than one at a time.

This follows the controversy sparked by the ouster of the pilots' union's executive council last November, which drew flak from several ministers, including Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The Government's fear is that the pilots' union, through its actions, will exert pressure on the other unions to act in a confrontational way.

It is also tightening the law to remove union members' right to have the final say in any negotiations with the management.

The bottom line: It will not countenance a union making moves that will jeopardise the airline's future.

It remains to be seen if the SIA management and the new team of leaders in the pilots' union will heal their rifts.

[gb777]

Rumours go that the Silkair pilots got "suddenly" a substantial
increase in their flight allowances, as many left the company.
Is this true , or is it just a proposal by management ?
gb

[CDRW]

Very strong rumour on the Silk Air package - but as some one mentioned there is still no expat contract so if one has children and you want an international schooling, then it's not worth it - at all. So "rumour' has it that the expats will still be on their bikes. For the locals it's all good news, and one must wonder if this will filter up to the gestapo in SQ

How the government has let the international schools charge such exhorbitant fees is beyond me - and even the SQ subsidised school allowance barely cuts the ice. If this dissapears from the new agreement or is readjusted similar to the freighter contract I suspect alot more pilots will be doing the walk.

[Dibble&Grub]

Just an update for all those loyal SQ watchers out there. Here is another gem from the Senile Minister.

Original Source 05/01/04 - Today Newspaper (http://www.todayonline.com/index_home.htm)

My bold text

Waffle snipped ........
Quote:

To prevent that scenario from happening, Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport have to cut costs by 10 to 15%.

Wages form only 20% of SIA's costs so other costs also have to come down to make the airline more competitive.

Jobs will have to be redesigned.

Singapore Airlines he said, has become "tubby" like Qantas and British Airways were in the past.

Because these airlines have restructured and are leaner, Singapore Airlines too has to become leaner. One way was for pilots to do split shifts – which meant that they would report for duty only when there was work.

This way, "we save on the number of pilots as the airline expands. They are many things which can be done which will trim costs. I mean you can bring costs down by 10, 15%, you will become competitive."

He cited the case of high-flying Emirates, the national carrier of Dubai, which charged 10 per cent lower than what SIA charged. Dubai used its oil wealth to subsidise the lower airline charges, he said, because it wanted to build up its hub status.

Budget airlines will eat into SIA's business but whatever happens, the airline and Singapore must keep adjusting and changing.

Mr Lee said there was no need to be apprehensive of the coming changes — but Singaporeans would need to be on their toes.

"If we don't have that discipline or the resolve or the wit to think of new strategies, new ways to overcome the competition, then we deserve to be sidelined."

In part 2 of the interview which will be on Channel NewsAsia tomorrow at 10pm, SM Lee will explain why the government came down so hard on the SIA Pilot's Union - Alpa-S - and what SIA's management needs to do to shape up.

More to come I am sure .... DG

[highcirrus]

Just as Singapore Airlines overreacted, immediately post SARS, by quickly slashing salaries, retrenching and forcing unpaid leave on all employees, including pilots, amidst a cloud of waffle and obfuscation, refusing to reveal the financial calculations on which the Company had based its peremptory and draconian actions (none as it subsequently turned out), so we now see the Senior Minister adopting this well worn modus operandi to justify his own precipitate, intemperate and concerted attack on the pilots of Alpa-S who have recently had the temerity to exercise their democratic and statutory right to elect a new president and exco to the association.

Surely the SM is floundering a little by saying:

“Singapore Airlines has become "tubby" like Qantas and British Airways were in the past.

Because these airlines have restructured and are leaner, Singapore Airlines too has to become leaner. One way was for pilots to do split shifts – which meant that they would report for duty only when there was work.

This way, we save on the number of pilots as the airline expands. They are (sic) many things which can be done which will trim costs. I mean you can bring costs down by 10, 15%, you will become competitive."

Since when did pilots ever report for duty other than when there was work? What exactly are “split shifts” in this context? What precisely is “I mean you can bring costs down by 10, 15%, you will become competitive” meant to convey?

Does anyone else detect back-tracking self justification combined with waffle and obfuscation to cover the original ignorant, unjust and ill-judged attack on the pilots?

[CDRW]

So SIA is "tubby"??? Maybe to many directors, non executive directors, board members, etc etc. But will they get trimmed - don't think so lah.

In view of the SMs new theory on pilots and work, maybe the new format for doing a trip will be that we all report for work at some time of the day - so for the first 20 flights or so there could be 60 or 70 crew and these crew will be in a holding pen that the passengers can see into - based on what the pax see they could then "vote" who they want to do the flight - and if you are lucky (or not) you get to do the business and whats more you will get paid. If you do not get chosen, you can have a meal with the Changi Airport construction crew and go home - no work no pay - best get a facelift and have a makeover if you don't get to work for a week. Seen the same sort of procedure in Bangkok somewhere.

Surely the general Singaporean public are not that naive to believe the propaganda of these ministers. Or are they?

[missinglink]

Isn't that how we select politicians?...who then decide how a professional such as an airline pilot should be treated?

[Lee]

CDRW,

Quote:>>>How the government has let the international schools charge such exhorbitant fees is beyond me - and even the SQ subsidised school allowance barely cuts the ice.<<<

Do you know that, ISS International School in Singapore is owned by Chan Chee Seng, a former PAP MP? ( an ex-Member of Parliament from Lee Kuan Yew's People's Action Party).

Hence, no need to say more!

[highcirrus]

Straits Times, 6 Jan 2004

SENIOR MINISTER'S INTERVIEW ON SIA AND CHANGI

SM to pilots: Quit at own risk

Reason: Even if hired elsewhere, you'd be first ones let go in a crisis

By Rebecca Lee

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,228579,00.html?

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) pilots who decide to walk can go ahead and do so, but Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew warned yesterday they will end up 'marginal workers' in foreign airlines - the first to be let go in any crisis.

In an interview with The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, he said the Government was prepared to see all the unhappy pilots who voted to oust their union's leadership leave the airline, if it came to that.

He also revealed that key players in the 1980 dispute between the pilots and SIA management - when he stepped in himself as Prime Minister then - were believed to be behind the current problems.

He was therefore involved again, and intended to 'finish the job'.
However, he said he hopes the new leadership of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) is having second thoughts about taking a tougher stance in negotiations with the airline.

Asked why the pilots union has had a more turbulent relationship with management than the other four SIA unions, he said: 'The answer is pilots in all airlines have greater leverage, more pressure.'

It costs between $500,000 and $700,000 to train a pilot, who is then contracted to serve for six to seven years, before he can quit to work for another airline.

It is therefore easier and cheaper for an airline to poach a pilot from a rival than to train one from scratch, and that makes pilots more mobile and gives them a bargaining edge, Mr Lee said.
'So they say, 'Well, I will leave.' Is it so easy? Maybe.

'They can join Emirate Airlines. They can join Dragonair. They can join China Airlines. But there you are the marginal worker. Any downturn, you're the first to go. Right?'

Mr Lee was drawn into the Alpa-S saga after pilots threw out its leadership by a 55 to 45 per cent majority at an extraordinary general meeting in November last year.

The ousted council had negotiated last year's wage-cut arrangements with management after the airline was hit badly by the sharp drop in air travel following the Sars crisis.

The wage cuts - which affected non-pilots and SIA management too - were approved by Alpa-S members in July last year.

Mr Lee said that by getting rid of the council, 'obviously their intention was to show displeasure against the old committee for having compromised with the company'.

SIA has about 1,700 pilots. Mr Lee said the Government is prepared to have all 55 per cent of the unhappy pilots leave the airline.

'Forty-five per cent decided not to sack the old committee, so we have 45 per cent who will stay,' he said.

'Of the 55 per cent who will leave, I think we are prepared to see half go... or even if worse comes to the worst, all go. Can they find jobs somehow? Six hundred pilots suddenly looking for jobs?

'So let's be realistic. Let's sit down, this is not a game of bluff.
'This is a very serious game of brinkmanship we are playing. We are prepared as a government to go to the brink,' he said.

Harking back to the last time he stepped in to resolve disputes between Alpa-S' predecessor and SIA management, he said: 'I went to the brink the last time in 1980.

'I'm still here, I'll go to the brink again and clean up this problem.'
Mr Lee also revealed that the Government had information that the same players involved in the 1980 episode also had a hand in the latest saga.

'The same captains who were adversaries in 1980 are behind this new group, I think, but it makes no difference. This is a job that has to be finished and I'll finish it,' he said.

Asked about the conciliatory tone the new Alpa-S council appeared to be adopting, he said: 'I assume they've taken note of what we've said and I'm glad to hear they want to heal rifts.'
Newly elected Alpa-S president, Captain Mok Hin Choon, has said his immediate task is to mend the rift between the pilots and management.

Mr Lee said: 'But what was the point of sacking the old committee that arranged for the accommodation with SIA to overcome the Sars problem and then sack them off, having approved of what they did?

'Obviously, they had other intentions, so I'm glad they're having second thoughts. I suggest they should have more second thoughts.'

Stressing he was not making a threat, but stating the Government's position, as the biggest shareholder of SIA, he said: 'Let's settle this now instead of having this problem recurring every few years. We're going to settle this.'
TOMORROW: Part Two of the interview with Senior Minister

- Could the Senior Minister please explain to everyone exactly how Singapore Airlines will be able to continue operations following departure of 55% of the pilot force from the airline?

How will the subsequent catastrophic effects on the nation’s air transport infrastructure, the Singapore economy, the political standing of Singapore and the personal reputation of the Senior Minister be explained away to the world?

Will blame for this catastrophe fall on the naughty pilots (as usual), despite Alpa-S President Mok’s wise policy of healing the rift between pilots and company, or will it be placed elsewhere (ie not government)?

Does the Senior Minister intend to invoke powers vested by the Internal Security Act and detain a few (or many) recalcitrants who do not bend to his will? What will be the corollary effect on Singapore’s stance in the “war on terror”, as a “democracy” standing shoulder-to-shoulder with “other democracies”?

Why are the Senior Ministers "facts" either selective or incorrect in the above interview and why does he speak as if all pilots were un-bonded and free to leave tomorrow?

Is the Senior Minister not beginning to sound like a spoiled, pampered and untruthful brattish infant who has to be coddled and placated at every turn, lest he throws a tantrum and creates an embarrassing scene by wrecking the train set so no one else can play with it?

I think we should all be told.

[jstars2]

highcirrus

I agree totally – maybe the interviewer(s) should have asked these questions, rather than give LKY a further platform for an easy bash at the pilots. I’d be interested to see the same subject matter come up in an interview similar to the recent BBC Hard Talk interview with Tim Sebastian when the SM showed himself to be as churlish, brittle and petulant as ever, when called to account (this time over Singapore’s own “royal” succession).

I’m sure Sebastian would have a field day pressing him to explain why his following words do not clearly indicate that it is he who is playing the game of bluff and brinksmanship, rather than the pilots, by threatening (again) the effective closure of the airline and it is he who is implying that he will use the draconian apparatus of his totalitarian State by again threatening internment under the Internal Security Act (bequeathed by the Brits, so it’s their fault as well as the pilots’) for the “'the same captains who were adversaries in 1980 (and who) are behind this new group”. Captain Mok, meanwhile, is mildly attempting reconciliation with SIA, in the hope of attaining a rational negotiating environment.

Sebastian would certainly be able to wring out of him the additional twin admissions that SM himself started this current “crisis” and that if the large number of pilots he mentions (the experienced captains, rather than the young cadets he talks about when he says "It costs between $500,000 and $700,000 to train a pilot"), were released from their bonds and did indeed leave SIA, he himself would start to look foolishly like the “emperor with no cloths”, or, perhaps, Nero, fiddling while the Rome he set fire to, burns to destruction. Whichever one, the unmistakable impression of an obsessive old man, from a long past era, would indelibly print itself on all our minds.

Quote of LKY’s words - 'Of the 55 per cent who will leave, I think we are prepared to see half go... or even if worse comes to the worst, all go. Can they find jobs somehow? Six hundred pilots suddenly looking for jobs?

'So let's be realistic. Let's sit down, this is not a game of bluff.
'This is a very serious game of brinkmanship we are playing. We are prepared as a government to go to the brink,' he said.

Harking back to the last time he stepped in to resolve disputes between Alpa-S' predecessor and SIA management, he said: 'I went to the brink the last time in 1980.

'I'm still here, I'll go to the brink again and clean up this problem.' – Unquote.

[Anotherpost75]

Is it not possible, in the interests of balance, for a representative of Alpa-S to be similarly interviewed by the august Miss Rebecca Lee (no relation – we hope!) of the Straits Times, to give the SIA pilots’ point of view? Please, someone tell me that this would be a viable proposition, without running the risk of a defamation suit, issued by SM, leading to the personal ruin that seems to be so distressingly common in Singapore.

If there is any suggestion of defamation from such a representative, then I’m sure that the Senior Minister will be magnanimous enough to let it by as a quid pro quo for his similar, highly publicised defamation to the effect that the pilots “thought themselves special and had big egos”.

[aviator_38]

Hi all,

The following two writeups came from the Jan 6 Straitstimes. Does seem that the SM is also setting the tone and direction for better human resource management in SIA.


Cheers folks



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SIA can't carry on like before: SM
By Zuraidah Ibrahim

FURTHER job losses at Singapore Airlines will be inevitable as the airline cuts costs to become trim, and fight and win in a more difficult environment, said Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.


In an interview with The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, he said the carrier had to look at its various cost components and remove redundancies.

While it needs to reduce costs by 10 to 15 per cent, some costs cannot be compromised, such as those for fuel - which make up about a fifth of the total bill - and maintenance, as well as others such as for the food it serves.

While wages make up 15 to 20 per cent of the total cost, it did not mean SIA's cost-cutting efforts should focus only on wages.

'I've had to study this problem because I've decided that it needs to be looked into,' Mr Lee said.

Wages were an item which could be tackled, but that was not the only area which SIA's management needed to look at in order to save costs and manpower, he said.

For example, some job specifications could be changed so that workers could multi-task more, and the rostering of pilots and cabin crew could be improved to ensure a more even spread of work.

The airline would also have to outsource some of its work, to India or elsewhere.

'The luxury of just carrying on as before is something we cannot afford,' he said.

Mr Lee, who gave the interview to discuss SIA's challenges amid its troubles with its pilots' union, said the key question before the airline and Changi Airport was whether they could continue to compete in a changed environment.

Both now have to deal with the emergence of low-cost carriers in the region, the risk of long-range aircraft bypassing Singapore and the threat of new air hubs.

These trends have already changed the face of aviation in Europe and the United States.

'I'm not saying it's going to happen in six months' time but I think...two to three years,' he said.

Governments which used to protect their national airlines through restrictive air services agreements, are learning that they can gain more by not doing so, and are instead improving their tourist and airport sectors by increasing passenger traffic through their countries.

Malaysia Airlines is already having to deal with this changed outlook, and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is doing the same with Thai Airways.

'Do we stand still? Is it good for SIA? Of course it's not, but which is worse - to see a business eaten up or to see it eaten up by part of a company that you share in?' he said, referring to SIA's recent move to set up budget carrier Tiger Airways.

He added that the pressure on costs was affecting not only SIA and Changi Airport but also companies across the board in the economy.

So while ordinary Singaporeans might think the Government over-reacted by using tough words on the pilots, he said it was the Government's job to worry about the future if SIA and Changi Airport were not focused on meeting the challenges.

What is at stake: 220,000 jobs in the industry and other related sectors or 9.2 per cent of the gross domestic product.

At least a quarter or a third of those jobs could be wiped out if SIA and Changi did not stay on top, he said.

Mr Lee and other ministers had earlier warned the pilots that the Government would not allow them to hold the airline to ransom by taking a confrontational stance.

Clearly, it viewed the ouster of their union council as an aggressive move, particularly with a new collective agreement up for negotiation.

A new council has since been elected and has said it wants to heal the rifts.

Mr Lee said yesterday: 'I am glad they are having second thoughts and I suggest they should have more second thoughts.'

On how SIA management could improve ties with the pilots, he said that new chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng had the opportunity now to 'close the ledger and start afresh'.

Trust, he said, had to be the key ingredient in the relationship.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

On SIA management: Start afresh and earn staff's trust
By Zuraidah Ibrahim

WITH a new chief executive officer at the helm, it is time for Singapore Airlines (SIA) to close the book on its troubled relations with its pilots and start afresh, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said yesterday.

'Look, I'm not here to defend the human relations side of SIA. I think if it was well done, we wouldn't have had this problem,' he said in an interview with reporters from Singapore Press Holdings. He was asked to comment on what the Government felt SIA management can do to ensure smoother relations with its staff.

In an earlier statement after the pilots union ousted its leadership last November, the Government urged SIA management to improve its human resource practices.

It also announced its intention to tighten the law to stop the pilots union leadership having to go back to members for their final say on any negotiations with management.

Yesterday, Mr Lee noted that laws cannot make for good relations between employers and employees as they only curb excesses.

'For positive relations, you need trust. The employee must know the employer has his interest at heart. He's not just out to squeeze him and show profits and be done with it and he gets big bonuses. In other words, there must be confidence.'

He noted that confidence can be built over time if management shares information with workers on the challenges ahead. As it is, with listed companies having to file their returns quarterly, information is already made public in a more timely fashion.

So there is no harm in management keeping the unions posted, he said. 'But they should also try and get the union on board on what they want to do, what their hopes are.'

Moving on to make a point about trust between employers, workers and the Government, he said if the Government and employers had not been on the level with unions, there would not be such 'equable, sensible relations' with them, including private sector unions.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) had been able to deliver. 'Now, if NTUC lets down its members because it wants to please the Government, NTUC will soon lose credibility.

'Why is NTUC able to maintain its credibility and increase its membership? Because, at the end of the day, the workers and the members can see that results justify making these accommodations, that they have not been shortchanged.'

The same approach can be taken with SIA pilots, but union leaders need to be people who can be trusted and be told the facts without those facts being leaked to competitors.

'So really it's a question of building up confidence,' he said. Referring to changes in SIA top management, he added: 'However difficult it is, this is a chance to make a fresh start after Cheong Choong Kong and after Joe Pillay.

'Well, there's Chew Choon Seng. Let's start afresh... I've already spoken to him that this is a chance to close the ledger and start afresh.'


Mr Chew succeeded Dr Cheong as CEO last June.

Mr Lee did not think the task of improving human relations lies with the HR department alone.

'Human relations means across the board, every section, every head, every vice-president has a job to keep his people informed and to carry his people with it. That's the way we have worked in the Government. That's the way NTUC has worked.'

[highcirrus]

No problem Senior Minister. You get right on ahead adjusting the tracks and switching the signals on your train set. However, I’m not Singaporean, I’m an ex-pat pilot on a commercial contract with your airline and you have, without consultation, materially changed important parts of that contract and, because of the peculiarities of your own national politics, of which you are the architect, have bullied the former executive council of the Singapore Pilots’ Association into grossly changing the rest of it. Meanwhile, I continue working for you at vastly reduced salary from that I contracted for, legally bonded for a considerable time more, with a contract over which I had no control of the changes made to it. Perhaps, in the interest of the equity and fair play which your latest interview style purports to demonstrate, you would now like to release me from my bond, so that I can leave Singapore tomorrow and not have to share in the financial pain I did not contract for, an not interested in taking and which you deem necessary for the employees of Singapore Airlines, as I am not Singaporean and have zero to do with the future of your nation (the fact of which you have made repeatedly clear over the past 35 years). Release me and every ex-pat from their bond, Senior Minister and then let’s see who’s bluffing.

[Insider107]

Very interesting to note the post of John Barnes on another thread, to the effect that:

"I think it is all much simpler than we first thought. The fact that the SIA pilots' saga hits the local papers every day and most of the days as front page news is just the proof that the "leaders" are very very worried. They know something is cooking in their own kitchen, and they also know that they can't take it off the boil. The "wind beneath my wings" is getting louder and louder. The locals are finally fed up and are ready to fight. They fight with their feet and just leave."

I believe that he is absolutely correct and that perhaps the "high-water mark" of Lee Kuan Yew's carefully orchestrated campaign against the pilots may have been reached, for the time being at least, pending what will shortly be misrepresented by LKY as prima facie rabble-rousing but will, in fact, be the next wary Alpa-S move to assert its democratic and statutory right to effectively represent the membership in its negotiation of the Collective Agreement (CA). Perhaps for the moment, his minders have convinced him to lay-off, otherwise he's in great danger of wrecking the train set and (to mix metaphors) pull the plug from the dyke and set the dominoes falling in Singapore (third metaphor!).

He is very frightened of the pilots and tacitly admitted so yesterday (courtesy of Straits Times and R. Lee), saying that they had the power to massively disrupt SIA and, by implication, Singapore as well, and that "he was not going to allow that", meaning he would wade in with bare knuckles and sort the pilots out "just like he did the communist vermin in the fifties" (my own alliteration).

And this of course demonstrates another fascinating aspect of this whole affair, which is that the concept of the office of "Senior Minister", implying an elder statesman quietly moving off center-stage and gracefully ceding power to a new Prime Minister is merely LKY "smoke and mirrors" (as mentioned by myself and others, a Singapore specialty). It is now perfectly obvious to even an apolitical ostrich with its head in the silicon that in Singapore every decision on anything at anytime is taken by one man and one man only ¡V and it sure isn't "Prime Minister" Goh Chok Tong and it sure isn't the little boy, "BG" Lee and it most certainly isn't any of the band of highly paid, rubber stamping flunkies, jokingly called "Ministers". No, everything is done with either the approval or on the orders of the "great man" and it will be so, until he dies following which event, the son may face something of a dilemma, as present day Singapore is only held together by the fear generated by his "strong-man" father, always a formula, shown by history, to be a very shaky basis for onward national survival.

So yes, John Barnes, if (or when) the CA negotiations turn to dust, I'm afraid that really, the only voting option for the individual pilot is with his feet (with or without the notice SIA never honors anyway and with or without completing the medieval bonded servitude that still exists in this "first world nation"). In the golden-olden LKY days of the eighties, this might have been considered a radical step but (memo to himself) in today's connected globe, with a steadily recovering air transport industry, it most certainly isn't!

[Jim Morehead]

High Cirrus...good posting (s). Maybe at SQ they could just release all of the expats from their bonds and ,as you say, see who is bluffing. It sounds like SQ is getting to be a miserable place to work and Mr. Lee should not conduct his relations with his employees in the press.

One has to be happy where they are working and it sounds like a lot of people would relish the release of their bond.

I understand that another new hire class of guys started at China Airlines. I wish them well and I think they will be welcomed there. I get back to Taipei on the 11th and look forward to meeting them.

And as for his "name calling" of three other carriers, I find that absolutely reprehensible. I am proud to have the job I do and enjoy the people around me.

[wotwazat]

Excellent post highcirrus.

Companies have the right to change the employment terms for their employees but this can only be done with adequate notice, in line with contracts already undertaken and without the threat of further financial penalty if the employees choose not to accept the new terms and seek employment elsewhere.

If SIA believe it is reasonable to pay well below market salaries then let them announce those salaries with an effective date perhaps 12 months from now. Let them release all pilots from their bonding immediately and see how many are prepared to stay on for more of the same treatment.

Other airlines around the world make profits whilst paying staff market rate salaries and honouring contracts. Where bonding exists it is usually for a period of 3 years and of the order of S$ 45,000, a fraction of the total SIA bond.

Perhaps SIA would like their pilots to fly only 83.5% of the distance to destination or land safely only 83.5% of the time!

SIA are not losing money. If they are not making as much as they would like it is not because they pay their staff too much. Compare their staff costs with their ticket prices and show us a comparable airline that has a better ratio. If the staff are not being used efficiently that is a management problem. If they have too many "expensive expat pilots" then just stop renewing expat contracts. That would lead to a steady reduction of 80 to 100 pilots per year. Alternatively base more of them overseas and save schooling and education subsidies.

Most pilots in SIA want to work hard and be well payed for doing so. If there are those who don't want to work then let them leave and pay those that do the market rate and get back to having well motivated pilots who feel that their contribution is appreciated and properly rewarded.

The SM admits that fuel is an essential requirement for airline operation. He should try airline operation without skilled pilots, he may come to the conclusion that they are needed too!

[highcirrus]

Re: On SIA management: Start afresh and earn staff's trust
By Zuraidah Ibrahim – Straits Times, 6 Jan 2004

Senior Minister Lee, in the role of “nice cop”, following a good gallop as “bad cop”, came up with a number of what, on the face of them, looked to be reasonable and even conciliatory remarks during interview. Perhaps I am allowed to pass comment on this forum? I most certainly couldn’t do so safely anywhere in Singapore!

LKY - 'Look, I'm not here to defend the human relations side of SIA’
– Good, well perhaps you’d like to move PAP MP Loh Meng See from his position as Senior Vice President Human Resources, SIA. Mr Loh is obviously more talented in serving PAP full time than he is in serving SIA Human Resources Division. As readers will remember, it was Mr Loh’s signature which graced the clumsy letter of 30 Sept 2003, kindly informing us all, out of the blue, that the SIA Provident Fund was to be frozen with effect from 1 Nov 2003 as a “cost saving measure” (OK if I stop paying Income Tax – I need to find a few “cost saving measures” myself?). Nice handling Mr Loh – straight from the Do It Yourself HR handbook! We all thought your actions perfectly reasonable and we all thought it was such a refreshing departure from boring old convention when you saved us the bother of consultation and negotiation – all we had to do was sit there and mutely accept the situation! Oh and you were so quick off the mark that you didn’t fully explore the equally boring legal ramifications of your panicky actions, did you?

LKY - It (the government) also announced its intention to tighten the law to stop the pilots’ union leadership having to go back to members for their final say on any negotiations with management.
– Oh very nice, Senior Minister! Do you now imagine that the Alpa-S Exco will henceforth cut cozy deals in smoke filled rooms with your cronies following the agenda and figures that you kindly map out for everyone? I think not, SM! Even if a vote becomes illegal (what price democracy in Singapore and how do you explain this latest move to your “freedom loving” American protectors?), the Exco will return to the members for consultation. What next? - A law to add to the plethora of such laws in Singapore, this time banning consultation?!

LKY - 'For positive relations, you need trust. The employee must know the employer has his interest at heart. He's not just out to squeeze him and show profits and be done with it and he gets big bonuses. In other words, there must be confidence.'

- Senior Minister: the atmosphere on planet Lee must be exceptionally rare and conducive to light-headedness and cloudy perception. What you describe above is precisely the behavior of SIA. The airline is and has been for decades, an inhuman, rapacious consumer of employees, sucking the energy, enthusiasm and talent from the individual, “nickel and diming” them at every turn and contemptuously flicking them onto the garbage heap when their usefulness is deemed to be over. Please therefore explain to your interested audience, precisely how we should all go about trusting your much vaunted “management” of Singapore Airlines?

LKY - He noted that confidence can be built over time if management shares information with workers on the challenges ahead. As it is, with listed companies having to file their returns quarterly, information is already made public in a more timely fashion.
– Senior Minister: surely you are aware that, outside perhaps North Korea, Singapore Airlines has one of the most secretive cultures in the world – a culture not built by employees but built by a “management” operating in your shadow and fearful of your every criticism and punishment. Until there is a change of heart from the very top – that is you – there will be no change of culture, so don’t hold your breath about the effectiveness of some new cipher you’ve put in as latest CEO of your airline.

LKY – ‘The same approach (as NTUC) can be taken with SIA pilots, but union leaders need to be people who can be trusted and be told the facts without those facts being leaked to competitors’.
– Nice one Senior Minister. So the guys who can be trusted to fly the zillion dollar jets crammed chock full of your fare payers including Mrs Lee on her unscheduled return from the clutches of the (free) British health service which you so readily criticized, are the same guys who, on the ground, are now the worthless degenerates incapable of maturely evaluating the true facts of the matter and confidentially negotiating an equable settlement between airline and association membership? In the context of releasing confidential information, please see my comment above, re: North Korea. Maybe you should examine your own approach to the matter?

LKY - 'Well, there's Chew Choon Seng. Let's start afresh... I've already spoken to him that this is a chance to close the ledger and start afresh.'
– Well that’s OK then. Problem solved! We’ll just do it your way!

[jstars2]

Pretty good highcirrus. I notice that LKY mentioned trust and confidence, as detailed in your excellent post:

LKY - 'For positive relations, you need trust. The employee must know the employer has his interest at heart. He's not just out to squeeze him and show profits and be done with it and he gets big bonuses. In other words, there must be confidence.'

LKY - He noted that confidence can be built over time if management shares information with workers on the challenges ahead.

Maybe LKY could engender trust in the future by making SIA employment contracts worth more that the scrappy pieces of paper that they are currently printed on, by not unilaterally changing the things at any old time that suits him. And secondly, I’m sure confidence could be created by sharing the exact information on costs saved during the recent post SARS panic stricken exercise of retrenchments, compulsory unpaid leave and swingeing pay cuts, not indulged in by the mature and measured managements of the other SARS affected international and regional carriers.

I think we need a lot more than fine words from LKY. On second thoughts we don’t even need these, as a hell of a lot of us will never believe him anyway and we’re off from this blighted island as soon as possible.

[The Prisoner]

"Any downturn,(as an expat) you're the first to go. Right?'
Wrong..... SIA sacked ~23 pilots in the SARS crisis last year, all but one expats, cant remember Emirates or Dragonair doing much more than slowing recruitment. EK and KA both offer structured carear paths, and job stability, not just contracts to alien workers.
SIA have been abusing their pilots for the last 10 years, and it looks like finally the guys are going to bite back. Hopefully the old sod will wreck the airline before he gives himself a heart attack... watch this space.

[John Barnes]

It isn't a trickle anymore!!!! Every month a solid 8 to 10 senior pilots will be leaving to the different airlines that are hiring now. At least 100 to 150 have been interviewd, accepted, and are just waiting for the class dates. The interesting fact is now that no matter what the new CA will promise, and no matter what the new salaries might be, these guys have had enough and are leaving. As I said before they are voting with their feet, and leave in big numbers. Where last year a lot of people were very secretive about their future plans, it's now all in the open. Very soon SIA will be very short of crews again. If the pilots would manage their jobs the way HR managed over the last ten years we would see a hull loss every month!!!

[sia sniffer]

Of course the real issue here to LKY and his corrupt bunch of cronies, is not a few renegade pilots, but the "threat" perceived from "People power". The naughty pilots executed their democratic right to remove their former sycophantic "union" leaders who went off course with regards actually trying to improve conditions.

What LKY is rather paranoid about is that this action may actually take hold in other unions and workers representative councils in other none related industries in Singapore. What if Sembawang Engineering, Tamesek holdings or SPH workers decide that we also want a bit more democracy? Well the tide would soon turn, and as in other despotic states, the tyrannical leaders would be fleeing for safer climates. For LKY, probably his private clinic in Switzerland, all paid for by ...err ...his loyal subjects of course.

The current situation in SIA unfortunately makes me feel rather smug. Since '97 I've been posting my candid thoughts of what actually goes on in Singapore, to be received by cries of, no this can’t be so, Singapore is so wonderful... isn’t it? Well, the writing has been on the wall (that’s the lavatory wall sir) for years. I got out rather a long time ago, but am surprised to hear how many guys are still remain chained by their stupidity to continue to sign yet more bonds. Enforced labor is one thing, but having completed 5 years of a sentence, and then signing along the line for another 3 is probably certifiable lunacy in most countries.

I therefore have no sympathy for the estranged expats still serving time in SIA. You have had so many opportunities to leave, but were hoodwinked by that 744 rating waved in front of you. Greed my friends is what trap you've fallen into. The '44 rating has corrupted you just as much as the 20% discount LKY received as a back hander from his nephew when he purchased a luxury flat in Singapore a few years ago. You are no different, and im very surprised the old fella has treated his own kind so badly.

Better luck in the next life guys :sad:

[millerscourt]

sia sniffer You are of course right in most of what you say re SQ, certainly the discount LKY got on that Scotts Road Apartment was a typical example of double standards.

Of course not every ex-pat Pilot has the luxury of being able to leave SQ after the first 5 Year Bondage is up, and also you forget that until a year or so ago things in SQ were not that bad as one could assume at least a 3 months Bonus and taxes in Singapore have been reduced over the past few years.

Now things are entirely different as The Pilots are attacked on an almost daily basis both financially with loss of Salary, Provident Fund, Bonus and by Government Minister from the Senile One downwards.

Strange how we never hear from these Government Lackeys about the $2 Billion lost by the late CEO through his disastrous investments in Air NZ/ Ansett and Virgin Atlantic, which the SQ staff are having to pay for. Of course being part of the Singapore Establishment he goes onto being made a Director of a Bank!!!

[BusyB]

On a lighter note-
A Sudanese, an Indian and a Singaporean are asked their opinion of the Nutritional Value of Beef.
The Sudanese asks "What's Nutrition"?
The Indian asks "What's Beef"?
The Singaporean asks "What's an Opinion"?

Good Luck to all the SQ pilots, staying or going.

[Insider107]

millerscourt

The real big loss that everyone seems to have forgotten, is that incurred by the Senior Minister when his ill-fated, joint venture, hi-tech park investment with the Chinese government crashed and burned five or six years back, post them pulling the plug on the "great helmsman's" astute business aspirations. No problems, the compliant Singapore taxpayer picked up the USD 30 billion tab and the whole thing was quietly forgotten (there being no opposition in Singapore!).

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 10 Jan 2004

EDITORIAL

About SIA and Changi

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,229397,00.html?

THE good that has come of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew taking personal charge of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) issue is that he has crystallised the stakes for the nation. Before he began his round of off-the-cuff remarks and interviews - beginning with the startling 'broken heads and broken bones' imagery - no Singaporean market tracker or institution was cognisant of the full extent of the aviation sector's pivotal position. The nation now knows SIA and Changi Airport collectively account for 220,000 jobs, directly and downstream through the web of allied services and supplies provided. Their share of gross domestic product is just under 10 per cent. If the 220,000 figure were extrapolated to the number of households which depend wholly or in part on those workers' steady income, it leaves little to the imagination what sort of social devastation there would be if the twin dynamos gave out. Mr Lee's reckoning is that a quarter to a third of those jobs would be lost if SIA degenerated into a mediocre carrier and Changi lost its hub usefulness. Singapore's current jobless figure is 100,000. The stretched social fabric would tear, were the job situation to get any worse.

These numbers tell Singaporeans once again how mercilessly exposed they are for having to live by their wits, always worrying that the few advantages of foresight they have enjoyed for two decades or so will continue to erode as rivals master their brief. But beyond that and beyond Mr Lee's piquant language used, the response of the parties to the tempest (there is not a labour dispute yet, actually) surely has to be to pull in the same direction. This is about Singapore fighting for its way of life, not about who is tougher. The new executive committee of Alpa-S, the SIA pilots union, says it would seek common ground with the management. This newspaper is sure this was spoken in the true spirit of conciliation. But if it was a diplomatic reaction after Mr Lee's rebuke, the union should rethink and take to heart the impact on SIA of labour disruptions. SIA management on its part has to be reminded it cannot operate like a baronial conclave: it ought by now to have shed its state-enterprise aloofness with a collegiality and openness more in keeping with the private sector. There should be engagement with all levels of its workforce - managing their hopes and worries, rewarding them for sacrifice and team effort.

Changi Airport's prospects are more challenged, it would seem. The advent of ultra long-haul jets can make Changi less of a hubbing necessity, but in ways which are not clear yet. The competing claims of Dubai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney (maybe Perth, some day) on the lateral Europe-Asia-Australasia route and regional runs are clearer. Changi has been king. Its weakness being exposed now is that it can be the most efficient and well-appointed airport by far, but that might not be sufficient buffer against new air centres not as ritzy but which are cheaper to use and reduce travel time. Mr Lee has emphasised that cost effectiveness would determine the outcome of the air war. So SIA's and Changi's cost-containment is not quite done - an unhappy prospect that would require masterful handling. What this episode has shown is that the future that SIA and Changi have to face up to is a metaphor for Singapore as a whole. Employers and workers who have thought about little else in these past two years are expected to keep at it. Costs should continue to be watched to preserve jobs, but workers are not to be treated as fodder as a result. Everybody is in this together.

[Insider107]

sia sniffer

Would the Swiss clinic be the one close by the alleged Lichtenstein based anstaldt, of which there have been persistent rumours over many years (so I’m told!)?

millerscourt

Almost forgot. What about the SGD 4 billion “loan” made by the Singapore government (prop. Lee family) to Suharteo, during the ’98 Indonesian crisis, prior to his ousting, the questioning over which, by the redoubtable Dr Chee, on behalf of Singapore taxpayers, during the last “general election”, aroused such ire and indignation in Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong that he sued, in time honoured Singapore fashion, for, wait for it, “defamation”, on the basis that Chee’s question had not been couched in a sufficiently respectful manner? Meanwhile, of course, in the ensuing melee, no answer to the question was the reply and no news yet of the repayment date!

[highcirrus]

Re: Straits Times, 10 Jan 2004

EDITORIAL

About SIA and Changi

If GDP of 10% and a total of 220,000 jobs are at stake, why is Senior Minister Lee acting in such an inflammatory and irresponsible manner? Surely he should be nurturing the situation and persuading all parties of the good sense in pulling together, just as the editorial suggests, rather than stepping in to wilfully wreck an apparently important part of Singapore’s delicate fabric?

There has been mention of the SIA share price and the deleterious effect on this price, of SM’s threat to allow the airline to sink into obscurity as long as Changi Airport and new baby “Tiger” thrive. If this is a threat directed at the SIA pilots, perhaps I could suggest that it is misplaced and born of complete ignorance of the contemporary situation. SM may be interested to know that a very large proportion of ex-pat and local pilots would be quite relaxed in the event that SIA suddenly contracted or even went down, as they would be most happy to see the extinguishing of bonds, the three month payment in lieu of salary plus payment of CPF/Provident Fund entitlement followed shortly afterwards by a swift and deliriously happy move to whichever Asian carrier(s) stepped into the market void and quickly became desperately short of experienced flight crews as a result. So go ahead SM, make our day!

If, however, the idea is to depress (manipulate) share price, prior to someone picking up a big chunk in a share buy-back to re-nationalise the airline, then the cost of this exercises should be pretty low in the near future. As it is, Temasek owns 51% of the shares whilst Singapore banks and institutions own other considerable chunks of the equity (which they don’t trade), the small residue that is traded is of such minor volume that the required liquidity to reflect true share value is never there.

Finally, if SM is unhappy with the six percent return on SIA equity, which he implies is presently under threat from the naughty pilots (again), then maybe he should just close the thing down and be done with it. He’d cut costs at a stroke and have plenty of money to fund something else – pity this would have a disastrous effect on the Singapore economy and political standing but then you’ve got to make sacrifices, haven’t you?

[Omark44]

Excellent post High Cirrus, just hope someone has the balls to ensure it is read by LKY and his cronies.

Don't forget that in Singapore you may not get the professional and correct closure of SIA you hope for. Rather than pay everyone their dues and close down they will probably engineer bankruptcy, cancel all housing and other agreements, kick all expats off the island without paying repatriation costs and then pay 1cent in the dollar, take it or leave it, see you in court, (in Singapore, of course;)).

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 17 Jan 2004

AirAsia unlikely to set up shop here

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,230478,00.html?

MALAYSIAN budget carrier AirAsia is unlikely to enter into a joint venture to set up an airline based in Singapore.

Its chief executive, Mr Tony Fernandes, said he will decide on the matter next week, but hinted yesterday, when he met reporters here, that it may not happen.

He said the airline, which just launched its Thai-based operations, may be taking on too much too soon if it had a third carrier in Singapore.

AirAsia has been in discussions with companies here, including Temasek Holdings, on the possibility of setting up a joint-venture airline.

Yesterday, Mr Fernandes said that if the Singapore project takes off, Temasek is unlikely to be an investor, although it is keen to have a stake in the airline's Malaysia operations.

He said: 'I don't think that Temasek is necessarily the right vehicle for us here.'

On plans to fly to Singapore, he said the first flight by AirAsia Thailand - a joint venture with Thailand's largest communication company, Shin Corporation - from Bangkok should land at Changi Airport on Feb 13.

The airline has already informed the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) of its intention to operate Thailand-Singapore flights.

It is now waiting for the Thai government's official sanction for the service.

Mr Fernandes said: 'Both sides have talked and the in-principle approval is there.

'What remains is for the paperwork to be sorted out, but I am confident we can meet our planned launch date.'

Asked if the airline is getting any special deals or discounts from the CAAS, he said: 'We are happy with the financial and operational arrangements at Changi.'

In Singapore, AirAsia will compete with Valuair, set up by former Singapore Airlines (SIA) veteran Lim Chin Beng, and Tiger Airways set up by SIA with several partners.

Both are due to take off later this year.

[highcirrus]

Interesting Straits Times piece in light of my speculation of 25 Dec 2003, below:

"Which really leaves AirAsia – now looking like a success for the future and leading those of a Machiavellian disposition to consider that the real game plan may be along the lines of a quietly cut deal by LKY with AirAsia/Malaysian Government (pace that between Thaksin and the Malaysians to form AirAsia Thailand) to form AirAsia Singapore. Leverage to force the deal with AirAsia (a favoured entity of Mahatier) is the competition ostensibly threatened from “Tiger” and Valuair. Sweeteners are oceans of cash from Temasek Holdings and unlimited access to Changi as a hub (thus neatly negating Senai as a hubbing force and providing a future revenue stream from an investment that looks like it will really work). Further advantage is that risk need not be taken by going ahead with “Tiger” and Valuair will be toast (who’d finance it with this situation to deal with?)."

Despite the ritual denials from Fernandes, there looks to be something in the hypothesis. Watch this space!

[highcirrus]

Former senior civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow spoke candidly about past policy mistakes (of the PAP Singapore Government) in his speech to the Economic Society of Singapore last week. The Straits Times of 21 Jan 2004 printed an excerpt of this excellent speech by a realistic and obviously intelligent man, un-blinkered by party ideology.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,231194,00.html?

The final paragraphs of this excerpt are as follows:

“So, Singapore with a population of four million cannot play the (steel) numbers game alongside China and India with their billion populations.

But an educated four million population can endure, if we have some of the globally mobile talented, including our own, to be engaged, work, live, and stay in Singapore, perhaps not for a lifetime but in the prime of their lives.

In this way, the nation of Singapore will be larger than the country of Singapore. The little red dot will grow into a centre of world civilisation and not fade away into history.”

Whilst Ngiam Tong Dow referred primarily to graduate “globally mobile talent”, the principle still applies to high caliber, well experienced technical crew who are presently available globally for hire (by SIA).

Is the Senior Minister therefore not in danger of compounding his record of policy mistakes by adopting his present antagonistic stance towards pilots, thus strongly deterring the shortly to be required influx of “globally mobile talent” to SIA?

[Insider107]

All gone quiet on the Senior Minister/Alpa-S front hasn’t it? Well no need to worry - all is as normal – it’s just that Rebecca Lee of the Straits Times is excluded from the ongoing “talks” that the Senior Minister is concluding personally with the Alpa-S President and Exco members.

We are, of course, left to speculate as to the style of these “talks” but SM’s track record to date would indicate that less than subtle references will be being made to the imminence of exhaustive personal Internal Revenue audits for this by now highly nervous group, trawls through past utterances for possible “defamations”, leading to legal actions designed to personally bankrupt the individuals plus possible investigations of ongoing “competence and merit” to continue in the technical crew job with SIA.

As further “inducement” to compliance with the great man’s vision for the future, the group will, in similarly unsubtle style, be invited to recall SM’s threat of the early eighties when the association leaders faced the decision of themselves and their families being summarily shipped to Changi gaol, or them instantly calling off mild industrial action designed to induce an arrogant and complacent “management” to the negotiating table. Readers are invited to spot any changes that have evolved in Singapore in the intervening years, similar to those wrought worldwide by the historic events of the past two decades.

Similarly, “freedom and democracy lovers” around the world, allied in the “war against terror” are also invited to spot any similarity between their own fair, open, accountable styles of democratic government and that which prevails in "modern day" Singapore.

[Highlander744]

Extracted from the Singapore Truth ( ST ) Interactive :


In Short

SIA WINS AWARD FOR PASSENGER SERVICES

SINGAPORE Airlines has won aviation magazine Air Transport World's Passenger Service Award for 2004, which recognises high standards of passenger services.

Air Transport World awarded SIA the Best International Service Award in 1994 and named it Airline of the Year in 1989.

SIA yesterday also became the only local company to make the list in a survey of the world's most respected companies, taking sixth place in the transport companies sector, behind firms such as Federal Express and Lufthansa.

Run by the Financial Times, the survey draws on the views of more than 1,000 heads of companies in 20 countries.

The world's 10 most respected companies, in order of ranking, are: General Electric, Microsoft, Toyota, IBM, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Dell, Berkshire Hathaway, DaimlerChrysler and Sony.

End of transcript.

But WE must all still heed the competition !! It really is tough at the top. Somehow though I believe the comparisons will end there - and of course there is no mention of the STAFF in the report. It would also be interesting to see how staff salaries and conditions of service / benefits stand up to the other companies in the transport sector. - but then that is a no brainer ........ right.

Well done to all the front line staff in SQ for their hard effort - the credit is yours !!

[jstars2]

Straits Times - 29 Jan 2004

SilkAir pilots strike salary deal

Under first collective agreement, minimum basic pay will be about $7,050, almost the same as before last July's pay cuts

By Karamjit Kaur

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,232276,00.html?

SILKAIR pilots have struck a deal with the airline's top brass over salaries and working conditions.

Under the new collective agreement - a first for SilkAir - pilots will earn almost as much as they did before last July when wages were cut by up to 16.5 per cent.

A SilkAir captain now earns a minimum basic pay of about $5,900 a month, compared to about $7,100 before the cut.

Come April 1, when the new agreement should take effect, the minimum basic pay will be about $7,050.

With the new wage structure, about 35 per cent of the total pay packet will be variable compared to 30 per cent before.

When contacted, recently appointed SilkAir chief executive officer Mike Barclay said it was a 'little premature to discuss the details' because the document has not been officially signed yet.

Captain Ajmer Singh, 38, chairman of the SilkAir wing of the Air Line Pilots' Association Singapore (Alpa-S) said: 'We are satisfied with the terms and conditions agreed on. Pilots will see an increase in pay which is competitive with what other airlines in the region offer.'

The three-year deal is as good as sealed and should become official soon, given that all 35 eligible pilots voted in favour of it on Dec 30.

Although there are about 70 SilkAir pilots, only Singapore citizens and permanent residents in the union are allowed to vote.

Unlike many other unions, Alpa-S has to seek the endorsement of its members before it can make any decisions.

This will change when the Government amends the Trade Union Act to remove union members' rights to have the final say in any negotiations with management.

The Government move comes after unhappy Alpa-S members voted out the union leadership that agreed to the wage cuts.

Fresh elections were called last month and the new team voted in has made good relations with management a top priority.

This is the first time SilkAir has signed a collective agreement with its pilots - a document which will be filed with the Ministry of Manpower and the High Court.

Previously, terms and conditions of employment for SilkAir pilots were stipulated in a memorandum of agreement between the two sides.

For anything not covered in the agreement, the parties referred to the collective agreement between Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots and their management.

Now negotiations in SilkAir are out of the way, all eyes are on SIA which is also in the process of working out a new collective agreement for its pilots.

[millerscourt]

If as you say the Silk Air Salary is $S 7050 per month then even


with the 13th month and Productivy Pay added on there is no way a Silk Air Captain will be on a Salary of $150000 before tax as SQ woulh have you believe according to their adveretisdement bin Flight Internationaql this week!!!

Apologies for the bad spelling on last post but message got sent in error before I had time to proof read it!!:ok:

[capt2ezy]

for those not familiar with the exchange rate:
$2.95 sin = £ 1.00 stg/gbp
$1.71 sin = $ 1.00 usd

13 mth basic gross before tax = £31,100 stg
= $53,600 usd

doesnt sound very much if you pay 20-25% tax on that.
what would be monthly flt allowances?

[jstars2]

At today’s rate:

$3.09 sin = £ 1.00 gbp

13 months basic gross before tax, $7050 x 13 = $91,650 = £29,660

[millerscourt]

Will all those Pilots scrambling to join Silk Air on those magnificent Salaries form an orderly queue and stop trying to get ahead of the person in front of you.:{

[highcirrus]

Straits Times – 31 Jan 2004

One year to move on variable pay

Setting do-able targets for big and small firms, DPM Lee says employers now have all the help they need to effect change

By Sue-Ann Chia

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,232677,00.html?

ENOUGH of talk. After almost 20 years, it's now time to push the pace and get on with the business of implementing wage reform in earnest.

And Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday set targets he expects to see met by this time next year.

He hopes that over 50 per cent of the total workforce in large companies and 40 per cent in small and medium enterprises will have some kind of flexible wage system in place.

This was achievable, he said at a national conference on wage reform, noting that leading companies in four key sectors - hotels, electronics, chemicals and land transport - had started to do so and were confident of implementation by then………………………..

………………….With the rapid changes in technology, emergence of new players such as China and India, and the impact of globalisation, companies can survive and save jobs only if their wage structures are flexible enough to withstand sudden shocks and downturns.

But he pointed out that the Government would not 'pass a law or publish a formula which applies to every company' as each company was unique.

Instead, bosses should be persuaded to drive the wage reform process and set up a transparent appraisal system and performance indicators - something that was not exactly 'rocket science', he told them.

And workers must accept the new reality that 'iron rice bowls are gone forever' and that pay packets will fluctuate according to performance and company profits……………….

…………………… suggested moving away from a rigid and seniority-based wage system to a more flexible structure by linking a greater portion of pay packets to performance and profits.

And lastly, the labour movement is also spearheading the wage reform process - something that is almost unheard of in other countries where unions would be among the first to resist wage changes.

Comment

Readers eagerly await details of matching public sector wage restructuring in Singapore and in particular the exciting and innovative ideas that are no doubt in the wings and which will shortly redefine the present stuffy old rigid and seniority-based wage structure of member of parliament (MP) and ministerial pay and introduce a flexible wage system that will reflect the performance and profit of the country in good times and bad.

As we know - “With the rapid changes in technology, emergence of new players such as China and India, and the impact of globalisation, companies can survive and save jobs only if their wage structures are flexible enough to withstand sudden shocks and downturns.”

This dictum applies equally to the survival of countries as well as the companies which operate within their borders. So perhaps by next year we may see MP and ministerial pay tied to annual percentage GDP growth, ST index performance and relative strength of the currency using a “transparent appraisal system and performance indicators” which includes open details of annual ministerial earnings? This would seem to be a logical progression for reform and should be easy to set up as there is no 'rocket science' involved.

Finally – “the labour movement is also spearheading the wage reform process - something that is almost unheard of in other countries where unions would be among the first to resist wage changes.” Well precisely so! I don’t think even a re-read of “Alice in Wonderland” would find anything more bizarre

[b777pilot]

heard from sources that about 5 senior guys have done a 180 deg in their CAL interview/acceptance/resignation from SQ!!

can anybody confirm?

is this a trend?

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 23.02.04

Air travel in Asia set for major take-off

And countries whose governments expose their national airlines to competition will triumph, says SM Lee

By Rebecca Lee

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,236554,00.html?

AIR travel in Asia will soon take off on a massive scale and yesterday Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew spelt out how he saw the aviation scene changing - and who will triumph.

They will be those countries whose governments liberally exchange air traffic rights and expose their national airlines to competition.

SM Lee, who has kept a long and close interest in the aviation industry, was speaking at an industry event attended by 150 captains of the business.

And just what can Singapore do?

His answer, in a nutshell, was that it could not afford to sit idly and both Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines (SIA) must adapt quickly to the changing landscape.

'At stake is not just SIA, but Singapore's future as an air hub,' he said, speaking at the opening of the International Air Transport Association (Iata)/Asian Aerospace Aviation Summit.

Mr Lee's comments come against the backdrop of an industry that has undergone tumultuous changes in the past few years with traditional carriers having to compete with upstart low-cost airlines, and the resulting consolidation.

SM Lee noted that competition for Singapore will be in quality of service, adequacy of networks in terms of frequencies and destinations offered.

'Changi must maintain and strengthen its connectivity,' he said.
SIA will have to meet competition from low-cost carriers as well as the traditional full-service airlines that have remade themselves, he said.

The proliferation of low-cost carriers in America and Europe - and now starting in Asia - has made travelling by air as common as taking a bus. Today, about 45 per cent of the more than 700 million international tourists and 40 per cent of the world's manufactured exports travel by air. Civil aviation also created at least six million jobs worldwide, Mr Lee noted.

In Singapore, aviation had also been key in developing the country into a global economic hub and cosmopolitan city, he said.

Iata director-general Giovanni Bisignani last night also highlighted the important role aviation played as a 'backbone to the tourist industry' and 'the No. 1 employer in the world', even though airlines lost more than US$30 billion (S$50 billion) in the past three years.

'Many might think there is not much to celebrate, but I strongly disagree,' he said.

SM Lee was equally optimistic about the industry, especially in Asia-Pacific, which will have the highest growth of all regions.

Having seen the potential spin-offs in trade, tourism and investment flows, governments in Asia are also beginning to liberalise their air transport regimes, he said.

Sharing SM Lee's optimism on Asia was Iata spokesman Tony Concil: 'Asia is a growing market for aviation - and that includes full-service network carriers and low-cost carriers.'

[b777pilot]

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,236758,00.html?


thought i would put the link instead as there were 4 other pieces of related news.

[capt2ezy]

"YOUR HUMBLE CITIZEN":yuk:

talk about rolling over.
bl*%&y hell.
looks like the low salary will continue.
looks like its going to get worse with performance linking.
lky gets his way as he knew he would with the ever compliant 'humble citizens'.
baaaaaaaaa!:yuk:

[b777pilot]

don't tell me you were surprised at the outcome?

[jstars2]

The link previously posted will disappear in two days time, so here's the full text:

Straits Times 24.02.04

SIA pilots pledge amicable solution
'What we have agreed with the company will be honoured'

By Zuraidah Ibrahim

SINGAPORE Airlines pilots appear to have averted a showdown with the Government after assuring Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew that they want to settle their differences with management amicably.

That commitment is clear in an exchange of letters between them, which Mr Lee made public last night.

Pilots union chief Mok Hin Choon has promised that the union's approach will be one of 'cooperation and not confrontation'.

'We will keep it 'in the family' and avoid, as far as possible, taking the issue public and airing it in the media,' he said in his Jan 16 letter.

Replying on Feb 9, Mr Lee welcomed that positive approach, saying he was encouraged by their commitment to work with management and negotiate 'in the family'.

He is expected to meet the pilots this week.

The letters come after three months of stern warnings by the Government that it would not countenance a defiant pilots' union.

It had viewed with alarm the SIA pilots' ouster of their union leadership last November, a move which suggested that the union was preparing to take a more confrontational line and become more militant in its demands.

Captain Mok became president of the new team that was elected.
Over the months that followed, Mr Lee warned the pilots on at least three occasions to rethink their stance.

In his Jan 16 letter, Capt Mok said he believed Mr Lee's 'timely intervention' would result in a workable framework for SIA.

Making clear that his team would not press for restoration of pre-Sars salaries, a widely expected move, he said: 'What we have agreed with the company will be honoured.'

His council supports a more flexible wage structure as laid out by the National Wages Council and, he promised, will not benchmark pilots' salaries against those of the most highly paid international pilots.

These commitments are significant as the pilots and management are negotiating a new collective agreement as the last one expired in December.

Noting what Capt Mok had pledged would help keep SIA competitive, Mr Lee explained in his reply that he had intervened because he believed something was fundamentally wrong when the union members disavowed an agreement over wage cuts which they had earlier endorsed.

'That they did so betrayed a lack of appreciation of the severe challenges SIA and our aviation industry are up against,' Mr Lee said.

He noted that SIA needed to earn at least $900 million in after-tax operating profit just to cover its cost of capital. As a group, it had to make at least $1.4 billion after tax.

While this was not easy, it could be done if everyone worked together, he said.

He favoured a flexible wage structure that enabled pilots and all other staff to share in the profits of the company. They should also move away from seniority-based wages and peg more of their pay to company and individual performance.

He also set out the aviation landscape that had been permanently changed with the emergence of low-cost carriers, more open skies in Asia, new long haul carriers that could bypass Singapore and SIA-wannabes emulating its services. There may even be low-cost long-haul carriers, he said.

'These changes will erode SIA's position as a price leader out of Singapore. SIA will become a price-taker, and not a price-maker.'
It may no longer be able to charge a large premium and its yields will go down.

Against such a backdrop, for SIA to succeed, there must be a new climate of mutual confidence and partnership between management and the pilots union.

'Both have to break with the past,' he said, adding that now with a new chief executive officer and new union leadership, there was an opportunity for a fresh start.

With his letter, Captain Mok also attached a note detailing six sets of grievances that he said had hit morale.

These included the pay cuts which pilots had to take during Sars and hearing 'insensitive' news that management was removing caps to its share options; the pay cuts they took after the 9-11 terror attacks; the increase in management numbers while pilots were told to be lean; and the retrenchment criteria of pilots that did not put Singaporean pilots above those overseas.

Mr Lee, who said he did not consider either SIA management or the pilots union to be blameless, has passed the list to management for both sides to iron out, failing which, they should opt for adjudication to 'minimise bruising contests of wills and festering suspicions'.

He also urged the union to adopt the principles of tripartite cooperation if it wanted to help strengthen SIA.

It would not succeed if it tried to work against the system as 'the system is too...well established to be broken'.

Mr Lee reiterated the Government's commitment to maintaining Singapore's airport hub status and SIA was expected 'to outlast the competition'. 'It may have to incur losses but Changi and SIA are going to stay the course.'

[jstars2]

B]Singapore 24.02.04

Pilots to SM: We will cooperate[/B]

The Singapore Airlines pilots' union hit a rough patch after members ousted the leadership last November. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew warned the pilots against taking such a confrontational route. In an exchange of letters made public yesterday, the pilots listed their past grievances with SIA management... but assured Mr Lee that they now want to resolve outstanding issues amicably with management and keep negotiations 'within the family'. Mr Lee welcomed their decision and set out what each must do to move on. We give here the main points of the letters, reproduced in full in these two pages

Jan 16, 2004

Senior Minister
Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Dear Sir,

I AM most grateful for your kind attention in this matter of low morale among SIA pilots. Enclosed is a brief that I hope you will find useful.

Your timely intervention will, without doubt, result in a workable framework that will help propel SIA to greater heights. I, too, am convinced that old baggage between Alpa-S and the company will not serve any useful purpose. Common objectives and focused efforts are indeed necessary if we are to thrive in the challenges ahead.

On behalf of my fellow members, please accept our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation.

I await your instructions and guidance.

Your humble citizen,

Mok Hin Choon

Attachment to letter to Senior Minister

For the Senior Minister's information, we have compiled below a number of incidents over the past two years or so which we feel led to the deterioration of staff morale.

1. The Sars pay cut

Alpa-S had, right from the beginning, said we were prepared to take painful measures such as pay cuts and no-pay leave, if necessary. All we wanted was a chance to work out, with the company, a formula that was equitable.

The company had initially demanded, of captains, a 23 per cent pay cut plus 12 days of Compulsory No-Pay Leave (CNPL) every two months. This CNPL is the equivalent of a further 20 per cent reduction in our monthly take-home pay. Add on the reduction in flying allowances, and captains were looking at no less than a 50 per cent total reduction in pay. (The cut for first officers was of a similar magnitude). We baulked at first at such a sizeable and sudden reduction in pay. We wanted the company to first look into the possibility of getting the overseas-based pilots to take some form of furlough. (Most of these pilots were retired, and receiving pensions from, their previous airlines.)

The reaction by management to our initial resistance to this was a public castigation at the press conference for the 2002/03 financial results. At the same public event, management threatened that they were prepared to give Alpa-S only two meetings to agree to this, after which they would take us to the IAC to force the issue.

As it turned out, more than half the savings in staff costs in the second quarter of the 2003/04 financial year (excluding provision for profit-sharing bonuses and retrenchment) were borne by flight crew (about 8,000 cabin crew and pilots) in the form of wage cuts, CNPL and reduced hourly flying allowances because of a reduction in the number of flights. The other half was in the form of wage cuts alone from the remaining 21,000 SIA staff.

Unlike cabin and cockpit crew, the latter were not subjected to CNPL. Nor do they have any flying allowance, which is in fact a variable form, and a substantive portion of the monthly wages of flight crew. Thus, a significantly greater burden fell on the cabin and cockpit crew, compared to the rest of SIA's staff.

Insensitively, the company - in the middle of pay cuts and retrenchment - announced its intention to remove the cap on the share options it rewards its senior executives with. This was reported in The Straits Times on June 27, 2003. Prior to the removal of the cap, SIA could give its CEO and senior executives up to 240,000 and 200,000 share options a year respectively.

2 The 9-11 pay cut

Immediately following Sept 11, 2001, SIA staff agreed to five months of voluntary pay cuts. The airline subsequently made a profit after taxes of $631 million for the year ending March 2002. However, it refused to accede to the request by its five unions for at least part of the pay cuts to be refunded. This was the start of a general feeling among staff that management is quick to take from its staff when times are hard, but unwilling to reciprocate when things get better.

3 The Business Class seat issue

Contrary to what was reported in the press, we did not insist on being seated in First Class. We merely wanted to retain what had been agreed on by the company in the CA - namely, both crew rest seats in Business or J class. That is now water under the bridge as we have since agreed to give up one of the two seats that we were entitled to.

But more importantly, management handled this matter in a very high-handed manner. After 13 years of providing J class seats for crew rest, in accordance with the CA, it suddenly informed the association that henceforth, pilots would take their rest in three Y (Economy Class) seats instead of two J seats. It had unilaterally (and disingenuously) reinterpreted the CA and decided that 3Y = 2J, without consulting Alpa-S.

The conversion of the J class seats to SpaceBeds that could be adjusted to provide horizontal rest resulted in the number of seats in Business Class falling from 58 to 50. The company claimed that with this reduction, it had to ensure that paying passengers were given priority for these seats. However, it continues to accord its senior executives (divisional vice-presidents and higher) the right to travel in Business Class on a confirmed booking basis - in other words, they can dislodge paying passengers from J class. (Also, cabin crew have firm instructions to treat SIA board directors and their dependents as commercial passengers - for example, they are not even to be approached for seat changes in the event paying passengers have been allocated seats that have defective entertainment systems, or request to be seated together when travelling in a group.)

4 Retrenchment criteria

When the retrenchments started, the startling thing was the company's policy on whom to let go. No longer are years of service or one's status as a national pilot (versus expatriate and overseas-based ones) a criterion. Instead, management will select pilots for retrenchment solely on the individual pilot's 'competencies'.

But by and large, a pilot is either competent or he should not be employed as one in the first place. A comprehensive set of recurring base checks, line checks, safety/emergency procedure tests and medical examinations, all mandated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, ensures that there should be no incompetent pilots. The flying public demands this. Experience counts, as do loyalty and nationality. Take an overseas-based (OBS) pilot residing in Britain or Australia with, say, a year's service in SIA Mauritius, retired and receiving a pension from his previous airline. Then consider a national pilot based in Singapore, with some 20 years service in SIA, and who depends on his job for his and his family's livelihood. The company now says that the two should be treated no differently when it comes to retrenchment, and will be judged solely on which pilot is more 'competent'. To us, this was drastically changing the rules of the game.

5 Management of crew numbers

From late 2001 till the end of 2002, the company deliberately over-recruited expatriate and OBS pilots (all captains), to clear a huge backlog in owed annual leave by mid-2003. For reasons known only to itself, it wanted to accelerate this process rather than clear the owed annual leave at a more measured pace.
Pilots were made to clear two to three years' worth of annual leave over a few months in early to mid-2003, regardless of whether they were able to use the leave meaningfully. When Sars came, it was further mandated that all outstanding and current (namely, 2003) leave must be cleared by September that year. Some who urgently needed to use their leave entitlement later in the year had to take it earlier anyway. (They were told that they could apply for advance, or 2004, leave should they really require it later. But with the upturn in business, the advance leave applications could not be approved when the time came.)

The company knew very well that with the extra numbers required for this accelerated programme of clearing leave, there had to be a sudden surplus of some 50 to 60 pilots come mid-2003 (not counting Sars), once all leave was cleared. But despite this, when Sars came, it was happy to jump on the bandwagon and make the pilots pay for the entire surplus (including the self-inflicted surplus in management's crewing plans) in the form of CNPL.

This deliberate surplus not only incurred high wage and training costs unnecessarily, but also put a strain on the existing instructor and simulator resources. One also wonders: What would the company have done with the surplus, had Sars not conveniently come along? Carrying it would be expensive, wasteful and inefficient regardless. Let the pilots go once the backlog is cleared? This, especially if premeditated, would be too callous, with scant consideration of the disruption to the lives and livelihoods of them and their families.

6 Proliferation of management cost

While eager to cut staff wage costs, management has not set a good example because the number of managers and executive staff has ballooned in the last two to three years. A shining example is the flight operations division. In June 2000, with a total of 92 aircraft, there were 30 managers (including management pilots) and 33 administrative officers (AOs) in flight operations. Last month, with 102 aircraft, the numbers have swollen to 44 managers and 49 AOs - a 50 per cent increase. Management must set a good example of cost-consciousness by being prudent in increasing its strength and making a virtue of being lean.

Alpa-S brief for Senior Minister

1 The executive council

Although there has been considerable speculation in the press, it is not true that the new Alpa-S Executive Council was elected to press for restoration of the pre-Sars salary. What we have agreed with the company will be honoured.

2 Our immediate task

We fully appreciate the new challenges facing our airline, and the new competitive environment we are now in. Of urgency is a new employment package as the last CA (collective agreement) has expired. We are supportive of the need for a more flexible wage structure, as identified by the National Wages Council. We will not be benchmarking our proposed salaries with those of the most highly paid international pilots.

3 Working with management

While morale has slipped significantly in the past few years, (please see attachment), and we have a number of outstanding issues and grievances with the company, we are committed to working with management to try and resolve these amicably. Our approach will be one of cooperation and not confrontation. We will keep it 'in the family' and avoid, as far as possible, taking the issues public and airing them out in the media.

4 Our past record

It is true that over the years, there have been several occasions when the Manpower Ministry or lndustrial Arbitration Court (IAC) had to become involved in resolving industrial disputes between Singapore Airlines and Alpa-S. However, without fully examining each case on its merits, it would not be fair to imply that the pilots alone were to blame all the time. Such a one-sided presentation of the picture also ignores the fact that in all the years since SIA was formed, the pilots have played a significant role in the phenomenal growth and prosperity of the company.
There have been countless times when, at the company's request, dispensations to work beyond the flight and duty time limits of the collective agreement were granted by the association, so as to minimise flight delays and disruptions, thereby promoting the good public image of SIA, reducing costs, and optimising operational efficiency.

Whenever the demand for flights has pushed our growth rate such that it outpaced manpower planning estimates, we have never denied the company's requests to defer our annual leave, in order that new schedules and ad hoc charters could be manned, thereby maximising profits for the airline. Our willingness to volunteer and cooperate has enabled SIA to keep its pilot strength lean throughout the years, thereby saving on salary, training and other labour costs. The latest manifestation of this cooperation resulted in some 15,000 outstanding leave days owed to our members at the end of 2002.

5 Restoring industrial harmony

We need to reach agreement with the company on an equitable remuneration package expeditiously. This will pave the way towards an improved industrial relations climate in which we can restore morale and stem the recent spate of resignations by not only expatriate but also, for the first time, national pilots.
We will strive for better communication between ourselves and the company, and a relationship based on mutual trust and respect.

SM Lee's reply

Feb 9, 2004

Dear Mr Mok Hin Choon,

THANK you for your letter on Jan 16 and the attached briefs concerning Alpa-S.

I welcome your positive approach to the problems facing the airline and this in spite of what you describe as the low morale among SIA pilots.

I intervened after the Alpa-S committee that negotiated the cuts in wages and allowances was ousted.

I believed something fundamentally was wrong when 55 per cent of your members disavowed the agreement that they had earlier endorsed.

That they did so betrayed a lack of appreciation of the severe challenges SIA and our aviation industry are up against. It showed that SIA management either had not succeeded in convincing their employees to make the necessary changes for their company to survive and grow, or perhaps had not tried to do so.

I note that you are now not pressing for restoration of pre-Sars salaries, that you support the need for a more flexible wage structure as identified by the National Wages Council (NWC) and that you are not benchmarking your proposed salaries with those of the mostly highly-paid international pilots.

I welcome these positions because they are necessary to keep SIA competitive and make the jobs of its employees safer.
Most of all, I am encouraged by your commitment to work with management to resolve the outstanding issues and to negotiate 'in the family', without taking issues out to the media.
SIA was facing acute pressures when it undertook the last round of cuts in pay and allowances because of Sars. There was no guarantee that Sars would not return after June. There was no assurance, after we declared Singapore free of Sars on May 31 last year, that passenger loads would recover soon. The airline had made an April-June quarterly loss of $312 million. This was SIA's first ever loss.

It made a profit of $306 million for the subsequent quarter only after implementing the pay cuts and other economising measures. And as the profit level improves, employees will be progressively rewarded according to the agreed formula.
SIA has to earn an after-tax operating profit above its cost of capital to justify its existence. SIA's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is about 8 per cent. SIA's parent company deploys some $11 billion of capital for its premium airline business. It would need to achieve an after-tax operating profit of $900 million just to cover its cost of capital.

As a group, SIA needs to earn at least $1.4 billion after tax. SIA can do so only if everyone in the company, including unions and management, work together towards shared objectives.
It will not be easy, but it can be done. Sustainable and robust frameworks need to be put in place with the support of management, unions and staff, using their good sense.
There needs to be a collective-agreement framework based on the NWC tripartite guidelines for wage flexibility, retrenchment and medical co-payment benefits that most progressive companies have already implemented.

With a flexible wage structure, I favour a formula that enables pilots and all other staff to share in the economic profits of the company. In this way, all staff have a common stake and shared interest in the performance and continued success of the company.

At the same time, we have to move away from seniority-based wage structure, and increase the proportion of variable pay pegged to the performance of both the company and the individual. This provides more flexibility for the company to adjust quickly to the realities of the market in the event of a downturn, while giving employees a bigger stake in the success of the company.

Singapore is special, one island just over 600 sq km after reclamation, with three million citizens and one million non-citizens working here.

To reach First World standards of performance in key areas of our economy, we have built up a unique system. In other countries, unions are adversarial, with strikes, work-to-rule and other industrial methods of pressure. In Singapore, our unions work with employers and the Government makes sure that employers and management, including those from foreign and multinational companies, play fair by the workers and their unions.

Because of the partnership between unions, management and the Government, we have been able to advance the interests of all Singaporeans, so that, within one generation, we have moved from Third World to First World.

This does not mean our workers can act as if we are a First World country. We do not have the wide economic base to take the liberties of being a First World country. It is the maximisation of our assets - human, geographic position, historic and other infrastructures - that has enabled us to reach this level, so much so that SIA is flying and competing against First World airlines.
The costs and other competitive pressures facing SIA are not temporary. Sars and slow economic growth have masked some fundamental changes taking place in the airline industry: consolidation and restructuring of airlines in America and Europe; success of low-cost, short-haul carriers; new long-haul carriers that can bypass Singapore; a unified European Union civil aviation market; and moves in EU civil aviation market and, later, in Asia, towards open skies.

Other carriers are also learning from SIA's success, to innovate and provide consistent quality service. Low-cost, long-haul carriers may emerge. These changes will erode SIA's position as a price leader out of Singapore. SIA will become a price-taker, and not a price-maker.

SIA's ability to charge a large premium for superior service will be severely pressured. With less control over fares and no domestic network to buffer it, SIA yields will erode.

The aviation world has changed permanently. SIA must change and adapt to this new reality. Globalisation and liberalisation will increase, not reduce, competition over time.
To succeed against competition, there needs to be a new climate of mutual confidence and partnership between management and Alpa-S. Both have to break with the past.

Management has to operate on clear and fair principles with a clear eye on the competitive landscape. They have to take union leaders into their confidence and be open about the vulnerabilities and opportunities of the company.

They need to win the trust and confidence of SIA staff and unions. Line managers and supervisors must play an active role in the welfare of its staff, and build a culture of meritocracy, innovation, empowerment and ownership at all levels of the company.

Only in this way can SIA workers become real partners in the company's battle against the best of airlines in the world, many of whom have the advantages of large domestic markets, favourable locations or lower labour or fuel costs.

Alpa-S must recognise that both long-term adjustments and short-term sacrifices may have to be made to secure the long-term career opportunities of its members. It can be a constructive partner to work with the company to adjust nimbly to changing market needs.

The need for members' ratification of what has been negotiated encourages unproductive gamesmanship in negotiations. Alpa-S should also not infringe on the operational prerogatives of the management. These negotiation ploys are not conducive for the development of a culture of mutual support and trust, and must be stopped.

Alpa-S too needs to communicate and earn the trust of its own membership and management.

As for your attached list of grievances, let me assure you that I do not consider SIA management or Alpa-S to be blameless. I have passed the list to management which will address these issues with you.

It is for management and unions to work through such issues and thereafter put them behind and move forward. Failing which, the issues will have to be taken through due adjudication with the Ministry of Manpower and the Industrial Arbitration Court.

This will minimise bruising contests of wills and festering suspicions. Issues should be resolved expeditiously as a long period of uncertainty will cause a drop in staff morale.

An opportunity now presents itself to start afresh, with a new CEO in SIA, Chew Choon Seng. On the union side is your new committee. The union and management have to agree on a common framework for the future.

The Government will do its part to ensure that the future of SIA is not needlessly jeopardised, and that the agreements represent a fair and equitable balance of interests of workers and company.
I am confident that if Alpa-S adopts the principles of tripartite cooperation of NTUC unions to optimise their benefits, it will succeed in helping management to build a stronger company. This is the way forward.

If Alpa-S tries to work against the system, it will not succeed. The system is too long and well-established to be broken.

The Government has made clear to SIA management that it is committed to maintaining Singapore's hub status and expects SIA to outlast the competition.

It may have to incur losses but Changi and SIA are going to stay the course.

To succeed, we need all workers and their union leaders to work with management, and both must move in tandem with the Government. A thriving national airline is a key factor to keep Changi Airport a vibrant hub.

SIA did not become one of the world's most successful airlines by accident. Management and workers did many things right to take full advantage of our position as a first mover in the airline and the air-hub business.

SIA grew on the back of a sound and robust economy, and in turn contributed to Singapore's success as a business and logistics hub.

I am confident that there is a deep well of pride among SIA staff in the airline's international standing because of its high standards in so many areas. This pride and the wealth of experience and learning within the company will ensure that SIA remains competitive and successful.

Yours sincerely,

Lee Kuan Yew

PS: I send you a copy of my speech I made on Jan 30 at the Tanjong Pagar GRC Chinese New Year celebration. If your committee members read it, they will understand the background against which the Government is framing its policies.

[Omark44]

In other words, "You play ball with me, Capt. Mok, and I'll stick the bat up your @rse!".

[John Barnes]

You get what you ask for. The picture in the Straight Times , a 4 striper with his cap under his arm says it all, together with the end of the letter written by the union to the Senior Minister LKY, "Your humble citizen".
Shame on the union , shame on the pilots being a bunch of wining gutless drivers. (including myself!) We will get shafted and we asked for it !!! Get the KY Gel out so it doesn't hurt so much!!!!!

[Highlander744]

Well, well, well - What a MOKery of the whole thing. IF the above opening paragraph was in fact an accurate transcript, of the letter, then the author(s) certainly learnt well from Prof. Marv Karlins - must have got an 'A' in SAKKA !! AND I am stunned, the PRESIDENT of an established, professional, 'battle sore' and hard fought for Association has to address himself as a HUMBLE CITIZEN ( which, by the way, has nothing to do with many of the NON-CITIZEN membership !!) Are Civil SERVANTS not employed by the CITIZENS ? The HUMBLE citizens helped put THEIR country on the map ! JUST BECAUSE THE OLD MAN SAID YOU WEREN'T SPECIAL ............ DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO PROVE IT TO HIM ! I'm truly embarrassed.............. but proud of my profession and beliefs - others are obviously NOT.

PS . I am also - NOT for CONFRONTATION, but I am for SINCERITY AND FAIRNESS.

Maybe ALPA-S should stand for :

Always Licks Politicians A#ses - Submissively.

There.................... another great Singapore acronym.

PPS. And John Barnes............... there is no need for the KY anymore, it's been stretched beyond belief. NUMB thats all I can say.

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 25.02.04

SIA needs to fix worker morale issues

Labour chief highlights need to bring workers on board, build consensus, as NTUC-affiliated unions list grievances

By Rebecca Lee

SINGAPORE Airlines' troubled labour-management relations received another public airing yesterday when the Government released feedback reflecting poor staff morale - and a roadmap on moving ahead.

The feedback showed that SIA's pilots, who have been in the news over their unhappiness with management, are not the only ones with grievances.

When the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) collected views from three of its four affiliated SIA unions last month, they complained of low morale and a changed atmosphere in recent years.

Where a family spirit once prevailed, the key word now was 'accountability' and a 'culture of fear' had spread, they said.

Workers feared making mistakes and were being threatened with the sack often, the key leaders of the SIA Staff Union, Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union and SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union told NTUC.

Yesterday, the Senior Minister's Office made public this feedback along with a note from NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng on how he saw SIA's labour issues and how NTUC unions conduct their industrial relations.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had stepped in to take personal charge of SIA's troubles with the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), after pilots ousted their union's leadership last November.
Seeing this as a growing confrontational stance from Alpa-S, Mr Lee had warned that he would not let the pilots hold the airline hostage.

On Monday, his office made public an exchange of letters between him and new Alpa-S president Mok Hin Choon in which the pilots pledged to cooperate and settle issues amicably.

Capt Mok had also detailed the pilots' grievances, and Mr Lee replied that he was not saying management was blameless either.

Alpa-S is not an NTUC- affiliated union. The other three NTUC-affiliated unions' feedback released yesterday suggests two things.

First, SIA has changed internally as it grapples with an industry which has been battered. Second, it needs to improve its industrial relations, a point Mr Lee has also made.

In laying out the NTUC's approach to good industrial relations, Mr Lim noted that the key was fair play and mutual trust.

'When union leaders can deliver what they promise, then they will gain the trust of their members. Employers have to bear this in mind when they negotiate this with union leaders. When employers keep their word, then trust will develop,' he said.

On the role unions play, he said 'the best help that the union can give a worker is to get him a job'.

Thus unions must aim to help members boost their company's competitiveness. How? By making sure they improve their skills, accept flexible wages pegged to business conditions, and increase productivity.

But such logic was not enough, he said. Workers bore the impact of changes and needed to understand what was happening and what needed to be done. Thus, the NTUC believed in regular dialogue with members and building consensus.

'NTUC does not seek gains for workers by confrontation.'
He also made the point that a company ultimately must exist to benefit the community, not its shareholders.

In their feedback, union leaders accused SIA management of bullying unions, using 'divide-and-rule' tactics to gain the upper hand in negotiations, and paying union leaders scant respect.
'Their gestures and tone are humiliating,' they said.

They also complained of many factions in management, a lack of information sharing or appreciation for sacrifices staff had made.
They also attacked double standards by management, favouring their own, such as agreeing to give profit-sharing bonuses for newly-employed management officers and refusing to budge with new non-management workers.

Mr Lim said he did not want to go into 'micro issues' but he did comment on SIA's medical benefits, which did not adopt the Government's co-payment guidelines. He warned that giving full medical benefits was 'unsustainable'.

SIA management said yesterday that it would make its position clear in due course.

Yesterday, SM Lee's office indicated another way forward - a vision statement from another company, Shell, on its industrial relations.

In it, both union and management pledge to do right - by the company and by workers.

[jstars2]

Todayonline, Singapore, 26.02.04

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/15028.asp

The SIA row and the case for trust and tripartism

Clement Mesenas
[email protected]

Not so long ago, virtually every holidaymaker would say that Singapore Airlines was their carrier of choice. And those who had yet to experience being pampered by an ever-affable Singapore Girl would say they hoped to travel Singapore Airlines, the next time they booked a flight. Such was the reputation of Singapore Airlines, whose acronym SIA was synonymous with Success in the Air.
.
But in the last few years, the famous smile of the Singapore Girl began to look frayed at the edges, or so it appeared to regular passengers. Like the Mona Lisa, did she have a secret that we did not know of? Could it be that the Singapore Girl was not much different from the rest of us lesser mortals – overworked, underpaid souls running full tilt just to keep up with the rest. The only difference, perhaps, was she had to keep smiling, we did not.
.
Still, the row that erupted between the airline and its pilots was something that surprised many. Yet, it was not something that happened out of the blue but had been simmering for years. Industry insiders confirm what many of us are beginning to suspect — that SIA was a company that was very good at burnishing its public image.
.
The airline made lots of money, like so many other companies in Singapore, "growing on the back of a sound and robust economy" as Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew put it. But sadly, like some big companies, behind the gloss, the airline did not quite come up to the mark when managing relations with its workers.
.
The twin blows of the Sept 11 attacks and Sars took their toll of many companies. SIA was no exception. It faced the decline in business by cutting costs along with other measures but little did it expect the groundswell of anger and resistance from its pilots.
.
The relationship between Alpa-S, the pilots association, and the airline had never been smooth, with disputes going back all of 25 years. Pilots believe, quite rightly, that they took the airline to the pinnacle of success and are hence worth every cent that they are paid.
.
Perhaps, that could be the reason why Alpa-S did not see the need for affiliation with the National Trades Union Congress as did the airline's other four unions. Alpa-S perhaps believed it did not need the powerful bargaining power of the NTUC.
.
It erred. The principle of tripartite cooperation — long established in Singapore and responsible for the smooth working relationship between workers, management and the Government — has been the cornerstone on which the economic miracle of Singapore was established.
.
With tripartism, the days of militant confrontation between union and company have long become a thing of the turbulent past. SM Lee, himself a union adviser in pre-NTUC days, was alarmed at the way Alpa-S was prepared to go down that road of militant confrontation with perhaps tragic, counterproductive consequences.
.
He was not prepared to allow Alpa-S to play the game of brinkmanship that characterised union-management relations of the past. Not when it might bring down SIA and diminish Changi International Airport's money-spinning hub status.
.
His intervention will hopefully cauterise the festering boil of dismal relations between SIA and Alpa-S. That hope is underscored with new management officials at the helm of SIA and newly elected, more amenable Alpa-S leaders.
.
The entry of NTUC labour chief Lim Boon Heng into the fracas could prove to be the turning point. He has revealed that three of the four NTUC-affiliated SIA unions had also complained of low staff morale, a problem that had worsened in recent years.
.
According to the unions, SIA was no longer the company where a family spirit prevailed. The atmosphere today was one ruled by "accountability" and a culture of fear. At any time, one feared one could lose one's job and who wants that to happen these days, when there are mounting bills to be paid every month and when tens of thousands are out on the streets looking for work.
.
But many staff have decided to quit, say union chiefs. They will do so after collecting the bonus payment.
.
In their feedback, union leaders accused SIA management of, among other things, using bullying, divide-and-rule tactics in its dealings with them and practising double standards.
.
SM Lee has said he does not consider either the management or the pilots blameless but they would have to break with the past and move forward.
.
So, how will the long-drawn drama play itself out?
.
Mr Lim has spelt out the NTUC's approach to good industrial relations: Fair play and mutual trust.
.
While pointing out that the NTUC does not seek gains for workers by confrontation, Mr Lim stressed that a company ultimately must exist to benefit the community, not its shareholders.
.
Most workers will rejoice in this rather egalitarian outlook but whether company bosses will take kindly to this philosophy is left to be seen.
.
The trick is to reach a consensus and in this the NTUC has over the years shown that it can negotiate with the toughest and most recalcitrant of bosses.
.
SIA has said it would make its position clear in due course. With all the dirty linen being hung out to dry on SIA's less than exemplary dealings with its unions, if what has been said is really true, one would expect that red-faced company officials of Singapore's premier company will not be wasting any more time to set things right.
.
Better relations should translate into all employees making a concerted effort to take on the challenges faced by the industry.
.
Enough said. What's crucial now is for both sides to move on and find a way to talk to each other as equal partners. Only then can trust develop.

[Lithgow]

Chrome Dome, the Govt is watching you closely... (the message is also - the rest of you greedy troublesome types - let this be a warning...)

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,237196,00.html?

FEB 27, 2004

Capt Goh was 'The instigator'

Captain Ryan Goh was singled out by Senior Minister Lee as the 'instigator' of last November's move to oust the Alpa-S leadership. Did other pilots know that the Malaysian citizen had also made plans to move to Perth? Capt Goh later defended his actions.

The statement Mr Lee released to the media:

Capt Ryan Goh Yew Hock was a member of the previous Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association Singapore (Alpa-S) under the leadership of Capt Dilip Padbidri.

Between June and November last year, Capt Goh secretly agitated against his own Executive Council and president Dilip Padbidri, with a view to ousting him from office.

Capt Goh crafted a petition but did not sign it himself.

He worked behind the scenes through several proxies to gather signatures for his petition while he hid his hand.

He was aware that what he was doing was unethical since he was then a member of the Alpa-S Executive Council that had negotiated and agreed to the Singapore Airlines (SIA) management's package of wage cuts and economy measures.

Before he initiated these developments, Capt Ryan Goh had applied and secured permanent residence from Australia in November 2002. He re-located his wife and children to settle down in Australia last year.

He sold his Housing Board four-room flat in Toa Payoh Block 179 for $320,000 in October last year and at the same time, bought a house in Ballajura, Perth.

When arranging to ship his Mercedes-Benz to Perth, he told an official in IE Singapore in December 2002 that he would move because 'the grass had stopped growing' in Singapore.

Capt Goh and his family have enjoyed the benefits of Singapore permanent residency since 1981.

He used his Singapore permanent residency status to obtain the benefits of job, HDB housing and union Exco membership. In Alpa-S, he assumed the post of Industrial Secretary from 1998 to 2000, vice-president (Industrial) from 2000 to 2001, and Exco member from June last year.

That did not restrain him from surreptitiously initiating actions that would undermine industrial peace in SIA and also put Singapore's economic interests at risk.

Capt Goh must know that his actions could weaken the position of SIA and Singapore.

When he initiated these actions, he had already become an Australian PR in 2002 and bought a home in Perth last year. He had moved his two sons from schools in Singapore to schools in Perth.

He kept secret these preparations for himself and his family, while holding himself out as a brave Alpa-S unionist who is protecting the interests of his fellow pilots.


Capt Goh did not dispute the statement, saying it was factual, but he denied being the instigator:

'I don't think I've been as bad as I've been made out to be...It says here that I had a hand in the ousting of the council. That is true. But I'm not the instigator.

In my opinion at the time, the council was losing, the leaders were losing the support of the body. And as a company we would be in serious trouble if the leadership of the association could not be trusted by the body.

In future, the management will come to the union and say: 'You need to do this for us.' How is the leadership going to sell it to the general membership when members do not trust the leadership?

Now that is the perception. I'm not here to cast a slur on individuals but that is the only way we do it. And in order not to make it personal... the whole idea was to make it faceless. And I'm sure the individuals concerned were well aware the petition was being called for them to step down.

As for the other part about the selling of the properties and moving to Australia, well, I had purchased a place in Toa Payoh so that my daughter could get into CHIJ as it was within the 1km radius.

Now that reason no longer remains, so I sold it. But I still have another house in Katong. So that does not prove that I was moving away to Australia.

(Capt Goh had said earlier that he had sent his son to Perth because his son could not cope with Chinese lessons at school here).

And as for selling the car, it's just simple arithmetic, because the certificate of entitlement (COE) for my car was quite high and I could get a good price for the car. And after I scrapped it, I shipped it to Australia and it would still carry about $8,000. If I were to purchase the same car in Australia, it would cost me about $30,000. So it's just pure arithmetic.

Singapore is welcoming foreign talent and I may be a foreigner but I call this place home.'

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 27.02.04

SM LEE MEETS SIA PILOTS

Govt will ensure SIA acts 'in good faith'

No sacred cows on past agreements; both company and union must work towards NWC recommendations

By Rebecca Lee

AS THE major shareholder of Singapore Airlines (SIA), the Government will make sure the airline does a revamp of its human resource practices and also make a fresh start with the pilots.

Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew added that he was confident that with a new 'gentler' chief executive officer in place, industrial relations at the national carrier will change for the better.

Fourteen SIA pilots who met SM Lee at the Istana yesterday pledged to start things on a clean slate and work at rebuilding trust with the airline's management.

However, they also asked for assurances that SIA management too will work towards change, because 'it takes two hands to clap', as Air Line Pilots Association Singapore (Alpa-S) president Mok Hin Choon put it.

Giving his backing yesterday, SM Lee said: 'I can assure you that the Government will make sure that SIA acts in good faith.

'We are the majority owners, we will ensure that they act in the interest of the company,' he said, adding this will require cooperation, trust and confidence in the leaders of the company.

He added that particularly with a new CEO, Mr Chew Choon Seng, in place, the airline can make a fresh start.

'I believe there is a chance with Chew Choon Seng, because he is a gentle sort of person, I have dealt with him. He's not hard... he's open, he's also starting on a new slate,' SM Lee said.

Highlighting one of the areas of HR management which needs to be relooked, he said each head of department at the company also needed to manage HR, instead of simply relying on the company's HR department.

SM Lee also commented on the 'mistake' SIA made in the way it let go of 26 pilots last year. It had retrenched them and paid out benefits when in effect they should have been dismissed for not performing up to mark.

'I'd tell them, 'You're not up to mark, you go',' he said.

Blaming the mishandling of the matter on the weakness of the management, Mr Lee also made the point that it was not the job of unions to protect 'laggards'.

'The job of union leaders is not to protect the malingerers,' he said.

He also stressed that going forward, there would be 'no sacred cows' in terms of past agreements and positions taken by either side.

'The first premise is that there are no sacred cows. All cows can be slaughtered.'

As the airline industry wrestles with the wrenching changes of the past few years - the advent of new long-haul aircraft and low-cost carriers, and consolidation in the business - SIA must be nimble and flexible to stay on top.

It will thus have to follow the recommendations made by the National Wages Council (NWC), such as in changing its medical benefits scheme and in the capping of retrenchment benefits.

'Therefore, whether it's a cap on retrenchment or the maximum-minimum wage, you have to follow NWC recommendations because there are reasons for it and valid reasons,' said Mr Lee.

For example, the move away from the seniority-based wage system by reducing the maximum-minimum salary range was to prevent a situation where senior workers were the ones who were retrenched simply because they were more costly. The aim was to keep people employable longer.

Capt Mok said the pilots were in favour of a more flexible wage system as their salary structure was already very variable.

However, a more thorny issue may prove to be the move to change the company's medical benefits to a co-payment scheme.

Noting that he did not want to see a situation where pilots came to work in ill health, Capt Mok said that medical benefits were 'something that is quite essential for pilots'.

However, acknowledging that SIA has been 'very generous' in terms of these benefits, he said: 'I hear the need for a change and we will have to look at the details.'

Another change that may be in the works: Limiting the backdating period of a collective agreement (CA) to three months.
Currently, the established industrial relations practice allows CAs to be backdated to the date they expire. This sometimes leads to drawn-out negotiations as both sides stall for time.

Summing up the need for SIA to follow the NWC guidelines - drawn up by the Government, employers and unions - SM Lee said: 'Everything we do is to balance the interest of our citizens and advance the lot as much as we can, that's the purpose.'

[Omark44]

SM Lee K.Y. said:

"SM Lee also commented on the 'mistake' SIA made in the way it let go of 26 pilots last year. It had retrenched them and paid out benefits when in effect they should have been dismissed for not performing up to mark.

'I'd tell them, 'You're not up to mark, you go',' he said"

and thereby demonstrated that he still hasn't got a bloody clue about airlines generally and SIA in particular.:mad:

[CDRW]

Also interesting that none of the Captains that where fired where locals. No laggards in the local workforce lah.

Very nice to see that both sides in the dispute have agreed to do it the SM's way.

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 28.02.04

SM MEETS PILOTS: THE MEETING

Overseas-based pilots are 'a thorn in our flesh'

On Thursday, after a meeting with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore Airlines pilots told the media they wanted to cooperate with management and move on. REBECCA LEE gives more details on the various issues raised at the two-hour meeting attended by 14 pilots.

SINGAPORE Airlines' overseas-based pilots are a 'thorn in the flesh' to union members, bemoaned the pilots' association during its meeting with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew on Thursday.

Singapore-based pilots were unhappy with them not because of their bigger pay packets, but because they were costing the company too much money, which could be easily saved by finding other ways of hiring pilots.

Members of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) who met SM Lee at the Istana on Thursday also lamented the unfair way routes were distributed.

The overseas-based pilots could 'cherry-pick' the routes they flew and took the lucrative long-haul routes, leaving their Singapore-based counterparts with 'scraps'.

Pilots get bigger allowances on longer routes, which are also considered more prestigious.

The unhappiness over overseas-based pilots was raised when SM Lee asked the 14 pilots of Alpa-S to tell him their grievances.
Alpa-S president Mok Hin Choon said they could not see the logic in SIA continuing to employ overseas-based pilots, who now cost the airline 15 to 20 per cent more than locally-based ones.

This was due to currency conversion and the various allowances they get, he said, based on the calculations the union had made.
SIA started a wholly-owned subsidiary in Mauritius in 1997 when it expanded rapidly and needed to fill its cockpits faster than it could train its pilots.

It recruited about 120 pilots overseas through this company and based them in London, Los Angeles, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, instead of here.

These pilots are not represented by Alpa-S, which counts 1,600 of SIA's 1,800 pilots - who hail from 40 countries - as its members.

Captain Mok said the strengthening of certain foreign currencies, such as the pound, over the past few years meant that the overseas-based pilots cost the airline more now.

The pilots produced a chart to show that hiring a foreign pilot and basing him in Singapore is cheaper than relying on the scheme.

Capt Mok also highlighted the practical difficulties of having such overseas-based pilots.

For example, sometimes a Singapore-based pilot has to take a flight up to London to 'position' himself there so that he can pilot an aircraft back to Singapore, as the overseas-based pilot will have returned home to London where he is based.

'At one point in time, it really frustrated us more because they were cherry-picking the flights,' Capt Mok added.

For instance, these pilots would pick the flights from Singapore to London or Singapore to Frankfurt, which were popular routes.
'And they would leave us with all the scraps,' he said.

While SM Lee listened to their complaints, he also expressed surprise that the management could have acted in a way that did not benefit the company in terms of cost-savings.

'Surely they can't be that daft,' he said.

The discussion also turned to the rostering of pilots which appeared to cause much grief among those present.

Who was in charge, SM Lee demanded to know, his voicing rising a little.

Flight operations division, came the reply.

'If all this is true, then the flight operations must be blind or stupid!' said SM Lee.

Asked if the airline could easily sack these pilots, the Alpa-S members said there could be issues with European Union regulations.

SM Lee then asked the pilots for a list of their cost comparisons so he could study them.

He pointed out to them that if the overseas-based pilots now cost more than when the scheme started because of currency fluctuations, the company might not have foreseen the foreign exchange risks.

This was something every business had to deal with, he said.

The pilots went on to tell him that the overseas-based pilots made up just one instance in which they had tried to talk with the management and offer better ideas on how to save money.

But often management would not be interested in listening to them, complained one.

Unhappiness regarding the overseas-based pilots first surfaced publicly last May when the airline announced wage cuts and unpaid leave to stem the financial bleeding from the Sars outbreak.

SIA defended the scheme. It said the overseas-based pilots saved the company about $100,000 a year per pilot, as it did not have to pay housing and other allowances to base them here.

Disagreeing with its decision to apply the wage cuts across the board then, the Singapore-based pilots wanted the overseas-based pilots to be laid off first, given the excess supply of pilots at that time.

They had said that the overseas-based pilots were not employees of SIA, but merely seconded to the company.

However, SIA maintained at that time that it had to be even-handed or it would not be able to recruit foreign pilots when times were good again.

[Lee]

Quote:>>>SM Lee K.Y. said:

"SM Lee also commented on the 'mistake' SIA made in the way it let go of 26 pilots last year. It had retrenched them and paid out benefits when in effect they should have been dismissed for not performing up to mark.

'I'd tell them, 'You're not up to mark, you go',' he said"<<<


That shows the SM is way way past his time. He thinks he's the emperor! He's never heard of pilot power!

SM Lee, I think, you are not up to mark, so you better go first....

[Kaptin M]

Weren't these guys "let go" because they were either (a) close to retirement age, and/or (b) at end of contract? That was my understanding.
Nothing to do with "performance", which is delegated through Crew Scheduling in any case.

The Senile Minister seems to now - almost daily - confirm his inability to function as normal, fully aware citizen.
He was good in his day, and (with the help of the Brits) raised a tiny island state to some degree of importance in the S.E. Asia region.
The world has moved forward, and so have the citizens of Singapore, who no longer need an iron fist to suppress them.

The children have grown up to mature adulthood, SM.
Stop treating them like children.
You are only making yourself look like a foolish old goat.

As for the expat pilots based overseas - it's SQ's trainset. Let the owners decide what they think is best!

[AFT CG]

Kaptain M: They were neither at the end of their contracts nor near to retirment. Your understanding is bad, really bad, please stay away from the forums if you don't know the facts.

[Jim Morehead]

What is the bottom line to all of the non-Singapore based pilots and their future? If there are 120 based outsideSingagpore, the management apparently wants them. If the management forced them to come to SIN rather than the outstations, does SQ management think they would quit or that their attitudes would go bad?

I see the union point of view. Why can't or anre't the out of SIN pilots inside the Union? It would seem like the Union would want to have them as friends and not enemies.

Are the number and volume of non-SIN pilots stable and reducing or what?

It is just not clear to me why this issue is not just resolved. I presume that the non-SIN guys get less allowances by being based outside of Singapore. Is that the asnwer?

[jstars2]

Sunday Times, Singapore, 29.02.04

SM's meeting with pilots: What happened at the Istana

By Zuraidah Ibrahim

'You play straight with me, I play straight with you. You play ducks and drakes with me, I play ducks and drakes with you.' -- SM Lee Kuan Yew

Repeat of all that has been reported by Rebecca Lee in the Straits Times during the past week………………………..

Finishing with ……. They told him 38 pilots had left in recent months. Where were they going, he wanted to know.

There will be changes, he said.

'I am assuring you that the Government will make sure that SIA acts in good faith,' he said.

Mr Lee went on to answer one of the main questions on the minds of Singaporeans: Why did the Government need to intervene in an internal company matter? 'We are the majority owners and we will ensure that they act in the interest of the country, and the interest of the country requires cooperation, trust and confidence from the unions.'

Why did it have to be the Senior Minister?

As he explained it, he had dealt with the airline from the beginning, it was fair he saw to it that the restive relationship between the pilots in the early years still continuing today, end.

But he was also realistic enough to concede this much: The residual feelings of suspicion would still be there.

Capt Mok too made this plain enough when he told the media later Alpa-S was not ready to embrace NTUC.

But yes, he and the others pledged to work on a clean slate, work in partnership with management and give things a go. They would use the negotiations for the new collective agreement as a time for trust-building.

By the end of it, it felt as if the fog of suspicion that had settled between Government and Alpa-S these past months had a good chance of lifting.

As the press walked in at the tail end of the meeting and posed questions, Captain Mok insisted on looking forward, vowing to make a clean start.

Details of difficulties with management? No, he wasn't keen on hitting the headlines with that.

Details of demands? No, not keen either.

Management should thank him for closing the books thus.

The meeting ended with handshakes all around, even with the solemn-looking Capt Goh.

If there was any sense of deja vu in the room, Captain Freddie Koh must have felt it most.

He was among a posse of union pilots Mr Lee summoned to the Istana in 1980 for daring to fan a go-slow action to vent their disgruntlement over pay and work conditions.

He told them then in unvarnished language: 'I do not want to do you in but I will not let anyone do Singapore in.'

When trouble with Alpa-S began, Mr Lee said he wanted to clean up on the restiveness that was resurfacing. 'This is a job that has to be finished and I'll finish it.'

Thursday afternoon moved towards that conclusion.

Looking back, throughout it all, the Senior Minister in effect employed the familiar strategy of good cop, bad cop. Except that he played both roles.

Now that he and the Government have said their piece and the pilots have made peace, SIA needs to break its deafening silence. Soon.

[Insider107]

One of the prevailing impressions generated by the latest flurry of activity in the ongoing saga of the “Senior Minister and the Pilots” (prop. R. Lee – no relation) has been that of the Senior Minister’s infallibility when forecasting the future and the corollary absolute correctness of any policy formulated, following his deliberations. Now, whilst most of us, on the odd occasion, enjoy the conviction of our own correctness and would like to proceed along the appropriate (to us) lines, we are usually confronted by the checks and balances that life throws in the path of mortals and we find that subsequent events enforce reflection and usually fortuitous modification to our perceptions, proposals and actions.

Not so, however, for the Senior Minister, who solely runs the show in Singapore (despite the sometimes tiresome ritual of having a Prime Minister and a Cabinet) and who, incidentally, was a little disingenuous in his explanation, as reported by R. Lee, that he had interceded in the Pilots’ dispute with SIA as the Government was the major shareholder of the airline (which it is) – his real motive, of course, was to personally head off any form of industrial action by Alpa-S (and he couldn’t trust anyone else to do the job properly) which would have set a precedent and an encouragement for other Singapore “unions” and hence would have struck at the very heart of the monolithic regime he has created and is intent on passing intact to his son in the next couple of months.

The Senior Minister’s view of the future and in particular that of the global air transport industry, must, hence, in the absence of any effective check or balance provided by anyone in Singapore, be viewed on these pages in the context of earlier far reaching and expensive mistakes made by the Senior Minister, not as criticism of, or slight to him, but as a reminder that he is also of mortal flesh and so subject to the errors of perception and judgment that plague the rest of us. For in so doing, we realize that despite his many triumphs and the extraordinary “Singapore Miracle” of which he is the architect, he has been wrong and fallible in a number of key decisions he has made in the past – one of which as a notable example was his supposedly far seeing, eugenically motivated “Stop at Two” policy for population control, now summarily dumped and replaced by a strident and desperate contemporary drive to get Singaporeans breeding to fill the (government created) demographic black hole that looms in the foreseeable future.

The foregoing is meant to suggest that the Senior Minister’s prognosis for the air transport industry, as reported by an ever-obliging R. Lee and published by a slavish Straits Times is not necessarily the future of that industry and that SIA will not necessarily drown in a sea of low cost airlines, either regionally or globally – if so why not just cancel the A380 and other orders and put the capital into the likes of “Tiger” airlines? Again there is a sense of disingenuity apparent when he fails to mention the vast (presumably private) capital required for these LCA undertakings and the corollary enabling political frameworks in the form of open sky agreements (which, he airily informs us, will be sweeping the globe “shortly”) that are required to bring these concepts to fruition, stability and long term survival in a highly competitive commercial environment. Meanwhile, to meet this perceived gargantuan threat, costs at SIA must be slashed and salaries made more “variable” – that is risk traditionally shouldered by shareholders must be removed and placed firmly with the employees! – who said Singaporeans were not innovative?.

As pilots will have recently noticed, The Senior Minister has not been accurately advised in detail, of the facts of the Alpa-S matter in hand. How can we therefore assume that he has been correctly and accurately advised on other, wider, strategic matters and on which he is making decisions and implementing policy, perhaps in error?

Similarly, in respect of cost cutting, can the Senior Minister have been advised that his former CEO of SIA has been responsible for the largest (multi billion dollar) hemorrhage in the airline’s history, with the ill fated and abortive forays into Air New Zealand and Ansett Airlines (which all the Oz pilots could have told him to avoid like the plague) but that his reward for such precipitate and arrogant action was the cap removal (by himself and cronies) of annual directors’ bonus payments and then retirement to a well paid board sinecure in DBS Bank. Needless to say these gigantic (covered up) losses make any perception of “fat” in the employee payroll pail into nigh on invisibility.

To the future, however, and the Senior Minister’s decision on how SIA employees will be treated and paid (for it is he and he alone, who will make any decision). I feel certain that readers will have sniffed the international air, just as most assuredly the Senior Minister has and the scent that I’m getting indicates just the hint of a turn away from the corporatist arrogance and excess of the past decade and a consideration of the merits of NTUC chief, Lim Boon Heng’s words that, “a company ultimately must exist to benefit the community, not its shareholders”. Whilst I wouldn’t suggest that the Senior Minister subscribes to this sentiment, I most certainly would subscribe to the idea that he is very closely watching the lead-up to the November 2004 US Presidential election and will have noted that Democratic candidate Kerry has scored the first of what could be many below water-line hits on the Republican Party, on the very issue of corporate treatment of employees. This item could even surpass the economy and the handling of Iraq as a voting issue and ultimately see a President Kerry in the White House. Subsequent speedy delivery of pre-election promises to redress the balance of power between capital and labor (a concept currently finding surprising bi-partisan support throughout political USA) would be vital to Administration credibility in the “first 100 days”.

Would Singapore feel it wise to be out of step with a both a new Democratic Administration and a trend which if not currently global is similarly entering the collective consciousness of the Economic Union?

Time will show if the Senior Minister judges correctly on this one.

[Lee]

Insider107

Quote:>>>Time will show if the Senior Minister judges correctly on this one.<<<

The ex-PM lee kuan yew, now SM lee has never been corrrect, he has made screw ups after screw ups, to give you a few examples:

1) the stop-at two policy
2) graduate-mother scheme
3) Social Development Unit, a matchmaking agency to get graduates to marry
4) the Shuzou project

From Nos 1-3, he has failed to correct the declining birth rates among Singaporeans, in fact he couldn't even convince his daughter to get married and reproduce! (or even to reproduce some bastards by not getting married).

No.4 is his biggest boo-boo!

The SM lee is way way past his time. He must get lost.

[422]

Boo hoo,



Lucky this time it was a verbal reprimand..

next time it will be a "warm" kick in the butt for every

dumb-ass who is, brave enough to GROW a BRAIN.

TOW THE LINE OR BUZZ OFF GUYS...

this RICE_BOWL is too salty for some.

:ok:

[jstars2]

Todayonline, Singapore, 02.03.04

SIA offers its side of the story

But it remains silent on pilots' biggest bugbear

Derrick A Paulo
[email protected]

Singapore Airlines yesterday finally broke its silence on its troubled labour-management relations that have, since last November, been the subject of much public scrutiny.
.
In what is likely to be its only public statement on the matter, SIA offered its response to some of the issues raised by the Airline Pilots Association (Singapore) (Alpa-S) and feedback from three of its other unions, all of which belong to the National Trades Union Congress.
.
The airline stood firm on old issues such as its stand on the Sars-related pay cuts, while on more recent issues such as poor internal communications, it said it would make some changes.
.
But on the pilots' biggest bugbear — the overseas-based pilots scheme, which Alpa-S said was inefficient and gave the plum routes to their overseas counterparts while leaving the scraps for them — the SIA management remained silent.
.
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in his meeting with the pilots' union last week, promised to look into this bugbear.
.
"If all this is true, then the flight operations must be blind or stupid! ... I want an explanation from them because I cannot believe this," he was reported to have said.
.
That explanation was not included in SIA's 12-page media release yesterday. It said it would serve no useful purpose to address each point in detail as it had already done so with the unions and all parties had agreed to move on.
.
SIA met with Alpa-S on Feb 17 and with all its five unions two days later.
.
What it did explain was that, as a global company, it could not furlough foreign-based pilots first, as Alpa-S had requested when Sars struck, as it would be unfair to the overseas-based pilots, who had accepted the same pay cuts as locally-based pilots had.
.
The company also disputed the union's claim that senior executives and directors were given preference on business class over fee-paying passengers.
.
It denied that the number of managers and executives had "ballooned" in recent years, citing a study done by a consultancy firm that indicated there was a lack of administrative support for the pilots.
.
The airline was more conciliatory in its response to feedback from other SIA unions, such as its "double standards" in acting quickly only when it suited management. It conceded that it needed to react to the weaker Singapore dollar and promised to review the meal allowances paid to crew while overseas.
.
On the charge that middle managers pass the buck to the top, SIA admitted that "not all middle managers are best communicators" and promised to address this problem and to be "more sensitive to the needs of subordinate staff".
.
In the works will be more information sharing on the company's financial performance, seminars, retreats, social get-togethers as the carrier acts to boost low morale and improve on communication channels.
.
But the airline said there could be no compromise on safety. And it argued that it should be able to offer higher starting salaries than stated in the collective agreements in order to attract the best talent.
.
Included in its media release was chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng's open letter to staff in which he said he was "perturbed" by the "insinuation" by Alpa-S that the SIA management was trying to enrich itself at the expense of the staff when it lifted the cap on stock options at the height of the Sars outbreak.
.
In practice, nobody had been awarded more than the previous cap, he said. The number of options awarded in July last year also dropped to seven million from 7.6 million in 2002.
.
Reminding staff that senior management had taken pay cuts of 16.5 per cent to 20 per cent, Mr Chew said the company had an "excellent chance" to hit its $600 million profit target by the end of this month.
.
"This means that all our staff will receive a lump-sum bonus equal not just to the wages that they have sacrificed, but 15 per cent more," he said.

[422]

There is no was to tell an emperor he has no clothes.

even if there is an ICEBERG ahead,

Nice try boys.. no avail

:ok:

[Lee]

Here's more about the old man's Lee-dership...

Pilots told SM about ex-military chiefs
By Rebecca Lee

THE parachuting in of top military men to the top echelons of Singapore Airlines (SIA) caused unhappiness among the airline's pilots.


Click here for more information
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's dialogue with Alpa-S officials on Feb 26 at the Istana

They raised this issue when they met Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Istana last week, according to transcripts of the meeting released to The Straits Times.

But Mr Lee pointed out that the military men had passed rigorous selections and were of high calibre, even if they might have to work on their interpersonal skills.

At his Istana meeting with the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) last Thursday, the pilots aired their grievances with management.

Top of their list was SIA's employment of overseas-based pilots, which they said cost the airline more and was unfair to them.

The immediate past president of Alpa-S, Captain Dilip Padbidri, also said he believed that the head of SIA's flight operations division should come from within their own ranks to ensure that the person empathised with pilots and would be able to nip problems early, he said.

Two former Air Force chiefs in SIA are senior executive vice-president (technical and human resources) Bey Soo Khiang, who joined the airline in 2000, and senior vice-president for flight operations Raymund Ng, who joined in July 2001.

The pilots did not mention any names to Mr Lee.

But noting that having military men join SIA was 'part of our scheme of things', Mr Lee said: 'They finish off at the army, navy, air force. There's a career path. There's high turnover. At the age of 45, they have to move on because we have a young officer corps that has to move up. So, to move up, it's up and out.'

He added it was the same in the civil service, where every permanent secretary stayed for just five years to ensure renewal.

He also reminded the pilots that the selection process for the head of the air force was a highly rigorous one.

'Out of a batch of 300, 400 people trained to be fighter pilots, he cannot only be a good fighter pilot, he also has got the brains to organise and decide on many things besides just flying an aircraft.

'Don't misjudge people,' he said, adding the person at flight operations should be given another 2 1/2 years - as much time as he has now been in the job - to prove himself.

'If he doesn't make it, he'll be out, but I'm quite sure, he's got brains, he'll make it.

'Whether he'll be able to change his interpersonal style between a uniformed organisation which is hierarchical to a civilian organisation where the hierarchy counts for less and you're not ordering down, that's another problem which he will have to find an answer to,' he said.

The pilots had also blamed the flight operations division for the rostering problems that arose because of the overseas-based pilots scheme.

Mr Lee said he wanted the pilots to make 'a fresh start' with management even as the Government ensured it improved its human resource practices and communication with staff.

The pilots pledged to rebuild trust with management. SIA has taken steps to mend fences and improve internal communication.

[southernmtn]

Sunday March 7, 12:17 AM
ICA serves notice to Ryan Goh on Entry and Re-Entry Permits
- from Channel News Asia, Singapore

SINGAPORE : The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has served notice to cancel the Entry and Re-Entry Permits to Mr Ryan Goh, an SIA pilot.
Captain Goh, a Malaysian, is also a permanent resident in Singapore and Australia.

He will no longer be PR here once his Entry and Re-Entry Permits are cancelled.

Mr Goh may within the next 7 days write to the Controller of Immigration against such action.

An ICA statement said it acted after the Home Affairs Minister decided that Mr Goh was an undesirable immigrant.

He was recently singled out for his role in instigating the sacking of the previous pilots' union executive council during a recent dialogue with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. - CNA

[jstars2]

Sunday Times, Singapore, 07.03.04

Controversial pilot will lose PR status
The ICA has informed Capt Ryan Goh, fingered as the instigator in the Alpa-S ouster, of its intention; he will appeal
By Rebecca Lee

CAPTAIN Ryan Goh Yew Hock, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot singled out as the instigator behind last year's ouster of the pilot union's executive committee, has been served notice that his Singapore permanent residency (PR) is to be revoked.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) confirmed last night that it informed Capt Goh on Friday - when he returned from a flight - of its intention to cancel his entry and re-entry permits, which are necessary for PRs here.

'Mr Goh will no longer be a permanent resident of Singapore once his Entry Permit and Re-Entry Permits are cancelled,' the ICA said in a statement in response to queries from The Sunday Times.
'Mr Goh was informed that he may, within the next seven days, make written representation to the Controller of Immigration against such action.'

The 43-year-old Malaysian citizen, who has been a Singapore PR since 1981, said last night that the decision was 'disappointing'.
'I intend to appeal and I hope the authorities will look at my appeal favourably.

'This is after all my home. I have been here for 26 years,' was all he wanted to say when asked about the ICA statement.

The ICA said it acted against him after the Home Affairs Minister 'decided that Mr Goh was an undesirable immigrant' as defined by Section 8(3)(k) of the Immigration Act.
Section 8(3) of the Act defines persons who are considered prohibited immigrants and therefore barred from Singapore. This includes 'an undesirable immigrant' as defined in Section 8(3)(k) which reads:

'Any person who, in consequence of information received from any source or from any government through official or diplomatic channels, is considered by the Minister to be an undesirable immigrant.'

The ICA added that the Controller of Immigration will decide whether to cancel the entry and re-entry permits issued to Capt Goh 'and to declare his presence in Singapore unlawful after considering his written representation, if any'.

Capt Goh was singled out by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew at an Istana meeting with pilots on Feb 26 for 'instigating' a leadership ouster in the Air Line Pilots Association Singapore (Alpa-S) last November.

At the meeting, he was accused of working behind the scenes, crafting a petition to oust the council, but not signing it himself.
It was revealed that prior to his moves against the union leadership, he had, in November 2002, accepted Australian PR. He bought a house in Perth, moved his wife and children and shipped his car there, and had sold his flat in Toa Payoh.

The upshot was that Capt Goh had kept secret his plans to widen his options while he moved behind the scenes to undermine industrial peace in SIA, which would also affect the interests of Singapore.

Mr Lee made the point at that meeting that if Singapore 'goes down, it is not just SIA that goes down, but you go down too'. But it was a different for PRs as they could opt out.

When The Sunday Times first contacted Capt Goh at his other property here - an apartment in Katong - a visibly troubled Capt Goh, clad in a red singlet and chequered shorts, refused to confirm that he had received the notice.

He spoke at length about his role in the ouster, defended his actions and pledged to give his side of the story to the authorities.

But he was also philosophical, saying: 'If I have to leave Singapore, I will have to leave, but I'll cross the bridge when I come to it. It is not my escape route.'

Pilots contacted yesterday were shocked at the news.

A pilot who has flown for more than 20 years, said the pilots may be looking to help Capt Goh in his appeal, but did not want to go into details, lest this jeopardises his chances.

Contacted last night, Alpa-S president Mok Hin Choon said: 'I have no comments. I don't think it is fair to add more fuel to speculation.'

[millerscourt]

I suppose the next logical step will be for the SM and PM to sue this errant Captain for libel in the tame Singapore Government controlled courts and bankrupt this individual as they have done in the past to anyone who dares to oppose them ???

Don't expect any worthwhile support from his colleagues because of the "SYSTEM" in Singapore.

Lots of Singaporeans have places in Perth and elsewhere in Australia. Does that make them traitors??

I believe the PM's daughter lives overseas still. What does that make her??

[highcirrus]

I wonder what the European Court of Human Rights or Amnesty International would make of the above Singaporean antics in respect of Captain Goh, who, it appears, will be banished from the Republic within seven days and as a corollary, will forthwith lose his job with SIA.

Is it any wonder that many Singaporeans stealthily transfer their wealth and their children’s tertiary education to Australia, once they have attained PR status in that great nation and are then reasonably safe from the arbitrary depredations of a tin pot dictatorship?

‘Fraid Singapore has a loooong way to go before it joins the “first world”.

[Lee]

The Channel News Asia's version:

Singapore ICA serves notice to cancel SIA pilot's entry, re-entry permits

SINGAPORE : The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has served notice to cancel the Entry and Re-Entry Permits to Mr Ryan Goh, an SIA pilot.
Captain Goh, a Malaysian, is also a permanent resident in Singapore and Australia.

He will no longer be PR here once his Entry and Re-Entry Permits are cancelled.

Mr Goh may within the next 7 days write to the Controller of Immigration against such action.

An ICA statement said it acted after the Home Affairs Minister decided that Mr Goh was an undesirable immigrant.

He was recently singled out for his role in instigating the sacking of the previous pilots' union executive council during a recent dialogue with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. - CNA

The funniest thing about Singapore is that when the Govt or Govt departments cancel or revoke licences, the onus is on the person to make the justification, not the GOVT or Govt department.

Now, Capt Goh has to give in writing in seven days why the ICA should not revoke his PR status.

Madness, I think, or is it Lee-dership?

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 08.03.04

Foreigners welcome to join unions

THE cancellation of controversial Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot Ryan Goh's permanent resident (PR) status does not have anything to do with his role in last year's ouster of the pilot union's executive committee.

Responding to queries in the wake of Saturday's announcement by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), NTUC deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How said yesterday: 'There is no reason for us to link the notification that he got from immigration with anything else.'

Speaking at a community event, Mr Heng, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, added that foreign workers would continue to be welcome in Singapore and are still free to join unions here.

But, although foreigners can join unions, leadership positions in them are another matter.

Only 2 per cent of union leaders here are foreigners. The Manpower Ministry says their numbers are kept down to ensure they do not take over power.

Captain Goh, a 43-year-old Malaysian citizen who is an Australian PR too, was singled out by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew recently for 'instigating' the leadership ouster in the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) last year.

Mr Lee accused him of working behind the scenes and crafting a petition to oust the council, but not signing it himself.

The ICA informed Capt Goh on Friday of its intention to cancel his entry and re-entry permits, which are necessary for PRs here.

The ICA said it was acting against him after the Home Affairs Minister 'decided that Mr Goh was an undesirable immigrant' as defined by Section 8(3)(k) of the Immigration Act.

Capt Goh has said he will appeal the decision.

[highcirrus]

THE cancellation of controversial Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot Ryan Goh's permanent resident (PR) status does not have anything to do with his role in last year's ouster of the pilot union's executive committee……..

.......'There is no reason for us to link the notification that he got from immigration with anything else.'............

…….The ICA said it was acting against him after the Home Affairs Minister 'decided that Mr Goh was an undesirable immigrant' as defined by Section 8(3)(k) of the Immigration Act.

Hmmmmmmm!!?? Ok, so why is Captain Ryan Goh an undesirable immigrant all of a sudden, after 26 years living in Singapore under PR status?

Will the ICA publicly state at appeal, the reasons that lie behind the extraordinary and remarkably timed realization of Captain Goh’s undesirability?

Will reassurance also be given that the ICA’s awakening from its 26 year somnolence is completely coincidental with the very recent public castigation of Captain Goh, by the Senior Minister, for his role in last year's ouster of the pilot union's executive committee?

We think we should be told!

[Gladiator]

The outcome of the appeal is obvious.

When I arrived at Stalag Singapura in 1991 we were told a story about a certain outspoken Malaysian much like our Capt. Ryan Goh.

Legend has it that he pissed off the old man 'Lee Con You' also in union matters. The result was several masked men having dragged him out of his bed in the middle of the night and given him a big scare.

The outspoken Malaysian went from tiger to mouse.

Any old timers want to kill or confirm this legend/ rumour.

Now, Ryan last I saw you was in the hotel crew room in LAX. I was there with my wife visiting an old SQ friend. I just want to say one thing to you.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB MAN.

The good news is, there is better life waiting for you elsewhere.

[411A]

Is anyone really expecting anything else from the old man/government?

Many years ago, had a rather young(ish) B747 local Captain ask me for the address/telex of ALPA in Washington DC.

Supplied same, but then mentioned..."just why would you bother, nothing will change."

Seems it hasn't either.:uhoh:

Some never learn.:hmm:

[422]

Hard to guess what is next for Ryan.

But one things is for sure in this Witch-hunt.

One scape goat will be found and severely punished.

Wrong action in a wrong isla.

Not to sound too presumtious, but all the best to ryan .:ok:


p.s: this the result of kicking the hornets nest, which was
labelled "Dangerous Goods" :uhoh:

[Lee]

highcirrus,

Quote:>>>Hmmmmmmm!!?? Ok, so why is Captain Ryan Goh an undesirable immigrant all of a sudden, after 26 years living in Singapore under PR status?<<<

You don't get it, in the Leepublic of Silly pore, when the immigration dept (or ICA) cancels or revokes the PR status, the
onus is on the person not the Immigration Dept to justify the action.

That's Leedership 101.

[highcirrus]

“The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) confirmed last night (06.03.04) that it informed Capt Goh on Friday (05.03.04) - when he returned from a flight - of its intention to cancel his entry and re-entry permits, which are necessary for PRs here.”

“Mr Goh was informed that he may, within the next seven days, make written representation to the Controller of Immigration against such action.” – R.Lee, Straits Times, 07.03.04.

As tomorrow is Friday, 12 March, 2004 and thus seven days since Captain Goh was first notified of the effective revocation of his PR status in Singapore (and hence the effective revocation of his job with SIA), we should by now have read details of the timing of Captain Goh’s appeal to the ICA and we will certainly be looking forward to reading similar details of its outcome by the redoubtable R. Lee - though no doubt we won’t be too surprised by then!

On another note, please be assured, Lee that I do indeed “get it”, as I think I similarly “get” your allusion to George Orwell’s Room 101, which featured in his seminal novel, “1984”, the plot of which was set in another totalitarian regime.

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 11.03.04

SIA dispute: Why SM stepped in

IT WAS no ordinary labour dispute as it affected hundreds of thousands of jobs in the aviation sector.

There was also 'unfinished business' to settle, harking back to the pilot union's previous run-in with then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1980 when it went on a work-to-rule action.

Both these reasons prompted Senior Minister Lee to step in, and nip in the bud growing problems between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its pilots' union over the past few months, said Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

'SIA is not only a big employer, but it is also an icon of Singapore and the anchor to the whole aviation sector in Singapore,' DPM Lee told the House when he wrapped up the debate on the Budget statement.

'Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake.'

DPM Lee was responding to veteran MP Tan Cheng Bock, who said on Tuesday that people were asking why SM Lee had to intervene in the dispute.

They also wanted to know what it said about the younger ministers' ability to handle such issues, the Ayer Rajah MP told the House.

Yesterday, DPM Lee replied: 'SM did this rather than one of the other ministers, because this was unfinished business left over from 1980 when there were troubles between SIA and the pilots' union which SM handled.'

So two weeks ago, SM Lee met members of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S) to sort out the union's differences with management.

He had stepped in after the pilots ousted the Alpa-S leadership last November, a move that the Government deemed as undermining industrial relations.

'It was therefore critical to nip the bud effectively while maintaining the trust of all parties involved,' said DPM Lee. -- Sue-Ann Chia

[highcirrus]

Interesting to note the words of Insider107, written on 1 March 2004:

“…………… for the Senior Minister, who solely runs the show in Singapore (despite the sometimes tiresome ritual of having a Prime Minister and a Cabinet) and who, incidentally, was a little disingenuous in his explanation, as reported by R. Lee, that he had interceded in the Pilots’ dispute with SIA as the Government was the major shareholder of the airline (which it is) – his real motive, of course, was to personally head off any form of industrial action by Alpa-S (and he couldn’t trust anyone else to do the job properly) which would have set a precedent and an encouragement for other Singapore “unions” and hence would have struck at the very heart of the monolithic regime he has created and is intent on passing intact to his son in the next couple of months.”

Now we note the son’s words giving the alternate reason for his father’s intercession:

'SM did this rather than one of the other ministers, because this was unfinished business left over from 1980 when there were troubles between SIA and the pilots' union which SM handled.’

Oh really? Surely at the time, SM Lee’s threats to incarcerate the pilot union leaders in Changi Gaol, along with their families, made absolutely sure that there was no “unfinished business” remaining, back in 1980?

Similarly:

'It was therefore critical to nip the bud effectively while maintaining the trust of all parties involved,' said DPM Lee.

In light of the recent treatment meted out to Captain Goh, can the regime really claim that trust has been maintained amongst all parties?

And surely my understand is erroneous that some people regard the DPM's words as not being a million miles away from containing cant, hypocrisy and mendacity?

[Lithgow]

"unfinished business"

Perhaps "unfinished business" refers to one Freddie Koh, whom I think was the only one in this round of tea at the Istana to also have been at the last Istana tea party in 1980 for a similar tete-a-tete.

At that time, Freddie was President of SIAPA, the union as it was called then. They organised some disruptions resulting in a bunch of pilots getting sacked. Old Lee waded in to sort things out, then things settled down.

Now this threat of disruption is reappearing, or so it seems to old Lee. Is it possible that old Lee sees Freddie Koh as a remnant of the original brat pack who tried to upstage him, now resurfacing and perceived to be regrouping and organising yet another uprising?

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 13.03.04

Capt Ryan Goh submits appeal against PR decision

Govt receives appeal of SIA pilot who was told his PR would be revoked after he was named as the instigator in Alpa-S ouster

By Rebecca Lee

SINGAPORE Airlines pilot Captain Ryan Goh, who has been served notice that his permanent resident status will be revoked, has appealed against the decision.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) yesterday confirmed that Capt Goh, a Malaysian citizen, has made representations against the Controller of Immigration's intention to revoke his PR status.

On Friday, the ICA told Capt Goh of its intention to cancel his entry and re-entry permits, which are necessary for PRs here.
It was doing so as the Home Affairs Minister decided that Capt Goh was an 'undesirable immigrant' as specified by Section 8(3)(k) of the Immigration Act.

Capt Goh, 43, who has been a Singapore PR since 1981, was singled out by the Government as the 'instigator' behind last year's ouster of the executive committee of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).

The pilot, who declined comment when contacted, was given up till yesterday to say why his PR status should not be revoked.

Separately, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) has decided to allow three foreigners to sit on the executive council of Alpa-S, after its president Mok Hin Choon said he was shorthanded and needed them to help run the show.

It sent letters of approval to Captain George Howard Park and First Officers Srihari Vaidun and Viswanathan Nachiappan, who were elected in December but, according to the Trade Union Act, have to obtain the MOM's written approval to become union leaders.

They are all Singapore PRs.

Capt Park, a Malaysian who has been living here for 30 years, was delighted with the news.
'They don't have any doubts as to the credibility of my stake in Singapore. I'm here to stay for a very, very long time,' he said.

Capt Park, whose wife and daughter are Singaporeans, said he will consider taking up citizenship at a 'conducive time'.

'The letter of approval states very specifically that efforts to take up Singapore citizenship ought to be considered in the long term,' he said.

Similarly, First Officer Srihari Vaidun, an Indian national, said: 'I'm very happy that my application was approved. I hope to contribute to the union in whatever way I can.'

[millerscourt]

Of course what the Senile Minister has done is the equivalent of a "Cathay 49'er" but by withdrawing the PR status of a single Malaysian ,a nationality without which SIA would cease to exist as it is in it's present size he has effectively silenced all opposition within SQ.

This will send a strong signal to any "johnny foreigner" that you do as you are told and keep quiet or else!!

SQ can claim it is nothing to do with them. They could have course sacked Capt Goh but that would have put SQ in the firing line whereas this way SQ get let off the hook!

[Lee]

Quote:>>>Capt Ryan Goh submits appeal against PR decision<<<

It's just a waste of time, a pointless exercise on the part of Capt Goh. The emperor lee has decreed and the ICA must follow the emperor lee's whims and fancies.

Remember Pontius Pilate in the trial of Jesus Christ, when the Chief Priest and the ex-Chief Priest wanted to appeal against what Pilate had written about "Jesus King of the Jews", Pilate answered them: "What i have written, I have written!"

In the leepublic of Silly poors, the lee's written laws and unwritten laws are bloodvine of his empire. The (lee) empire strikes back.

That's leedership 101 for you!

All the best Capt Goh, you are a good man and a very good pilot and commander. God bless you and your family.

[highcirrus]

On another thread, it appears that:

"SIA and Scandinavian Airlines, SAS, through Lagarhus Aviation Consulting, are collaborating in a deal whereby excess pilots from SAS would be given a 4 year contract with SIA at fairly good wages and benefits"

Singapore based Pprune readers will confirm that news of this potential deal, or the proposed USD salary/benefit levels has not yet appeared in the Straits Times. We can all, however, rest assured that space will suddenly become available within the august pages, once the Alpa-S CA negotiations have been concluded (ie Alpa-S has meekly accepted everything that is handed to them, following the time honoured "take it or leave it" "tripartite" formula) and that the usual crowing about Singapore being such an attractive ex-pat venue will then quickly ensue.

Would this be what the Senior Minister meant by "You play straight with me and I'll play straight with you"?

[Lithgow]

Please, sir, my PR should not be revoked because... Shut up! Your PR is now officially revoked!


SIA pilot's PR status revoked, has 7 days to appeal to MHA

20 March 2004 1207 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/76335/1/.html

SINGAPORE : Singapore Airlines pilot Ryan Goh's permanent resident status has been revoked, and his entry and re-entry permits cancelled.

This came after the Controller of Immigration said representations made by the pilot did not adequately show why these should not be cancelled.

But he has seven days to appeal to the Home Affairs Minister against this decision.

The pilot was first informed by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) earlier this month that his entry and re-entry permits would be cancelled.

The move to revoke his permanent resident status came after Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng decided the pilot was an "undesirable immigrant".

He was then given seven days to make his representations to the Controller of Immigration against this decision.

Captain Goh had been singled out by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew as the person who instigated the ouster of the former leadership of the Singapore Airlines Pilots' Union.

If his final appeal to the Home Affairs Minister fails as well, an ICA spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia the pilot will be given some time to settle his affairs in Singapore before he has to leave. - CNA

[Lee]

Quote:>>>Would this be what the Senior Minister meant by "You play straight with me and I'll play straight with you"?<<<

Welcome to the truth about emperor lee, firstly,his words cannot be taken as Gospel truth, secondly, there is nothing straight about him except his eye slits. Period.

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 24.03.04

Lessons to be learnt from SIA falling-out
By Rebecca Lee

THE public airing of the dispute between Singapore Airlines and its pilots may have blown over, with all sides having had their say.

However, one nagging thought remains: Why did the Government have to step in and go into the internal affairs of a commercial entity in the manner it did?

To be sure, the Government made its reasons for intervening clear. As the majority shareholder of SIA with a 57 per cent stake in the national carrier, it had the right to intervene.

Moreover, what was at stake was Singapore's position as an air hub, whose contribution to the country's economy is not to be snubbed. Add to that Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's personal involvement in helping to build up Changi Airport and SIA.

The fear that the worst might happen - unions taking a hardline approach and initiating industrial action - meant the Government had to step in to prevent matters from spiralling out of control.
What if it hadn't intervened?

Perhaps the matter would have been resolved amicably behind closed doors.

Or perhaps industrial relations in SIA would have degenerated into strife and chaos.

However, this is now a moot point. We will never know.
In the end, the intervention, and indeed the entire episode, can be boiled down to a matter of political judgment.

Yet, even if one agrees that the Government was right to nip the problem in the bud, a troubling issue remains: Why could SIA not be trusted to resolve the problem internally?

On this point, perhaps the pilots' union and the Government were not so far apart after all: Neither had 100 per cent faith in SIA's management to resolve its human resource issues.

The Government itself has had to bear part of the cost, because it has had to expend political capital on the problem and leave the impression it was high-handed.

But now, as the episode draws to a close - at least publicly as all sides have agreed to bring it back behind closed doors - what are the lessons to be learnt from SIA's experience?

During the debacle, SIA union leaders spoke bitterly of a change in the culture of their workplace over the last three years or so.

They said the work environment had morphed from being a family-spirited one to a place where a 'culture of fear' reigned, where employees were often threatened with the sack.

Perhaps these complaints ought to be set against the backdrop of the wrenching changes the aviation industry has been through these last few years.

The Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, followed by the war in Iraq and the Sars outbreak last year battered an industry that was already in the midst of a shakeout.

The growing threat from budget airlines, coupled with the external crises, jolted major airlines the world over to go into cost-cutting mode - laying off thousands - to ensure their long-term survival.

Arguably, SIA's management skilfully navigated the airline through the crises and delivered results - on the profit front.
The airline made $631.7 million for the year ended March 31, 2002, at a time when the global aviation industry, littered with the carcasses of some long-established airlines, raked up total losses of US$12 billion (S$20.4 billion) and shed more than 200,000 jobs.

However, one department - the company's relations with its employees - was clearly scarred.

Employees who had to suffer wage cuts felt the company, hitherto highly profitable, had 'cried wolf', as SIA chairman Koh Boon Hwee put it in an inhouse newsletter early last year.

The workers felt they were bearing the brunt of cost-cutting measures in order to enrich shareholders.

Clearly too, a sense of having been shortchanged and a mistrust of management seeped into the same company culture that had made them fearful of losing their jobs.

It didn't help matters that Sars hit when the airline's business looked to be on the mend. This time, not only were wages cut again, but also close to 600 employees were laid off.

The crises served up a reality check that the fat and happy payout days - when SIA employees could get as much as six months' annual bonuses - were over.

The work culture, often described simply as 'the way we do things around here', was also said to have changed.

When SIA laid off employees for the first time in its history, it broke an unspoken compact it had with employees - the sense that it was a family which would go through thick and thin together.

This shift in management culture unsettled workers, hit their morale and ultimately could affect their performance.

SIA's management may be skilled at hedging against fuel price or foreign exchange fluctuations and managing the airline's capacity against passenger demand. But it may have overlooked the manner in which it executed its decisions and the impact it would have on employees.

The business of rebuilding a conducive work culture is complex, made worse by the fact that it is intangible.

But ultimately, for a company whose business is in providing service, where the morale of employees is paramount, this is one area it must fix - fast.

Other similarly large companies trying to remake themselves, beware. When management shifts gears, it must take care to look behind to see if the rest of the team understands where the new destination is.

[Rockhound]

Thanks to Jstars2 for posting this rambling piece by our favourite columnist Rebecca Lee. I couldn't find it in the online version of the Straitened Times.
I'm not sure what exactly she's trying to say but do I detect a hint of sympathy on Ms Lee's part for the much-maligned employees of SIA? That's a turn-up for the books.
Rockhound :confused:

[highcirrus]

Former SIA CEO, Dr Cheong has certainly left something of a legacy. Not only has he been responsible for the multi billion dollar loses incurred during his ill-fated forays into Air New Zealand and Ansett (both of which organizations any reasonably well informed SIA pilot could have warned to stay well away from – but then why bother listening to these half-wits when a fortune can be spent on professional due diligence “experts”?), he has fouled the SIA nest, before flying off to DBS, leaving the biggest HR debacle in the airline’s whole history.

Would he still be judged “Business Man of the Year” by Fortune magazine, as he was, post the ’98 financial crisis, or would a more searching and reflective appraisal now be made of the great man’s overall performance?

[Omark44]

The trouble is, highcirrus , that to now publicise all his shortcomings would be tantamount to admitting that whoever appointed him in the first place got it all wrong, bet you can't guess who appointed him?;)

[HotDog]

Rebecca Lee, brilliant article; I'd like to marry you! Although you specifically discuss SIA affairs, your views are equally valid to many other beancounter driven airlines without the Singapore mentality.

[411A]

Is this Rebecca Lee a local?
If so, suspect that she will find herself assigned to outer Mongolia, or some other equally remote location.
How dare she question SQ management motives?:uhoh:

Or, their performance:E :yuk:

[Rockhound]

High Cirrus,
You can rant on and on ad nauseam about Cheong's performance as CEO but you have to admit, when it comes to the bottom line (profit or loss), SIA has been and continues to be a pretty well-managed company (even if they do do it on the backs of their pilots and other employees). And Cheong's successor, Chew, has had plenty of time to improve labour relations within SIA. This he has signally failed to do (because he can't extricate himself from the long shadow cast by the SM?).
Rockhound

[CDRW]

Come on - we all know that nothing, absolutley nothing, that has any form of national interest is published without the consent of the Lee management team!!

This is simply the "managment" allowing a "balanced" view to be published!

[highcirrus]

Rockhound

Not too sure that my style is one of ad nauseam rant – I certainly don’t feel that I’m consumed by rabid polemic whenever I’m calmly setting my thoughts down. In fact I feel my style is more of amused contempt for the almost daily machinations displayed in Asia’s very own Truman Show. However, I’ll now spend a little more time reviewing my words before posting!

In terms of managing the SIA jugernought, Dr Cheong, or indeed any other appointed cipher merely has to steer the ship, “steady as she goes”, until in receipt of course changes telegraphed down from You-Know-Who on the bridge and, as we all know, disregard all human considerations in running the business which methodology has, to date, been the basis of Standing Orders for many years. This feature, rather than Cheong’s managerial competence, coupled with magnificent finance from owners Temasek Holdings (prop. Lee dynasty), a monopoly of all Singapore route licences/bi-laterals/fifth freedoms, draconian labor laws and a very smart marketing operation has ensured financial success for the airline over the years.

As a corollary, I was perhaps being unfair to Cheong for castigating his multi-billion dollar errors of judgment, as the acquisition decisions were clearly not his but were of course made, again, by You-Know-Who and which decisions once more dispel the notion of omnipotent infallibility.

CDRW

Absolutely spot on!

[jstars2]

Straits Times, 26.03.04

Ryan Goh makes PR appeal to minister

SINGAPORE Airlines pilot Ryan Goh yesterday appealed against a decision by the Controller of Immigration to revoke his permanent residency (PR) status.

He submitted the appeal to the Home Affairs Minister, a ministry spokesman said.

'The minister is currently looking into his appeal,' she said, adding that it was inappropriate to comment further for now. There was no indication on when the minister would respond.

Captain Goh was given notice last Saturday that his PR status had been revoked and that he had seven days to appeal.

In a text message to The Straits Times yesterday, he declined to comment on the appeal, saying it was 'premature to talk about plans'.

The 43-year-old Malaysian pilot was singled out by the Government as the 'instigator' behind last year's ouster of the executive committee of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).

On March 5, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) informed him of its intention to cancel his entry and re-entry permits, which are necessary for permanent residents here.

The action was initiated after the Home Affairs Minister 'decided that Mr Goh was an undesirable immigrant'.

He was given seven days to show why his permits should not be revoked. He made representations shortly after.

But it was rejected as the ICA said that he 'did not adequately show why' he could keep his permits and it revoked his PR status.

He was then given seven days to file another appeal - this time against the revocation - to the Home Affairs Minister.

If his appeal fails, he will have to leave the country as the minister has the final say on the matter.

But it is understood that the authorities could still give him some time to settle his affairs here.

Capt Goh, who has an apartment in the East Coast, is also an Australian permanent resident and has a house in Perth. The Government has said that he had made an 'exit plan' before instigating the ouster.

[Lee]

Quote:>>>If his appeal fails, he will have to leave the country as the minister has the final say on the matter.<<<

Although, Capt Rayan Goh has sent his appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs,
in reality, the minister who "has the final say" is senior minister lee kuan yew.

That's leedership 101 in the land of the Silly poors.

[John Barnes]

All SIA Unions (only union in name since in reality they are nothing else but a bunch of frightened employees) are ordered to the office of LKY on April 5th. No agenda set.

[Gladiator]

You all need to look back deep into Singapore's history. The Island was a center for slave trade.

For example a main land Chinese would be lured to the island with the promise of a teaching job. Upon arrival he would become a slave. If he were to get sick and unable to perform his slave duties, he would be taken to a room and hanged.

This is no B.S. folks. Referenced from a program on Singapore television called 'The history of COLLIES' (spelling may not be correct), produced in Singapore.

If you understand this concept and past history, you will then understand the mentality of this idiot Lee Kuan Yew.

All of you working and living in Singapore have to face it, live and love to embrace it. You are all slaves. Street cleaner or driver of a 100 million dollar jet, it makes no difference to the master.

[southernmtn]

"You all need to look back deep into Singapore's history. The Island was a center for slave trade.

For example a main land Chinese would be lured to the island with the promise of a teaching job. Upon arrival he would become a slave. If he were to get sick and unable to perform his slave duties, he would be taken to a room and hanged.

This is no B.S. folks. Referenced from a program on Singapore television called 'The history of COLLIES' (spelling may not be correct), produced in Singapore"

WHAT A LOAD OF CROCK!!!

[Gladiator]

Call Singapore broadcasting Corp. or whatever their name is and obtain a copy of this program.

You will learn about your own history and it will all be clear.

[John Barnes]

NOw how about the history of the good old USA. If I remember well, correct me if I am wrong, they had a little "slave history" as well. Beats me what all this has to do with the problems in SQ!!!

[southernmtn]

Glad,
Again, "WHAT A LOAD OF CROCK!!!"

[Gladiator]

It is all about attitude. Singaporeans deserve Lee Kuan Yew and hence the situation in hand.

It would be scary to watch that program. I can see how it would be difficult to face the facts. Better pretend it does not exist.

Have a nice day under the dictatorship.

[Chambudzi]

Gladiator
I see you still cant help yourself when it comes to SIA and LKY.
To suggest that LKY is the way he is because of some ancient story about slavery in Singapore is the same as saying you are the way you are because Tzar Nik's missus believed everything Rasputin had to say to her. No connection --right.
Time to go back to bed in your icy abode for the long winter.

[Lithgow]

It's Official - Ryan Goh Is Out

SIA pilot Ryan Goh's appeal to Home Affairs rejected, PR status revoked

02 April 2004 2208 hrs (SST)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/78377/1/.html

SINGAPORE : SIA pilot Ryan Goh has lost his permanent resident status and will have to leave Singapore.

The Home Affairs Minister has just rejected his last ditch appeal.

Captain Goh and his family will be given some time to make the necessary arrangement to leave the country.

SIA pilot Ryan Goh was thrust into the spotlight after Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew singled him out for manoeuvring behind the scenes to get the previous leaders of the pilots union sacked.

Soon after that his PR status was revoked.

This was because the authorities deemed Captain Goh an "undesirable" immigrant.

His appeal to the ICA was turned down on 20th March, but he was given a last appeal to the Home Affairs Minister.

But this has also been rejected because there were no fresh grounds to overturn the decision. - CNA

[wotwazat]

No doubt SIA will be offering Captain Goh a Perth based job in recognition of his years of service. I am sure the Senior Minister wouldn't object to that as this situation is in no way related to the happenings at ALPA S!!!!!!!!!

[BYOD]

The public reply to Capt Goh's exile by ALPAS is nothing but a whimper. Capt Goh, no matter how miss guided he was in his vission, was by no means malicious to the co he is working for. He has become nothing but a pawn in national politics. He has been honourable in not spilling the beans on his co conpirators, many who now sit in the union. Maybe thats why the response is so muted. My farts even louder.:mad:

[Lee]

Quote from Gladiator:>>>If you understand this concept and past history, you will then understand the mentality of this idiot Lee Kuan Yew.<<<

I do understand the concept behind SQ and Singpore's past history, but i still don't understand the mentality of that idiot lee kuan yew!

[Gladiator]

Chambudzi

You just don't get it. If it hasn't happened for you by now it never will.

And thanks, the eskimo is still smiling and so am I. For your increased education average winter temp in KSEA is +8C.

[twitchy]

The present salaries what we are getting are 5 years old. But do you all have an ideaq what is the SIA proposal for the new CA to be effective till 2007. Its reduction in salary of about 20% for its pilots. Its scary man, it is high time to pack your bags if there are any jobs around for we guys........

God bless us all in this land of LKY

[John Barnes]

As always has been and always will be, we pilots are our own worst enemies. The company wants the old timers to leave, so they can replace them with the hungry guys from SAS, for a salary that is less than half of what they have to pay the real senior guys in SQ. Their leaving is not excactly a threat to the company , it is a blessing!! The generals won the battle, and that's nothing new!!

[Rockhound]

As an outside, relatively dispassionate observer of the Singapore civil aviation scene, I am surprised by the muted reaction from PPruners to the revoking of the Singapore residency status of ex-SIA pilot Capt Ryan Goh, who I see has just been granted a two-week stay of execution by the Singapore authorities. After more than 20 years as a permanent resident of SIN and a presumably satisfactory or better record as a SIA pilot (even rising to 744 command), he is essentially deported from SIN, losing his job with SIA in the process, apparently for the sin (pun intended) of union activism. Is it strictly a matter of not getting away with crossing LKY? Did the fact that Goh was also a PR of Australia and owned a house there, in which some of his family lived, play a part? None of this seems like high treason to me or is PR status in SIN granted very grudgingly, with many conditions attached? If a member of SIA's SIN-based flight staff has residency roots elsewhere but consistently reports for duty in SIN, why should there be a problem? (I am thinking of John Barnes, who reputedly flies for SIA while allegedly living quietly as a retired lecturer in Liege, Belgium). Seriously, I would be interested to hear rational, more or less unbiased comments from SIN locals and ex-pats on this issue.
Rockhound
:confused:

[knackeredII]

Don't be surprised, Rockhound. It has always been a feature of the Singapore threads that the response is muted for the simple reason that most potential posters there are too afraid to speak up. The few who do respond are generally expats and I have spoken with locals there who sincerely believe that the government has the means and the will to monitor their movements and their phones. I always thought they were being somewhat paranoid but now I wonder.

[Rockhound]

Knackered,
I don't know, I've been to Singapore several times and it hardly looks like a police state to me, with the threat of phones being tapped and mail opened. Actually, it's one of my favourite places in the world to visit but, admittedly, I've never lived there. As well, some PPruners, SIN locals as well as ex-pats, have not exactly minced their words criticising SQ management and the SIN govt on this site.
The punishment meted out to Goh seems way over the top to me and I cannot help but wonder what's really behind it. I don't believe Goh expected it, otherwise he would have used a different tactic to shake up Alpa-S. His attempted palace coup happened months ago, why did the SIN authorities wait so long before throwing the book at him? Is there any local SIN PPruner who can honestly say, yes, the revoking of Goh's PR status was entirely predictable and fully expectable? If Goh had been a local born and bred in SIN, what would the punishment have been? These are just some of the questions going round in my head
Rockhound (still :confused: )

[highcirrus]

Rockhound

As I suspect you already know, the following is a tariff of sanctions to be expected by the three categories comprising the current Singapore population, in the event that an individual or group within any of these categories should start rocking the totalitarian PAP boat, thus requiring a message to be sent out, confirming that LKY controls absolutely everything in Singapore and will brook no interference, challenge, or promotion of alternative views, that counter his single handed helmsmanship of the ship of state:

1. Ex-Pat – Work Permit paperwork suddenly found to contain “errors” and “inconsistencies” that render the Permit invalid. Individual required to leave the country at short notice.

2. Permanent Resident – Entry and Exit privileges withdrawn as the individual(s) is/are suddenly and mysteriously found to be “undesirable” alien(s).

3. Singapore Citizen – Tax records back to the year dot are meticulously audited in conjunction with an exhaustive Internal Security Department investigation of any past statements or writings of the individual(s) that can possibly render him/her/them open to a defamation suit which, as night follows day round here, inevitably leads to victory for the government and loss and corollary bankruptcy for the individual(s). If this tack fails or quicker action is required by the regime, the Internal Security Act (Suppression of Dissent, for the use of) may be invoked and the individual(s) can simply be made to disappear. Alternatively, a naked threat of immediate imprisonment of the individual(s) and family can be made personally by LKY.

As we presently have clearly demonstrated, LKY will do what he damn well likes, any time he likes – we all await his pleasure in handing down details of the new CA which he will personally formulate, now that he has openly demonstrated that it is he who is the de-facto CEO of SIA, rather than the unfortunate, present, time-served incumbent.

As a final item, us residents of the Republic note with wry smiles the touchingly naïve suggestion made on another thread, presumably by a putative SAS contract pilot, that Alpa-S should contact the SAS pilots’ union and appraise the latter of the true situation in Singapore and Singapore Airlines, with a view to collective union torpedoing of the upcoming influx of SAS talent. Such “treason”, of course, would swiftly and summarily be dealt with as above.

[knackeredII]

Believe it Rockhound, when I first moved to Singapore my ideas were very similar to yours but by the time I'd left, my eyes had well and truly been opened. It is a very tightly controlled society and no dissention of any sort will be tolerated. You will not see any demonstrations of any sort on the evening news.

[Rockhound]

OK, I'm beginning to get the picture. I appreciate hi cirrus taking the time to share his views. I did have it from another authoritative source that Ryna Goh's downfall was the direct result of his falling foul of LKY but I found it hard to believe (and, frankly, still do) that the shadow cast by the old man is that long.
Rockhound (less :confused: )

[jstars2]

Straits Times, Wednesday, 21 April 2004

Why amend Act? Alpa-S saga shows workers' interests not protected

THE amendment to the Trade Unions Act was sparked off by the state of affairs at the Air Line Pilots' Association Singapore (Alpa-S), where protracted negotiations led to soured ties with the management of Singapore Airlines.

Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday explained the rationale for the change that effectively affects only Alpa-S.
It removes the need for its elected leaders to seek members' approval before concluding collective agreements (CA) or settling disputes with management.

Alpa-S, which represents about 1,600 pilots, introduced this clause into its constitution in 1999, when it was restructuring itself to accommodate members from SIA subsidiary SilkAir.

'Ostensibly, through this check mechanism, members could by their approval affirm that their interest had been protected and endorse the leadership of the negotiating team,' Dr Ng told the House.

'But in practice, members' interests had not been safeguarded as thereafter, protracted and futile negotiations worsened relations between the union and management, to the detriment of all.'
In some instances, negotiating positions had progressively hardened, resulting in deadlocks as the executive council sought ratification from members.

He highlighted the example of how in 2001, a collective agreement between Alpa-S and SIA, which took 27 months to conclude, was thrown out by Alpa-S members at a meeting to ratify the deal.

The case was eventually referred to the Industrial Arbitration Court and settled out of court.

'Both management and union must share blame for this unproductive exercise, but the point is that the interests of both union members and the company suffered from these cycles of acrimony aggravated by the ratification clause,' he said.

More recently, a wage cut deal proposed by SIA management in the wake of Sars was ratified by Alpa-S members. However, 55 per cent of members later voted out the president and his negotiating team.

'Again, the ratification provision did not serve its original purpose of securing a mandate for the exco from union members.

'Members could, even after ratifying an agreement, change their minds and their leaders subsequently,' Dr Ng said.

Yesterday, Alpa-S president Mok Hin Choon said the amendment will obviously change the way things are done.

For one thing, union members will have to be more careful in selecting their representatives who will have full authority to negotiate and agree to terms on their behalf.

Leaders will also have to be doubly careful in negotiations with management, making sure they cover all the bases.

Previously, they would have been able to 'look members in the eye and say: 'Look, guys, you cleared it' ', as the membership had the final say on an agreement.

That is now no longer an option, said Capt Mok, who also headed Alpa-S when it negotiated the 2001 collective agreement but stepped down shortly afterwards. -- Rebecca Lee

Straits Times, Wednesday, 21 April 2004

CHANGES TO THE TRADE UNIONS ACT
Opposition MPs reject revision

Union leaders no longer have to get members\' approval when they seal collective agreements with management. Here\'s a look at yesterday\'s debate on the amendment:

THE changes to the Trade Unions Act are typical of a People\'s Action Party government which seeks to outlaw or cripple by legislation those it cannot control or persuade, Opposition Member of Parliament Low Thia Khiang charged yesterday.

\'A legitimate act could become a criminal act overnight. A robust organisation could become subdued and submissive,\' said the Hougang representative.

\'Welcome to Singapore,\' he mocked.

Mr Low, with Non-Constituency MP Steve Chia, opposed the Bill which seeks to remove the right of workers to reject collective wage agreements signed by their union leaders. It was later passed by Parliament.

In rejecting it, Mr Low, leader of the Workers\' Party, argued that the right ensures leaders face the consequences of their actions, beyond being booted out in an election.

It also deters union leaders from acting on their own interpretation of what is in members\' best interests without consulting members or getting their support.

Hence, it was \'a superior process and a better safeguard for union members\', he said.

\'It is also in line with the spirit of democracy of which accountability of leaders is the hallmark.\'

He also blamed such changes for causing Singaporeans to be so apathetic politically. He said: \'Why is it that our pledge to build a democratic society sounds hollow, with the people being... fearful, even ignorant of their democratic rights?

\'The answer, I believe, lies in legislation like this.\'

Mr Chia, a member of the National Solidarity Party, said people join unions in order to have a voice to improve their rights and their work environment, and be more effective in negotiating for wages.

\'If this voice is being crippled by law, what\'s the point joining a union anymore?\'

Singapore workers should therefore seriously think twice about joining unions in future, he said.

In reply, Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen accused Mr Low of hyping up the effects of the amendment.

\'Have we deprived them of the right to seek recourse or a decision by the Industrial Arbitration Court? The answer is \'no\'.\'

The amendment seeks only to facilitate the collective bargaining process, he said. \'It does not in any way reduce the ability of members who are dissatisfied to call an EGM and remove the leaders at any time, even after this amendment. That\'s the fundamental point,\' he added.

Mr Ng also accused Mr Low and Mr Chia of making political points by ignoring what the Government has been saying about the challenges facing the aviation industry, where management-pilot dispute had made the amendment necessary.

If workers there end up jobless, will Mr Low and Mr Chia, he asked, tell them: \'Well, there you are, but your rights have been protected. You\'re are out of a job, but never mind.\'

Mr Ng also shrugged off Mr Chia\'s call to workers not to join unions, saying they can see what unions can deliver and are willing to trust the leadership. The rising membership of unions here is telling, he added.

Note to Readers: Peoples Action Party (PAP) holds 99% of Parliamentary seats in Singapore. “The Opposition” holds the remaining 1% of seats and is only there to provide a figmentary belief that Singapore is not ruled by a totalitarian oligarchy

Straits Times, Thursday, 22 April 2004

Ratifying clause\' not good for work ties
Axed clause that gave union members final say on workplace deals created climate of brinksmanship: minister

THE clause that required union leaders to seek members\' approval before signing collective agreements was not good for industrial relations as it created a \'climate of brinksmanship\'.

It could result in situations where demands are pushed to a point where an entire deal is jeopardised to the detriment of all, Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen indicated yesterday.

His comments, in response to questions from reporters, came a day after Parliament amended the Trade Unions Act and removed the ratification clause.

Although all unions could have included the clause in their constitutions, it was seized on only by the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).

Explaining how the clause had a negative effect on negotiating parties, he said: \'It created a very brinksmanship climate. You keep pushing limits on each side and it created a lot of envy.

\'Sometimes... members felt that they could have got a better deal. Even if they agreed to the deal, when things changed, they said we shouldn\'t have said \'Yes\'.\'

Relating this to the situation with Alpa-S, he said that the union had agreed to wage cuts in the wake of the Sars crisis last year.

\'Then when the situation from Sars improved, they said: \'We shouldn\'t have agreed anyway\' and booted out the previous negotiating team. I think it\'s unhealthy...\'*

Removing the clause not only contributed to improving labour-management relations but also removed an element in the negotiation process in which boundaries were pushed and tested.

Dr Ng reiterated yesterday that affiliates of the National Trades Union Congress, which represents 99 per cent of unionised workers here, \'don\'t need this clause to protect workers\'.

Indeed, the 63 unions in question usually held prior discussions with members. And their leaders were given the mandate to negotiate and seal agreements on their behalf - similar to union practices in Japan.

Workers, however, were not deprived of their rights as they still retained the power to vote out leaders if they were unhappy with them.

And Dr Ng\'s advice to union members was that they should choose good leaders and be clear about the terms given to them.

*When judging unhealthy situations, Readers may again wish to cast their minds back to the dark SARS days of heavy and sustained Singapore Government media and back channel pressure on Alpa-S and the complete lack of financial information from SIA, both of which precluded a proper judgment of the need for, or scale of any required salary cuts and merely produced wildly varying percentage cuts from thin air, which at the behest of a weak and complaisant former Alpa-S President were foisted on a bemused membership before it had time to realize it was being duped

[Gladiator]

Make it easier on each other and accept that Singapore is not a democracy.

Why bother to have the union in the first place? Disgusting.

Communists suck.

[Ramrise]

Yep,

they truly do!!:mad: :mad:

Like a famed american politician once said:

"freedom at any price is still a bargain".


Brgds,

Ramrise

[highcirrus]

Gladiator

I think you probably mean oligarchists suck.

OED defines:

oligarchy n. government, State governed, by small group of persons; members of such government.

The present oligarchy, whilst sharing totalitarian methodology with past and present examples of communist rule, does not share the Marxist theory of dialectic materialism and common ownership. Rather the cult of personality (guess whose) and meritocracy (some are born with enough merit to emerge into the country’s leadership, others attain it in time honored fashion) combine with a raw capitalism and a tacit deal with the proletariat that gives them material comforts in exchange for political quiescence.

[Lithgow]

Even Professional Spin Artists Have Their Limits

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/storyprintfriendly/0,4582,114747,00.html?

or

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/premiumstory/0,4574,114747,00.html?

Business Times - 24 Apr 2004

SIA public affairs chief Rick Clements resigns

(SINGAPORE) Singapore Airlines communications chief Rick Clements is leaving the company. Mr Clements, who is in his 50s, submitted his resignation this week. The reasons or circumstances are not known, and he could not be contacted last night.

Mr Clements, a Briton who is a Singapore permanent resident, has been with SIA for almost two decades. His gentle manner of handling the media and public, whether SIA faced a crisis or was merely announcing another award, has won him huge respect in the company and from the media.

The most enduring image of Mr Clements is a photograph of him comforting a grieving relative of the ill-fated SQ006 in November 2000. His graciousness saved the day when the distressed and agitated man barged into a news briefing and demanded 'first-hand news'. As a live television audience watched, Mr Clements urged a policeman who tried to pull Tan Yin Leong out of the room to let him stay.

Mr Clements also took a leading role in explaining SIA's position in the face of a potential union mutiny after it cut wages to ride out the slump brought on by Sars last year. His resignation follows that of his deputy, Australian Innes Willox, earlier this year, and another colleague, Karen Leow, this month.

This has depleted SIA's public affairs department. But the company's Australia-based spokesman Stephen Forshaw is expected to join the Singapore team soon, and could possibly replace Mr Clements.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Dibble&Grub]

Yes, losing 1 PR Spinner might just be unfortunate, but 3 in a short space of time suggests something more "interesting" going on.

Perhaps even these hardened "truth manipulators" couldn't swallow the pill that was being forced down their throat from events recently.

I wonder when the book will come out ?

DG

[jstars2]

Wonder what upcoming dire news Rick Clements and his team would have had to spin for SIA in the next couple of weeks if they’d stayed? No prizes for guessing!

[CDRW]

Probably find that Mr Clements has been very well informed that should he make any public statement he will be following a one Mr Ryan Goh - hope that he has moved all his assets out of the land. An interesting state of affairs in SQ at the moment.:confused:

[jstars2]

Straits Times, Monday, 26 April 2004

Public face of SIA resigns to freelance

After 24 years with SIA, Mr Clements plans to do consulting work here.
By Chang Ai-Lien

AFTER 13 years as the public face of Singapore Airlines (SIA), Mr Rick Clements is spreading his wings.

SIA's vice-president of public affairs is ending a 24-year career at the company to go freelance.

'I have reached a point in my life where I can afford to be more adventurous and pursue other career options,' the 57-year-old told The Straits Times.

'If I didn't make the move soon, it would be too late, and if I missed my chance I'm sure I'd regret it later.'

He plans to do public relations consulting in Singapore, something which will offer him more freedom, both in choosing projects and working hours.

An industry veteran, Mr Clements has been the company's front man over many storms, including its two major tragedies - the SQ006 crash in Taiwan almost four years ago which caused 83 deaths, and SilkAir's MI185 crash, which killed all 104 on board when the plane plunged into the murky Musi River in Indonesia.

Of the hundreds of press conferences he has given, the consummate public relations man perhaps stands out most for the time he threw bureaucracy out the window and showed a compassionate side.

That was back in November 2000, when he was chairing a press conference on the SQ006 crash.

The distraught brother of one of the crash victims barged into a room full of stunned journalists and demanded 'the truth'.
Instead of letting police escort the grieving man out, Mr Clements gave him the time he needed to vent his emotions. Then he walked over, put his arms around him and said: 'I'm very sorry.'

His action earned him praise from both hardened journalists and members of the public, who saw the incident as it was beamed live on air.

'There have been many special times, as well as some very bad ones, but there's never been a dull moment,' he said.

Trained as an IT professional, the British national spent his first 11 years at SIA working in computer services before moving to public affairs in 1991.

He dismissed any speculation that he was jumping ship because of unhappiness due to the company's major restructuring and cost-cutting efforts, its recent management reorganisation, or strife over soured ties between management and the pilots' union.

He also stressed that the resignation of a public affairs senior manager and executive - both left this month - were 'simply unfortunate timing'.

In fact, the decision to move on had been made well before he tendered his resignation on April 20 - he told SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng about his plans more than 18 months ago.

'Originally, I had planned to resign last year, but because of the Sars crisis and the financial problems it created, it wasn't a good time.

'So I put my plans on hold for a while.'

As to who will fill his shoes, SIA said no decision has been made yet.

When he leaves in about three months' time, the self-confessed workaholic, who spends at least 11 hours in the office every day, says his first order of business is to spend some time touring Britain.

'I've lived abroad since my mid-twenties, so I've never really seen much of it,' he said.

[422]

To Ryan,

God Speed and all the best.


Don't forget us


:ok:

[Lithgow]

Capt Ryan Goh calls it a day

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/18359print.asp

Capt Ryan Goh calls it a day

After settling loose ends here, ex-SIA union official heads for Australia

Friday • April 30, 2004

Derrick A Paulo
[email protected]

AT a farewell dinner at East Coast Parkway, five men sat at a table, their mugs of beer half empty. There was little to distinguish them from the other diners, except that among them was an "undesirable immigrant".

Capt Ryan Goh told Today he did not know what made someone an undesirable immigrant and why he had been called one. He reckoned he was probably seen as "controversial" and admitted he would "push hard" for the rights of his fellow pilots.

On Wednesday night, the former Airline Pilots Association — Singapore (Alpa-S) union leader seemed relaxed and at ease as he chatted and joked with his friends, all pilots, over dinner.

Two months ago, he had cut a different figure when he sat across from Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Istana. Mr Lee had strong words for Capt Goh for being behind the ouster of the previous Alpa-S executive committee.

But that chapter is closed, said the Malaysian who had spent the last 26 years in Singapore. For the authorities, he reckoned, more "closure" would come when he flies off tomorrow.

In early March, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng had declared Capt Goh an undesirable immigrant and revoked his permanent resident status.

Capt Goh had appealed to the Controller of Immigration but his appeal was unsuccessful.

He had then appealed to Mr Wong. "I was hoping that they might show more compassion. I came here when I was an 18-year-old lad. I established not only my career, but my roots and my relationships," he said.

That appeal was turned down four weeks ago and since then he had been preparing for his and his daughter's departure to Australia, where his wife and other children are waiting.

As he settled the loose ends of his life in Singapore, Capt Goh found it ironic that it was not the authorities that had been difficult but the banks.

"They had taken away more than my umbrella. The local banks recalled all my loans. One of them demanded my children's trust fund. Can you believe that? They knew the money was for my children," he said, adding that he would manage. He was thankful that one of the banks remained reasonable.

As he strolled away, he talked briefly about his future. He had not secured another job but said that pilots put "their heart and soul" into flying. If he had to move on from the industry, he said he might consider law school.

"I've always been interested in law. A law firm here has told me that if I get a law degree, there's a job waiting for me," he said.

Briefly, the unionist fire that was drowned in the beer and conversation flickered.

He recalled the time he had been featured in the news for his role in "rallying for the release of the three pilots" in the SQ006 crash in Taiwan.

Then the self-professed "true-blue unionist" got into the car and took off, as he will tomorrow, on Labour Day, flying Singapore Airlines.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Rockhound]

The Sunday Straitened Times of May 2 carries a story on Ryan Goh's departure from Changi. In it, Goh is quoted as saying he would like to remain an airline pilot and had applied to several international airlines. However, he is also quoted as saying he had to sort out with the Singapore authorities his "rights to come into Singapore as a flight crew".
Whatever does that mean?
Rockhound

[BlueEagle]

I think it means that, if he were to work for, say, China Airlines, EVA etc. etc. he would need to know that he could either transit or layover in Singapore as a crew member working for another airline.
Having been declared "undesirable" by the Singapore Government he may forsee a problem.

[Rockhound]

BlueEagle,
That thought had occurred to me, as well, but I dismissed it pretty quickly. Surely "undesirable" refers to Goh's status as a permanent resident of or immigrant to Singapore, not as short-term visitor. Or am I being my usual pathetically naive self?
Rockhound

[CDRW]

Rockhound - Unfortunately I think you are being the latter. :(

The silence from the so called union.......well is speaks volumes.

[Rockhound]

CDRW,
At least Capt Mok was at Changi to see Goh off. A show of union solidarity but a risky move perhaps?
Rockhound:uhoh:

[422]

Luck has it that 744 of CAL & EVA doesn't

go to Sin that often.


So, no reason to apply again to do so.

All the best...

WEST - ROCK in Seoul we shall meet

again, buddy :p

[MR69696]

Mr Mok is not physically a big man, but he sure does have BIG balls. Hope they don`t get crushed.:ooh:

[highcirrus]

Would this be the same Captain Mok of “your humble citizen” and “I await further instructions” fame? I think we should be told.

[tebuan]

just from the singapore rumour mill: it is rumoured that the director of cabin crew and the cabin crew perf. manager have also joined the ranks of SIA departures. creation of a 'mega-division' under LG bey consisting of flt ops, cabin crew, marketing, and engineering apparently a key factor in the dapertures. (ie they couldn't get on with the 'mega-leader'.

morale is still low and the SAS pilots have arrived.

cheers

[jstars2]

Readers from outside Singapore may be interested in the following snippet, as it illustrates the fate of opposition politicians (must be about three of these brave souls left in Singapore) when they become too vocal and too effective in their castigation of LKY's totalitarian Peoples' Action Party (PAP). Once bankrupt, of course, they can no longer be MP’s. Contentious figures lower down the pecking order will also be effectively removed from public prominence by any of a multitude of well-honed procedures, including termination of Permanent Residency (PR).

Opposition politician Jeyaretnam to appeal bankruptcy decision.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/83019/1/.html

SINGAPORE : Opposition politician J.B. Jeyaretnam said on Monday he would appeal a court's rejection of his bid to be discharged from bankruptcy.

Jeyaretnam owes S$600,000 after a series of defamation suits, centering around a 1995 article which the courts ruled defamed leaders of the People's Action Party.

The High Court last week turned down the 79-year-old's application after lawyers for PAP members rejected his offer to pay 20 percent of the debt.

"I am planning to appeal against the decision of the assistant registrar to a judge of the High Court," Jeyaretnam said.

Mr Jeyaretnam was declared a bankrupt three years ago after he lost two defamation cases.

In 1998, the High Court ordered Jeyaretnam to pay damages of S$100,000 for defamatory remarks he made at an election rally.

He was ordered to pay another S$200,000 to the Tamil Language Week Committee in another defamation case.

He lost his seat in Parliament after being declared bankrupt. - CNA

[CDRW]

Just wonder if the SAS crew did thier research into the cost of setting up here. What with the bond, 3 months rent, advance school fee payment of one term plus a terms fees plus entrance fee (per child!) the pleasure of buying a car for 3 times its normal price, the cost of moving here ( SQ help to about S$500- so generous). There well may be a few dissapointed recruits. Good luck.

[MR69696]

I thought it was a nice piece of sarcasm:ok:

[422]

I would like to tell all....

Everything is FINE and GOOD in SQ..

Really! Things are soo good that

the Co is welcoming more pilots.

No one has left , contrary to rumours.

2 fellas are even 'crawling' back from

Isla - FOrmosa.

SO u see, things are better these days

:yuk:

Pay cut? where.... no such things

Better benefits ..... sure... cause
there isn't any. So BYO / DIY

Free tickets...... not required
too sick and tired to travel any way

Roster..... not required...
just count 1000h from 0. :ok:

[John Barnes]

If that were the case what about the guys I personally know on the 345 that do two trips a month and have some 10 to 12 days off in between!!!. I thought it was too good to be true, but believe me it is happening. ( I admit only on the 345 and I can kick myself not to have opted for it!!!)

[422]

Welcome to the Matrix.

Everything is good and fine here when you play the game.


So guys, no more MORPHEUS ..
Remember the
"undesirable " Protocol in da
Matrix..

Just let the MATRIX control you and
everything will be taken care of.

So , everyone. take a queue number
and you'll be plugged in soon.

:ok:

[Rockhound]

Hey John B, why don't you try for the SIN-EWR 345 service, which I believe starts at the end of June? Play your cards right and it's just a short hop over the Atlantic and you can spend 10-12 days at home in Liege between trips, eh what?
Rockhound ;)

[sq111]

Fly the A345 and get a free escort!!!

Straits Time 5 May 2004

Armed police storm SQ jet in false alarm
AMERICAN police officers stormed a Singapore Airlines flight yesterday, after the plane was escorted into Los Angeles Airport by a United States Air Force F-16 fighter jet.

But these anti-terror procedures were not needed, as it was a false alarm.

Advertisement

A malfunctioning transponder on SQ20, flying non-stop from Singapore to Los Angeles, had sent a signal alerting the airport authorities to a hijack.

It sparked a security alert and the SIA Airbus A340-500 LeaderShip was flanked by the jet as it flew in and landed in a remote section of the airport at around 5.30pm, local time.

News agency AP said: 'Armed police officers immediately stormed the aircraft as hostage negotiation teams rushed to the scene.'

'But within minutes, officials had determined the plane's emergency hijacking signal had malfunctioned and there was no hijacking.'

Aboard the plane were 126 passengers and 14 crew, who disembarked after checks were done.

The incident has puzzled SIA officials, as the aircraft is brand new.

It was introduced on Feb 3 this year, when SIA started the world's longest non-stop flight. The plane takes about 16 hours to reach Los Angeles, and 18 hours to return to Changi Airport.

US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker said the alarm code must be manually entered by the pilot.

An SIA spokesman said Los Angeles' air traffic controllers 'had received an emergency alarm from the cockpit'.

The airline is investigating the cause.

[highcirrus]

Err, sq111, you may be slightly off the point here. This thread is about SQ pilots under political pressure. Something similar to your ST cut and paste has already taken place in Rumours & News, in the SIA HIJACK alert. Oops! thread.

[John Barnes]

That is exactly what I trying to do Rockhound, the problem is that at least a hundred other guys realised the goods of this fleet before I did. I am also too old for a conversion!!

[Rockhound]

You are too old, JB??!! Sorry to hear that but I guess that's what you get when you take up airline flying after retiring from the lecture circuit.
Rockhound

[jstars2]

Straits Times, Saturday, 15 May 2004

SIA reports full-year net profit of $849m

Staff will get back cut wages, 15% extra payment and 2.05-month bonus; Sats to remain within group

By Karamjit Kaur

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) rebounded from its first quarter loss to report a net profit of $849 million for the year ending March 31.

The news cheered its staff, who will receive next month what they have lost in wage cuts over the past year, as well as an additional 15 per cent. The total payout will be $78 million.

Employees will also get a 2.05-month bonus, said chief executive Chew Choon Seng, chairing his first full-year results briefing at the Singapore Expo yesterday.

Mr Chew, who met the media and analysts first, had more good news for staff gathered at a separate hall - Singapore Airport Terminal Services (Sats) will remain in the group, which also comprises SIA Cargo, regional carrier SilkAir and SIA Engineering.

The decision comes about a month after Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said at a meeting with SIA management and union leaders that SIA can hive off parts of its business as it restructures in the next six to 18 months. He singled out Sats as a likely candidate for divestment.

Yesterday, Mr Chew said that 'at this point in time', retaining Sats is in the group's 'best interests'.

The catering and ground handling company posted earnings of $189.8 million for the year, a drop of 11.6 per cent compared to the 12 months before that.

Still, its earnings made up 28 per cent of the group's profit. The airline's share was 22 per cent.

The biggest contribution of 30 per cent came from its cargo arm, which operates a fleet of 13 Boeing 747-400 freighter planes and sells space in its passenger craft.

Mr Chew said: 'Cargo escaped relatively unscathed from the effects of Sars.'

The virus resulted in the group's first ever loss of $312 million for the three months from April to June last year, and forced it to lay off 596 staff and offer retirement packages to 145.

Those left had to take compulsory unpaid leave and wage cuts of between 5 and 16.5 per cent.

But recovery came fast and strong, said Mr Chew, adding that the group's performance from July last year to March this year 'gives a better flavour of the numbers with the Sars factor taken out'.

In those months, earnings were in excess of $1 billion, almost 100 per cent more than the same nine months in the previous year.

But the company's first quarter performance pulled full-year net profits about 20 per cent lower than the $1.06 billion earned the year before that.

Shareholders are not complaining though. They will pocket a dividend of 25 cents per share, higher than last year's 15 cents.

Mr Chew explained that since staff are being rewarded with the lump-sum payment and bonus, the board felt it should 'also be fair to shareholders' and reward them 'for their patience'.

Analysts are projecting earnings in excess of $1 billion for the current financial year, which ends in March next year. But they warned of increasing competition from budget carriers and the 'sky-high' prices of jet fuel this financial year.

While other airlines like Qantas and British Airways have imposed a fuel surcharge on ticket prices, SIA has so far resisted this.

SIA is also concerned about the threat from budget airlines, and warned that yields on its short-haul flights will come under pressure.

An analyst at Standard and Poor's Asian Equity Research, Mr Vincent Ng, said: 'The oil factor will be a major challenge for SIA... but the group is in a better position now to tackle what's ahead.'

One goal is to cut annual costs by up to $1.6 billion.