DO NOT NEED CONTRACTING COMPANIES

[vagabond 47]

My question is just this,........................ from Very Personal Experience does anybody out there have one justifiable reason,...demonstrated,...why in this NEW era of Pilot Shortage we PAY a bunch of incompetent company biased Rip Off merchants MANY DOLLARS to "look after our T&C,s."
Companies like RISHWORTH are still living in the PAST, and when Pilots take their Disputes directly to the Companies AND GET resolution then Contract Companies will be a cost Plus. Hence one I know of who will pay $500/mth more without RISHWORTH.

From a personal point of view the sooner we get rid of them the BETTER.

?

[maui]

Vagabond.

Totally agree with your sentiment. People like Rishworths and IAC Pacific dwell at the bottom of a very deep pond, where only very basic and odious forms of life can exist. If we could get rid of them we would be a lot better off.

HOWEVER

A lot of companies recruit through an intermediary to circumvent local labour laws. It is not in their percieved interest to recruit direct as it would remove a bit of the blur between employee and employer, and makes them easier targets for regulatory authorities. While there exists, some means of blurring that line, companies will use Contract Companies.

I have raised the issue with Australian authorities and with the ILO however there is a great deal of inertia and a reluctance to asssit the cause of what is percieved to be a privileged group.

Maui

[Watchdog]

Yes, definately, if you are with the right people.....why? Sorry - Secret Squirrel :oh:

[Flughund]

Well Vagabond 47, one 'demonstrated' reason why, is that there are pilots who ACTIVELY search for brokers to work through.

I can name at least half a dozen of my colleagues who elected to join an airline on the EXPRESS condition that they did it through a 'friendly' broker and NOT directly.

I know the reasons, I just think that a balanced argument should be seen that at least some of the agencies are actually helpful to the pilots themselves in carrying out their own choice.

So not only the brokers are out to line their own pockets, but also the airlines (avoiding costs) and pilots (avoiding paying to many 'contributions'). When you get that scenario, the agencies are here to stay.

Learn to live with it.

[GlueBall]

Alternatively, there can be advantages to pilots who work outside their own countries; it's called: Shelter from income taxes! This usually is not possible when employed directly by an airline. :ooh:

[potkettleblack]

There are many pilots who also have other outside business interests and contracting through an agency enables them to ensure that their affairs are maintained on an arms length basis. Also some companies use base allocations in order to try and get staff to remain loyal. They can be left waiting years before getting their preferred base whereas contractors in some instances can swing a home or preferred base more easily.

The labour rules and tax mitigation reasons are generally the most common though for contracting, both from an employer and contractors point of view.