Another slap in the face for ATC?

[Led Zep]

Up in the air

Tony Wright
January 23, 2009AS PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd set off on his latest round of continuous campaigning — this time flying around the nation to promote Australia Day — his chant was about trying to keep people in jobs.
"We are all in this together: business, unions, governments, the community sector — and every nation in the world," he said. "In these times, employers must do their utmost to protect their workers from dismissal, knowing that these workers will serve them well when times turn good again. Workers, too, must restrain any wage claims."
Not much later, he was mounting the steps of his jet to take the message across the land. Soon after, the headlines were all about thousands of jobs being lost, miners in Western Australia offering to forgo pay rises for a year in a desperate attempt to keep working and predictions that a quarter of a million jobs were at risk.
Across the Pacific, where the current rot began, one of President Barack Obama's first moves was to freeze White House staff wages as an example to his nation. Back in Canberra, the Rudd Government is considering a second year of no pay increases for politicians.
But as Rudd was flying between capitals, a long-bubbling dispute over pay and conditions between the two bodies that keep planes in the air was reaching the point where air travellers are likely to find themselves grounded next month. The government-owned Airservices Australia and the union representing Australia's 900-odd air traffic controllers, Civil Air, have been a stand-off since the middle of last year. The reason: wage restraint, or the lack of it.
With the controllers out of contract since December 21 and discussions about a new agreement all but broken down, there's virtually no goodwill in the air. This week the air controllers got permission from the Industrial Relations Commission to hold a ballot on whether they should hold stopwork meetings that could range from two to 24 hours. The betting is that stopworks will be given the thumbs up, meaning we will have to rethink air-travel plans from about February 21.
This week, domestic airline executives were tramping around Canberra trying
to get a handle on the esoteric details behind the row and urging anyone who would listen that they "just want to get this thing fixed".
"It's hard enough getting bums on seats without having to worry about whether we're going to get planes into the air," one of the harried airline executives told The Age as he wandered the corridors of Parliament House.
And what's at issue? The air traffic controllers want to keep the right of unlimited sick leave (yes, that's 365 days a year), they have on the table a "vision statement" demanding pay rises of between 18 per cent and more than 60 per cent (although the union says, vaguely, it is willing to modify this to somewhere around 7 per cent) and they don't want a bar of a new rostering system designed to ensure that controllers will be endorsed to step in to oversee air routes that are left unwatched when colleagues are ill.
Airservices, which gets its income from airlines to employ air traffic controllers, admits that previous administrations failed to plan adequately, leaving the current management playing catch-up.
It insists that sick leave be reduced to a standard 15 days a year, just as it was up to the 1990s, and is offering the balance of unused sick leave (based on the new rate) for all workers, leaving some of them with accrued leave of up to 200 hours.
Airservices is also offering 4 per cent annual pay rises plus various bonuses over the next three years and wants to reduce dramatically the number of endorsements over the nation's air routes.
Bear with us here, because this is about the air space your passenger jet may be flying through. Currently, each air traffic controller is endorsed to control just a few routes, leading to 144 separate such endorsements. If the person controlling the space your plane is going through is
not available, that leaves the pilot essentially flying blind. Airservices wants
to reduce these 144 endorsements to
just seven, so if a controller goes absent for any reason, another controller on duty would be qualified to take over their routes.
Over the past nine months, the system has become increasingly chaotic. Since May, when air space closures suddenly leapt to about 60 for the month, the number of such closures has climbed inexorably. Last month, they peaked at about 110. In short, no one was in control of often-busy air corridors on 110 occasions. Domestic airlines won't fly through such areas, meaning scheduled flights have to travel around these "black" areas, often consuming tonnes of extra fuel. International airlines, however, often have no choice because they are already en route, and their pilots have to keep their planes apart by talking to each other over the airwaves.
The Civil Air union says these unfortunate occurrences are caused by a serious shortage of air traffic controllers, for which it blames Airservices. The union says the already stressful job is made all the more stressful because their people are constantly being called to do overtime, and many are sick of it.
Airservices — and government figures all the way up to Transport Minister Anthony Albanese — suggest something darker. Mr Albanese and Airservices chief executive Greg Russell said publicly last year that it appeared a small number of controllers were taking "sickies" and some of their colleagues were playing along by refusing to answer the phone when replacements were being sought. The union and many of the controllers reacted with outrage to such allegations.
The fact remains, however, that the spike in air-space closures mirrors the situation that preceded the previous contract agreement for the air traffic controllers three years ago.
It seems Mr Rudd can call for restraint and declare "we're all in this together" until he is blue in the face. In this dispute, it might appear some are in it for themselves.
Tony Wright is national affairs editor.
The Age (http://www.theage.com.au/)

[Hempy]

Bah, hack piece from a hack "journo". I guess it doesn't count as a war unless both sides are firing shots.

[Dick Smith]

Is the stuff about the 144 endorsements factual?

Would the Controllers agree to reducing the number of endorsements?

Why is unlimited sick leave important when other similar professions such as pilots do not have this ?

[Hempy]

Dick,

Civil Air have proposed a cap on single day absences which Airservices have declined. Airservices propose 15 days a year, 5 without a Medical certificate, and unlimited paid sick leave for absences longer than 28 days. What happens if you are sick for 21 days isn't mentioned.

I'm not exactly sure how the current conditions were originally put in place, but as they have been around 15 years at least that I know of, I would suggest that it had something to do with the fact that former regulatory bodies (DCA, DoT, DA, DoTC, CAA) had, as part of their charter, responsiblilty to the Regulations (http://www.pprune.org/4639748-post621.html). This is not the policy of airlines or government-owned corporations..

[Stationair8]

Who is Kevin Rudd?


Is the hammster turning the wheel, or is the wheel turning the hammster?

[Dick Smith]

Thanks Hempy, at least it doesn't sound if there will be too great a problem in solving this particular issue.

[Stationair8]

Nothing like a good ATC strike, the last good one must have been in the late 1970's.

Gee in the good old days, ATC, Airline pilots or the refuellers always took turns at going on strike at Easter or Christmas time.

So whose side you on Dick, ATC's or little Kev's. I suppose you have a slot on Sunrise or Today show to give an opinion?

[KRUSTY 34]

I think you'll find Dick that VB domestic pilots have "unlimited" sick leave. It may not be set in the EBA, but it appears DJ management have taken it upon themselves to "look after" their drivers.

Some here may be able to verify the details, but my understanding is that you have to be genuine (medical certificate). It appears this company does not accept it's professionals losing their house due to bad luck, say broken leg, extended illness etc...

Very enlightening and prudent. Some CEO's now, (and perhaps always have) see their highly trained staff as expendable. Which in this case they are clearly not.

Listening Greg?

[Ultralights]

ATC, Airline pilots or the refuellers
I think all 3 should go on strike, to protest the government inaction in improving conditions, infrastructure and running the entire industry into the ground.

[FL400]

Would you agree to reducing the number of endorsements? It's thinking akin to "I'm a pilot; I can fly a C172 therefore I can fly a B744"

Dick: "Request direct to Mangalore and descent"
ATC: "Standby"
ATC to self: "Direct to where? Manalgore? Mangalore? What's Manalgore's code? Where is Mangal-whatsit? What navaids are there? Is there a VOR that I can use for separation? Is it collocated with the waypoint? Is it collocated with the aerodrome? Maybe it's only an NDB - what is the range? Is there a restricted area near there? What are the activity levels of it? What's the base of CTA? What's the LSALT? What's the CTAF frequency? What are the runways? Is there VHF coverage on the ground? If no, what are the HF frequencies in this part of Australia? Will I get radar coverage? Will I get ADSB coverage? What is the G frequency? Is there a met service there? METAR only or TAFs as well?"
ATC: "Not available"

Edit: Ask somebody who is rated on that airspace and only 2 or 3 other sectors and they could tell you all that information in an instant Now explain how somebody who is rated on, say, the entire east cost could possibly have all that knowledge at hand for every aerodrome, navaid, frequency, LSALT etc.

[porch monkey]

Krusty, while you are technically correct, it isn't written anywhere in the EBA or any other place, and because of it, it is available, or not, at managements discretion. It has been very helpful for a couple of the guys with serious illnesses, who have returned to work. It is one of the things this management should be congratulated for.:ok: However, I don't know if in the present conditions you would be so lucky............

[BMW-Z4]

Important points:
1. The term unlimited sick leave is not correct.
2. The statistics prove that the sick leave agreement has not been abused.
3. The sick leave entitlement was a bargained position at a previous EBA. Therefore if the leave enttlement is taken back the negotiated offset should be reimbursed.
4. The sick leave entitlement protects the flying public from organisational induced fatigue of an air traffic controller.

Elementary question for the flying public and the Minister - who do you really think is competent and trustworthy? A Board, a CEO or 900 air traffic controllers.

[Angle of Attack]

Wow and people complain about unlimited sick leave...............
The ATC'ers are getting screwed pure and simple. This reminds me of the wharfies dispute totally false allegations abounding.... I for one look forward to strikes less flying for me hehe, and thats not tongue in cheek also.

[KRUSTY 34]

Interesting concept BMW-Z4, the negotiation of a Condition at one EBA, and then "how about giving it back for a wage increase" at the next!

The gall is absolutely breathtaking! :=

[Led Zep]

So I'm not the only one who thought that piece of "journalism" was a bit rude.
When I'm smashing through the sky be it pax or pilot I want the person at their console to be sharp and on the ball. I don't want them wired up on No Doz.
I want them to be well paid and happy with their job. TCAS is great but you can never be sure. See and Avoid has been proven not to work, "Led Zep, number two, follow the A340 in your 12 o'clock, 5 miles." "Erm, traffic not sighted."

I don't want ATC to be stressed with their working conditions/management/overtime/et al. I demand a happy controller who has had a good night's sleep and is ailment free. Just like I want my surgeon and their team well paid and rested before they slice me open. Both professions have the responsibility of other people's lives in their hands.

If you need to strike, do it. For what it is worth, you have my support. :ok:


In this dispute, it might appear some are in it for themselves.Get stuffed sideways, Mr Wright. :yuk: When the airwaves are busy I have lost count of the number of times I have said to whomever will listen thank f@^( I'm not a controller. Show them the respect they rightly deserve.

[ferris]

To be clear Krusty, the "unlimited sickleave" is not a "perk", as such. It implies that staff can go sick willy-nilly. That is not the case.
It was introduced years ago to remove a large overhang of unused sickleave from the accounts- to make the books look better, as unused defined sickleave sits as a liability on the books. So a former management, keen to make the books look better, managed to remove a large liability quickly and painlessly by offering controllers unlimited sick leave.
AsA manages sickleave use very tightly- because they have to. They have run staffing levels down to the point where absences generate airspace closures (and by their own admission, unplanned absences account for only about 30% of airspace closures). Controllers are required to show up fit for duty, and in spite of working as much extra duty as they are required to these days, still dont average more sick leave use than other shiftworkers. AsA has squeezed so much blood form the stone, they are just unable to get any more- hence the BS you are hearing in the media.
There is no doubt Russell will get his- he is just lasting as long as he can. Truth was sacrificed to that end long ago.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

The 'Unlimited Sick Leave', if I remember rightly, was introduced to cover ATCers who may have contracted a long lasting illness, to cover them for the whole period of the illness.
Prior to this is was the same as.......

Where I was, in Flight service, we simply had the 'Old' Public Service Sick Leave Entitlements.
- x single days without cert. (Was it 5 'Single days per Annum ??)
- Two or more, and a Medical Cert was required.
- For lengthy illnesses, three months on Full pay - after qualifying period.
- Could be 'stretched' to 3 months on full pay vs 6 months on half pay after qualifying period.
Or SOMETHING like that. (Its been a while...)

The ATC EBA gave them as much Sick Leave as was REQUIRED to get over the illness on FULL pay - i.e. 'Unlimited Sick Leave'.

That's if I've got it right.....

So, an ATC member, if he/she was unlucky enough to contract Hepatitis for example, would be able to recuperate knowing full well that the family would not suffer unnecessary pecunary loss.

AND, as 'Ferris' says, to clear the books.
The first reason was no doubt told to staff to make it sound - WOW!
The REAL reason was , to satisfy the 'creative accounting' of the time...

As F.S. was 'on the 'Way Out' at the time, (THANKS DICK!) it was pointless to offer it or have incorporated in the FS EBA.....i.e after 12/12/'91...you'll be gone in 6 months....6 months... 6 months...11/11/'93....6 more months etc etc.....
Dec 2000 - GORN!! WHEW!!!:D:D:D:D made it - got the mortgage paid etc..

Correct me if I'm wrong guys and gals.:confused::}:eek:

[Knackers]

I understood that Buck Brooksbank - was that his name? - introduced it because pilots at the time had it. I've got no real problem going back to the old system - but sure as hell, not for 4%! And these proposed bonuses are a pittance. Volvo pays their diesel mechanics an annual bonus better than AsA has paid the last few years. Look at the bonuses the RAAF are paying for plumbers to sign back on.

[sixtiesrelic]

The more I read and see in the media, the more it follows 1989.
Same bloody formula of lies and whipping up the public's mean little opinion of those who have done the study and climb the slippery ladder with the recorders watching over their shoulder every second they work.
Checks more regularly than other occupations and the public (All experts)ready to bay for blood if any tiny mistake is found.
The pay increase is extremely low in the list of controller's concerns while the need to get adequate rest is highest, yet the "papers" as always get the facts 180 out every time.
I'm not a controller but I work close to them and mate, like many of 'em I'd walk away... I did it myself when the respect and reasonable conditions were lost in the caper I was in.
Loyalty is a fairly natural characterisitc in Aussies. The majority of controllers enjoy being loyal, but management have learned to cr*p on employees increasingly till they get sick of it and start fighting.
ATC management have read the set books for management courses at "Uni"
(it used to be called Technical College once) . The book written by some lofty academic who's slipped out into the big bad world and studied people at work then shot back into the cloisters where he's safe to write what he thinks he saw and heard.
Trouble is they're so impractical that they miss the basics that all the plebs "just know" and don't bother to mention, like respect and trust.
Some of the management in Airservices have to be heard to be believed. They come and go, travelling on the big management merry-go-round ride, that starts up with, "cut staff numbers, cut spare parts, outsource- outsource-outsource, keep your ear to the ground and in contact with the mates who can slot you into their outfit so you have somewhere else to go straight after picking up the bonus.
Well this present management is holding the baby. Their predecessors have gotten the outfit into this big mess and shot off to newer pastures and higher salaries while the controllers get stomped on.

[Kelly Slater]

Only a fool would have signed off on unlimited sick leave. Only a bigger fool would expect people to give it up without a trade off but the biggest fool of all would be the one who failed to have unlimited sick leave removed from the next agreement.

[Led Zep]

Rudd's top advisers ignore appeal for wage restraint

Josh Gordon
January 24, 2009Top Government advisers are in line for pay increases of up to $11,700 despite Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's appeal for wage restraint.
A secret memo obtained by The Sun-Herald reveals Special Minister of State John Faulkner wants a 5.6 per cent pay rise for all senior staff employed by MPs.
The memo, written three days before Christmas, also reveals Senator Faulkner has been working on a longer-term strategy to boost the pay and conditions for senior staff amid concern about burnout and soaring turnover rates.
Senator Faulkner says a ruling by Mr Rudd shortly after he was elected in 2007 had in effect frozen pay rates for senior staff, with "no mechanism" for salary increases.
"I am considering approving a 5.6 per cent salary increase for senior staff who have not had an annual increase since 9 December 2007," the memo says.
"I also wish to commence the process of developing a longer- term employment framework for senior staff which will incorporate remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment."
Senator Faulkner also promises to contact senior staff early this year to begin consulting on a "longer-term employment framework".
With growing gloom about the economic outlook for Australia and the world, Mr Rudd last week warned workers to "restrain wage claims" to help deal with the crisis.
US President Barack Obama has also frozen pay rises for his senior advisers.
A spokesman for Senator Faulkner said senior staff employed under the Members of Parliament Staff Act had not been given a universal pay rise since May 2006, unlike other less senior staff who had been given annual increases of 4.5 per cent three years' running.
"This is a consultation process and no decision has yet been made," the spokesman said.
The most senior staffers are paid up to $192,400 in basic wages and an extra $17,719 as a special payment to cover long working hours. A 5.6 per cent increase would mean an extra $11,766.
Chiefs of staff for cabinet ministers and the Leader of the Opposition, who are paid up to $136,100, plus the $17,719 payment, would be in line for an extra $8614.
The recommended increase follows news that two or Mr Rudd's senior staffers - including his chief of staff, Alister Jordan - had received special top-up payments to boost their $200,000-plus annual incomes.
Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union national secretary Dave Oliver said Mr Rudd's plea for wage restraint highlighted a "classic case of privatise the profits and socialise the losses".
Community and Public Sector Union deputy national secretary Nadine Flood said senior staff had not had a pay rise for some time, "so an interim increase is a step in the right direction".
The Sydney Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/)

[Aerohooligan]

All this ASA stuff confuses me. Why can't we just give controllers the standard four, or if we're generous, six weeks off per year, the usual sick-leave and other entitlements applied to other similar professions and meet them in the middle on pay conditions?

The flipside of the coin is, why do ATC get paid quite a bit more than many of the pilots they are controlling? Why can't everyone just be paid what they're worth?

All the controllers I've ever met are hardworking, honest, professional, safety-conscious people, as they should be. I greatly appreciate the (sadly more and more limited) service provided. If I sound at any point like I'm ATC-bashing or pandering it's because I don't fully understand the issue and would like to know more.

Call me communist, but I think profiteering, corporate greed, screwing the little guy for a buck and indeed money in general is a crock of ****.

[peuce]

"It seems Mr Rudd can call for restraint and declare "we're all in this together" until he is blue in the face. In this dispute, it might appear some are in it for themselves"

Mr Wright ... show me one EBA/Industrial negotiation where BOTH parties weren't "in it for themselves" ... and I'll show you an FSO who never missed traffic ! (Griffo excepted)

[flog]

Unlimited sick leave amazes me.

It it unlimited, or unlimited up to your accrued entitlement (like, 1 year = 10 days, after 10 years with no sick leave I've got 100 days and I can take it all at once if I need to? - or is it full on 356 days, go for your life?)?
If it's the full on 356 go for it kind, there's no way it'll stay in. The management that let that through should be shot.

Having said that, I've known a controller or two in my time and you guys need the leave when and where required. No questions asked.

What do the ground Ambo's / Copper's get as far as sick / stress / annual leave entitlements?

[man on the ground]

Yes, it was Buck who offered up the unlimited sick leave, and Ferris is spot on is saying:
It was introduced years ago to remove a large overhang of unused sickleave from the accounts- to make the books look better

It was 'offered' for the purpose of getting a large unfunded liability off the books (same as they have been trying for years to get us old farts out of the CSS super!!).

There is NO sick leave problem. This is nothing more than a smoke screen from the AWB. They know it won't be given up without a fight. Which is what they want! It gives the spin kings an opportunity to call the service interruptions "industrial action by those greedy controllers" to mask the real issue, especially from the minister/government - that is, the complete mismanagement of the organisation.

I repeat there is NO sick leave problem - as evidenced by ASA management not 'performance managing' or disciplining anyone about sick leave. As has quoted elsewhere, single day absences have been declining.

This is more a moral battle - the controllers won't give up this professional 'insurance' for nothing, thus ASA get the chance for their PR spin. Should the controllers trade it away, ASA gain NO financial advantage, but they'd feel they'd had a crushing victory, making those nasty controllers back down on a key issue. So, a win-win for the spin kings. The longer the stale mate goes on, the more they can keep the focus off the real problems, and the longer the effective 'pay freeze', the better for ASA.

But do not be fooled. This is only a diversion. Long after the agreement is eventually settled, the closures and interruptions will continue unabated. There still won't be enough controllers (less actually), and there still won't be any substantial training happening. It will takes years for the mess to be cleaned up from this regime.

So, forget about the sick leave issue - it is really a non-event. (In fact if ASA got their way, it would make the balance sheet worse, because they have to fund the 'potential' leave, rather than the lesser 'actual' leave).

We have genuine crisis - we are at, probably beyond, the critical point. The solution, in the long term, will probably involve very substantial long term traffic restrictions whilst the company is rebuilt. The industry pain is only beginning; and it has NOTHING to do with the certified agreement, sick leave or any possible "protected industrial action".

Why else would ASA be holding the line of 'there is no shortage' whilst simultaneously offering dodgy visas to 'non-australian' experienced controllers to track direct to SY TWR/TCU? I thought the law was that these things could only be offered if you couldn't get local talent. But if we're fully staffed, as the spin kings would have you believe, why haven't these SY positions even been advertised internally to aussie controllers? Wouldn't be because there is ZERO chance of any controller being released from ANY ATC group because we have a critical shortage, would it Minister?

If only the Minister would ask the right questions. :(

The truth is out there.

[MrApproach]

It is not "unlimited" sick leave, that is a misnomer. It is sick leave "as required" (by the ailment not by the controller).

ATC's are able to take one day off without a certificate. More than one day and a doctor has to be visited and a certificate produced.

Airservices can require employees to visit a DAME if they want a second opinion and in any case after more than 30 days a DAME is the only one who can authorise a return to work. (And I have known same cases where that permission was refused and the controller given more time off).

The clause was introduced into the award when Buck Brooksbank and George Grunbaum were running the place and was to offload the books and make management of controller unavailability easier. (Try have half a dozen staff on leave without pay, they will probably look for a less demanding job)

Pre this agreement after the standard public service entitlement controllers were on leave without pay. The obvious consequence of this was that if you were sick you came to work, you needed to save the sick leave for when you were really sick!

Hazard identifications (HAZids) are very popular these days; the AWB should try doing one on a control centre or worse still a Tower assuming five days sick leave. You will find that colds and flu run rampant; controllers are often working in an unfit state; under the weather, emotionally upset, not concentrating on what they are doing. The employer is vicariously responsible for the controllers actions. I assure you Greg it is better to wear a overtime bill that wear a hull loss attributed to a sick or emotionally disturbed ATC being at work because the employer is only clever enough to manage KPIs, not the business.

Controllers have long term sick leave for many reasons. Debilitating illnesses such a dengue fever, broken legs that make control tower access impossible. stress that can be overcome but needs time; family crises that cause depression or loss of concentration, the list is endless.

A caring employer does not want to lose skilled staff and many will fund such arrangements; the only difference with controllers is that it was written into their work contract in a time when the management of Airservices did care.

[puff]

Queensland Police get 'standard' sick leave and then put a few days of their leave a year into a 'sick leave accumulation account'.

Once you use your 'standard' sick leave you can then move into using the accumulation if you have certificates. In a large workforce this accumulation account has years of 'hours' available in it and is of course mainly there for major illness (cancer, breaking limbs etc). It obviously has limits but certainly a fantastic idea.

Generally not abused because the 'bank' is not seen to be managements tool but rather than your peers as each officer makes a 'deposit' into it.

[Philthy]

Interestingly, AsA is happy for the clerks and pen-pushers in AWB to take up to two consecutive days off sick without a certificate, but wants to restrict Controllers to only one, even though Controllers have the same, much tougher, legal requirement as pilots to be fully fit for duty at all times.

I think I smell a political rat...