Industrial action!

[kuwaitlocal]

It appears the drums are beating amongst the troops at Easy for industrial action over the latest from the inept pilot management team.

When reality sinks in, has any pilot group ever really gone on strike?

[hellsbrink]

There has been at individual airlines, at least. Northwest Airlines springs to mind and I think Air France had one too. Bound to have been others

[stakeknife]

I don't know of any Airline Pilot that wishes for a strike. However, when a company pushes the pilot group into a corner it becomes a 'make or break' for that pilot group. Bend over now and the company will have the means to lower T&C's continually. Consequently the pilot group has little choice but to gather support and fight any unilateral changes to T&C's.

In Easyjet, the way this latest communication was released and what it proposes has been enough to see the Pilots pull together, long time non members of the union are rejoining and the levels were pretty high before hand. It saddens me personally that this is the way we have to work but that is what, FATCAT SHORT TERM managers who will be gone in a matter of months, want.

[Rainboe]

Try opening your eyes and seeing the state of the industry! Makes as much sense as Vauxhall workers striking for more pay! Companies are hanging on watching any surpluses fast disappearing. Services are being withdrawn and consolidated. Good luck if you think IR will get you anywhere, but most airlines are at the stage of 'hanging onto current pay? That would be brilliant!' rather than 'more money/better TCs!'. Pay cuts are almost upon us, especially if we go into deflation.

[golfyankeesierra]

Hey Rainboe, seems to me that it is fair to judge any strike only after you know the reason for it. Do you ? (I don't)

[Say again s l o w l y]

Striking helps no-one. However, if people feel forced into it and normal negotiations fail, then it is the final resort.

I do hope it doesn't come to that though.

I have no idea what the issues at EZY are, but I doubt it is anything minor.

[TartinTon]

and to be fair...anyone who's based in KWI mouthing off about IR issues in Easy is probably a correspondent from Troll central!! :p:p:p

[rhythm method]

Well said golfyankeesierra. It's a bit pointless someone making comment and judgement without having a clue what this is about.

This is not about asking for increased pay, better T+Cs, etc.

This is about fighting to halt a managerial decision to reduce our T+Cs. Deciding to remove (refresh!) crew food which has already been paid for out of our previously reduced salary, removing tea and coffee for God's sake!, and reducing crew water!! (Health and safety issues there at the very least!) This is about stopping the use of contract captains, while at the same time telling our SFOs in the command hold pool that there are no positions for them.

It's alright trying to appear high and mighty and condescending about this, but it wasn't too long ago that BA pilots were willing to strike to protect their T+Cs over the Open Skies issue. There are obviously a lot more details to this than I have posted here, but suffice to say this is not about asking for payrises (unlike AH and JC awarding themselves 10% and 20% payrises in recent days!)

[Springer1]

Northwest pilots did go on strike in '98 for two weeks and ended up with an improved contract. In their earlier years they were known as Cobra Airlines; strike at anything.

Fight Back! - October 1998 - Pilots Win First Round at Northwest Airlines (http://www.fightbacknews.org/1098/northwest.html)

[fireflybob]

For those of us old enough BOAC went on strike I think in the 1960s.

But before they went on strike they had "restriction of cooperation" (=working to rule), like no fly with any defects, no discretion and full procedural approaches everywhere to mention a few things.

[Old Fella]

Pilots certainly have gone on strike. In Australia in the late 1980's the domestic RPT pilots went on strike. PM Bob Hawke put the RAAF C130's into public service and famously described the pilots as "Nothing but glorified bus drivers". Nobody but overseas airlines snapping up the striking pilots won out of the deal.

[con-pilot]

When reality sinks in, has any pilot group ever really gone on strike?

Try Eastern Airlines, the pilots went on strke and the airline went out of business.

Showed them by God.

[Load Toad]

For the best part of thirty years now the mantra has been 'Strikes help no one, achieve nothing and are a waste of time and effort. Strikers are biting the hand that feeds them & thus they are a bunch of Marxist / Anarchist hooligans'.

In the same time terms and conditions in most industries have been eroded, jobs are out sourced to the cheapest locations and the big bosses pay has sky rocketed.

It is about time there was a reassessment of this condition and if the staff at a company feel that their concerns are not being addressed then taking industrial action may be the only available solution. It is not a decision workers take lightly.

[Tolan]

A source from the inside tells me that the unrest is due to management degrading T&C's (taking away water, and reducing crew food, which some pilots took a paycut to keep), and something relating to contract captains.

The part I found interesting is that the management recently awarded themselves a payrise that would have easily paid for crew water and food for 2+ years!

Despicable! My sympathy to you, and I wish you every success!

[Enderby-Browne]

Strikes are first and foremost a management failure. Keeping your workforce working, if not always deliriously happy, is far more important than executive pay rises.

And whatever grade of workforce you're in dispute with, the one which reflects least well on management is a cockpit-crew dispute. If you can't manage an airline without ripping off your cockpit crew, then you can't manage at all.

[orangetree]

I do not believe there has been any formal mention of a strike by BALPA however given the current level of resentment against management it would be no great surprise. Following a winter of what seemed to be productive negotiation, some einstein seems to have decreed from on high that its not enough so they're gonna do a 'smash n grab' on conditions. Given that those on the AMB have yet again awarded themselves handsome payrises this year and still can't settle their differences with Stavros the whole idea isn't going down too well with the troops.
This isn't about a few teabags. This has been simmering for months. It began with a full scale assault on rostering which still seems ongoing, then we have part-time contracts for new captains, removal of uniform allowances, loss of disruption pay, possible contract crews, removal of crew food provisions, gb integration issues. The esteemed leaders have opened up just about every old wound in a single email - so you can imagine the tone of that email and just in time for summer too. Mix that in with roster optimisation that positions crews between 2 uk airports via central europe and you can see the sort of summer that lies ahead in the world of orange.
Nobody wants a strike but a certain influential cloggy wants to break BALPA and unlock the key to the Ryanair airbus division. That, along with his other ideas (of which there are few) is ill-conceived at best.

[Load Toad]

When I worked for a Very Big Company with a Significant Logo I was often told cost cutting measures and various management decisions that negatively effected staff were to increase shareholder value. I pointed out once that I too was a shareholder and that I wished to see a balance between profit and social responsibility which in my humble opinion would be for the long term benefit of the company and it's customers. I quickly realised that I wasn't a big enough shareholder to harbour such opinions.

[Airbubba]

In Australia in the late 1980's the domestic RPT pilots went on strike.

These geniuses never went on strike. AFAP persuaded them to resign en masse. They fell for it hook, line and sinker.

See: The Australian Pilots Dispute of 1989 by Alex Paterson (http://www.vision.net.au/~apaterson/aviation/pd89_document.htm)

Note that the incident is generously described as a 'dispute', not a 'strike'.

I've been on strike, they haven't. Don't let them BS you on this issue. A sad day for eveyone, but they were never on strike.

[Rescue3]

SABENA just before they went under

[merlinxx]

Just confirms the industry nick name "Such A Bloody Experience Never Again":ugh::E

[AltFlaps]

Do you have any idea how tough it is in the 'real' world at the moment?

If you are stupid enough to strike in the current climate, you deserve whatever you get !

The only positive thing is that there would be more market share for the rest of us :mad:

[Old Fella]

Airbubba You can split hairs if you like, the pilots withheld their services, albeit restricting them to normal office hours. Many of your countrymen were quick enough to jump into their seats.

[Sheikh Zabik]

Some of us have already taken significant pay cuts to keep our companies afloat.............so if any of you are so stupid and delusional as to think Industrial action is a good idea then you will surely reap what you sow in short measure. You are lucky to have a job in the present climate.

[Load Toad]

Yes we should be so lucky shouldn't we and we should doff our caps to The Big Boss Who Knows Best and because there is a financial crises not of our causing we should allow ourselves to be rogered anyway they want to do us. For that is progress?

[Long D]

You might have all the genuine reasons to strike based upon what you are seeing, please change the glasses with what you see, and endavour to observe things from a higher prospective, what I meant look at the bigger picture. Employees are the dinamo of any company, the true asset, you ought to be looking for solutions to help your company overcome the present difficulty rather than augumenting the problem going on strike.

Then in few months when the company does not survive because first and foremost it was you who mis-handled the opportunity, don't be sitting around dreaming of how it used to be.

Remember when you point a finger at others, you have three fingers pointed at you.

Wise up you people, and make decisions pro-life that your company might overcome this present challenge and encourage each other that you may see better days to come.

Long D

[parabellum]

Well I would like to think that the Management at Easy had sufficient sense to realise that if the workers at the coalface are being asked/told of reduced terms and conditions then they would naturally forgo any bonus.

I've never been a supporter of strikes in our profession but if that is what it takes to bring a somewhat blind management, (that is so young it only knows commercial success), to it's senses then, so be it.

[rhythm method]

For those that still haven't cottoned on to what this is about, I will state again this is NOT about trying to get a payrise.

This is about continual attacks on our terms and conditions, as well as potential Health and Safety issues.

For the longhaul operators among us, imagine doing a 10 hour duty to JFK, Miami, Chicago, etc and being issued with only two 500ml bottles of crew water and a couple of sandwiches... with the company stating their intention is to get rid of it entirely. Of course you can't just pull over mid-flight to pick up some refreshments, just like we don't have time to nip into the terminal on a 25 minute turnaround.

The pilots accepted new part-time contracts for new captains to help the company's seasonality issues. This was done through negotation with the company. Of course some crew were not willing to accept this as they felt it would be the start of the atack on our T+Cs. We voted and as a majority it was accepted so as to avoid the use of contract captains over the peak summer months. This would at the very least offer some career progression to our hard-working and very able SFOs who are sitting patiently in the command holdpool. Now the company have basically said 'Stuff you! We'll take in contract captains anyway.'

As usual, it is the workforce who bear the brunt of some ridiculous managerial decisions. They state that by removing crew tea and coffee (which is already paid for from our own salary.. therefore they have no right to take it away) they will achieve an annual saving of £400,000. At the same time, they award themselves pay increases amounting to double that figure!

Last year they sent out an email highlighting that the market looked tough for the following year and that they were voluntarily having a management pay freeze. It was soon discovered that they had awarded themselves massive share bonuses of several hundred thousand pounds only a couple of weeks earlier.

No-one has yet accepted responsibility for the recent decision to hedge fuel at $1204 per tonne, when the current market cost is about one third of that price.

As a pilot workforce, we are a generally easy and realistic bunch of people. We gladly will share the pain in tough times, but as you can see, the only sharing here is among the crew, while the AMB are filling their pockets at our expense.

A first step work to rule is not too far away.

[rivalino]

Rhythm Method
A very good post but I think it goes futher.
I have never seen so much money wasted.
AH was questioned recently why a TFS was cancelled instead of paying 1 c\c member overtime .He didnot seem to understand that paying £75 instead of hotels for nearly 400 people not to mention the compensation would be cheaper. The flt was the outbound so return also cancelled.
estimated cost £70000 not to mention pax goodwill.
I could go on and on but I will retire before typing it all.
This unrest is not all about terms and conditions but protecting the companys long term future.
AH is in dispute with Stelios for a good reason.
Stelios wants longterm success for the company as his reputation is at stake while AH wants short term profit to fill his pockets.
ITS THE BANKERS ALL OVER AGAIN.

[captplaystation]

hellsbrink,

thanks for the laugh :ok:

Ref strikes. . . " and I think Air France had one too " :D :rolleyes:

[icarus sun]

To AH and rest of easyjet management grow up. By awarding bonus shares and perks etc, expecting the workers to pay for it. You are putting the long term future of the company in doubt. More to the point you are also putting your future in the company at risk. The days of greedy managers are well and truly over. Be fair or the shareholders will kick you out.

[Dysag]

In the present economic climate, worse T+Cs are the way of the world. Don't think you're irreplacable.

If there are unemployed guys out there who would take your position on the new terms, you don't have a leg to stand on.

Remember Ronald Reagan and the controllers. They thought they were safe but got fired and replaced by the military.

[Flyit Pointit Sortit]

For those of you holier than thou individuals who are already wishing our demise for being greedy in these lean times - you have no idea what you are talking about.:=

Nobody takes the issue of industrial action lightly but this is not really about any individual issue, but more about insiduous developments.

Management have failed to communicate with our elected representatives for the past month. They have then declared both a reduction in terms and conditions and the intention to bring in contract captains.

It is the fact that they have shown no respect to their arrangment with BALPA and that they are unilaterally imposing changes to our contracts that is the essence to this unrest.

If it meant giving up terms and conditions in a negotiated settlement to keep things going, then so be it, however I will not let the company railroad changes to our T's and C's without discussion.

But as some believe, we should be grateful for a job during this race to the bottom of our profession.

[Dysag]

So who's in charge? These days it's pretty obvious.

The bosses are in charge, not employees or BALPA. Like it or not, take it or leave it.

[Localiser]

Dysag: you've got no idea so please don't judge until you fully understand what's going at EJ at present.

Broken contractual obligations as well as health & safety issues are the order of the day at present. Additionally, like it or not the company have a duty of care towards employees particularly in the unique challenges of our profession. Don't forget; we can't even take a bottle of water through security!!

And just to correct you: the shareholders are ultimately in charge and not the 'bosses'. These shareholders also includes a vast majority of employees.

[unb5]

I have read this post with tongue in cheek but need to add my 2 cents. I am unemployed at the moment and continue to see and speak with people who have had their T&C s diminished and or removed while at the top end things seem to be better with bonus's and what not. The whole idea of being unionized is so that employees can speak with one voice and communicate with management. It was said earlier that your management is imposing these new ideas without a discussion thereby ignoring communication. What would it take to bring them back to the table and communicate before strike action ? The work to rule idea sounds good.
To those of you opposed to organized labour I suggest you take a look at the conditions in a place like the UAE where employees have absolutely no rights. You should be glad that your constitution allows for such means and not excercising your rights means that you will end up losing them by default. I am not condoning a strike nor dissuading public action...If saving 400,000 £ is going to make or break the company then they have bigger underlying issues that need to be looked at.
Good Luck Easy Pilots ..may the force be with you.

[Dairyground]

Broken contractual obligations as well as health & safety issues are the order of the day at present. Additionally, like it or not the company have a duty of care towards employees particularly in the unique challenges of our profession. Don't forget; we can't even take a bottle of water through security!!


Assuming that a UK-registered aircraft is a place of work within the meaning of the health and Safety at Work Act, then the obligations placed on the employer by the Act include "An adequate supply of wholesome drinking water shall be provided for all persons at work in the workplace".

See HSE Frequently Asked Questions - Does my employer have to pr... (http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/water.htm)

If EJ is indeed restricting the supply of free potable water, then someone with a direct interest should speak to their local HSE.

Until something happens on that front, is there any reason, apart from the time involved, to stop anyone wanting a litre of water airside making ten trips through security with 100ml each time? Ridicule can be the most effective way of fighting tyranny!

[GreatBelt]

To start with the beginning of the tread. Just do a little research and you will find companies like SAS, Iberia and Air France all have been on strike in recent years. Remember also that Al Italia pilots had the guts to stand their ground in the airline darkest hour.

It appears the relatively new orange management has decided to go down the Ryanair route. For our profession sake I believe the easy pilots will draw a line now.

[captplaystation]

Isn't it funny how expecting your employer to respect a previously negotiated contract is seen as taking the pi$$ but awarding (or manipulating the rules to manage to award yourself ) a bonus is seen as your just reward for mismanaging the company into the mess it is in.
As usual, one rule for "them" and quite another indeed for "us".

[wind check]

Do you have an idea of what would be the terrible consequences of a strike at easyjet during this economic climate?
Can you compare very big and old companies like Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, Fedex with very strong financial structure opposed to low cost airlines like easyjet and ryanair which are already starting to struggle? :ouch:

[GreatBelt]

Wind Check,

I don't believe either easy or RYR are starting to struggle. Both companies have loads of money in the bank and from what I hear easy is performing better than expected. Easy have given some Managers a pay rise and appears to pay bonuses this year as well. That can hardly be a company in severe trouble.

[wind check]

Just wait untill the end of 2009 and you will realise how bad the situation is for everybody. PAX demand is expected to be very low this summer, and as you know, summer is when the airlines are supposed to make money.
MOL is also talking a lot of bull**** but he must really be worried about the near future.

[Elephant and Castle]

You just do not know what you are talking about. I fly FULL airplanes day in day out. FULL. I have no doubt that many companies are suffering in the present downtrend but others are prospering and easyJet is among the latter. Nobody can deny what I see everyday with my own eyes. If you do not beleive me log into easyJet.com and look at the prices and seats left available.

We have a contract and we can expect this contract to be fulfilled unless both parties agree otherwise. We are not after a payrise here just demanding that easyJet fulfills their contractual obligations.

I repeat many companies might be struggling but Easyjet is doing very well and our management will collect MASSIVE bonuses this year.

[ZBMAN]

Easy have given some Managers a pay rise and appears to pay bonuses this year as well.That can hardly be a company in severe trouble.

Oh, you mean just like AIG? :}

[wind check]

elephant, unfortunately, having full load does NOT mean that the company is making the benefits they need. As I said, just wait a further couple of months and you will see.
I understand you're a bit pissed off to see your conditions getting worse, but I do reckon that any strike would put any company into a severe danger those days.

[A319-100]

This is just getting silly. Easyjet is not struggling at the moment. In fact they have done better this winter than forecast and have circa 800 million pounds in the bank. The future no-one can tell. If the company were struggling and management led by example by not taking pay rises, bonuses and generally sharing the pain with us then of course we would follow suit. What THIS is about is the degrading of our terms and conditions whilst at the same time a similar amount (in fact more) is being awarded to the AMB in bonus/payrise. This is not about saving the company money. This is about maximising profits to line the pockets of our managers. The main cost to the airline throughout the downturn has been poor managerial decisions which have been mentioned above, NOT the staff who are now more fuel efficient and hard working than ever. That is all we can do. Go to work and demonstrate good airmanship and be company minded. Most I work with are just that. So in essence, we are grateful to have our jobs, we are gateful to be in a company like EasyJet during a time like this but, while the AMB are lining their pockets at our expense and not benefitting the company, we are losing condition after condition. This is why Industrial action is being threatened. not because we are a spoilt bunch who have no sympathy for our fellow colleagues who are unemployed at the moment. We are hardly that selfish and narrow minded.

[wind check]

About the fuel hedging, every airlines have done the same mistake, but maybe we should have followed your advice and knowledge, because you seem to know even more than god does. :ok:
You should replace AH, because he is a bad boy and bad manager isnt he?

[Elephant and Castle]

How much is your bonus for screwing your colleagues Wind Check?

[Stone Cold II]

We can always help reduce the Managment's payrises and bonus by stopping single engine taxing, keep both packs on along with the APU on the ground (why should we freeze first thing in the morning) and stop doing any Flap 3 landings not that I see many people do them these days.

Management continue to hammer into us that we as Pilots have the biggest impact on Fuel and should do as much single engine taxi etc. as possible to help increase profits and also ensure they get their bonuses.

They want to keep knocking us down then why the hell are we helping them? We get no thanks for it. Why should they award themselves large payrises and make the crews pay for it?

Would love to see their faces when they look at the data on how many aircraft are carrying out single engine taxi and over a 2 weeks period it was a big fat 0.

I realise we must ensure the future of the company but easyJet is doing very well under these trying economic climates and is nowhere near on the brink of collapse.

I remember A.H. when he joined going round saying let's make easyJet a career airline and make it a GREAT PLACE TO WORK!!!!!!

Recently did SEP up at lala land and it looks like our leader or any manager has lost the balls to turn up for the business chat at the end of SEP day to take questions.:ugh:

Rant over.

[Dan Winterland]

It doesn't take a strike to make a point. Just encourage some like for like action. For example, to complain about the lack of food and water, just take a 30 minute lunchbreak in the terminal in between sectors. That should be enough!

So long as lots of people do it so that individuals don't take the heat.

[tocamak]

There clearly must be more to this than those on the outside can appreciate but having met some of the balpa reps they do not seem a reactionary lot who would take action on a trivial affair. The issue of the water restriction by the company seems daft given the restrictions on an individual getting their own onboard. I would say you should drink one of those 500ml bottles per stretch to avoid problems with dehydration. If the crews already took a hit on pay to preserve access to other drinks then surely that should be honoured. Don't know about the contract captains issue so can't comment.

One slightly off-thread comment though related:-

long time non members of the union are rejoining

And then they will leave again when it's all over but still benefit from others hard work. Leeches, I wouldn't let them back in temporarily if I had my way (which of course I don't!)

[skianyn vannin]

Like the post Stone Cold I, but remember there are lots of other ways to waste gas! ATC "descend when ready". Surely that means descend now. Make sure you are stable at 1000' by judicious use of speedbrake and configure nice and early.

Quite frankly I am sick and tired of AH and Cor O'Leary telling me I must be shafted so that they can line their pockets with even bigger bonuses. For those of you from other airlines who think we are being feckless you are probably unaware of these facts.

AH's basic salary is some £590k. His bonus last year was an extra £1million on top of this. So his total remuneration is greater than that of MOL and Willie Walsh combined!

Don't get me wrong. I am all in favour of the company being successful. What I do not like is money being taken from my pocket to line those of the money grabbing city spivs!

End of rant

[Centreline747]

As an observer (ie I don't work for EZ or FR) I would like to point out something that is probably obvious.

For years in aviation, in my time anyhow, management have endeavoured to 'nibble' away at employees T's +C's, especially when times are hard.
IF anything is given up, however trivial it may seem, you can guarantee it will be far more difficult to 'claw' it back when things improve.
This is one of the reasons the aviation industry has lost so much ground in the last 30 years. :confused:

Nobody wants industrial action as that can, and has in the past, lead to the demise of a Company. There are enough unemployed, experienced guys and girls out there already.

I don't know the answer but feel that burning the extra fuel is probably the most effective way of making your point as long as it can be done in a justifiable way. Why should you freeze in your 'place of employment' by not running the APU (as Stone Cold II pointed out - H&S issue there?!)

Good luck :ok:

Rgds

CL747

[Centreline747]

It is more a matter of principle - why should AH line his pockets with gold at the expense of a few tea and coffee servings. You can bet he has it on tap in his office- for free!!

When I began my aviation career (long before you were born) there were few shareholders who were out for themselves and times were good and there were many 'perks' but like I pointed out it has been eroded slowly by the bean-counters who are only interested in one thing - keeping the shareholders happy. :ugh:

I am not familiar with EZ SOP's but there are ways of using fuel without breaking any such (and without compromising safety of course!) and if that makes everyone feel a little better and gets the point over then good luck.
After all, a happy environment is a safe one. :ok:

Rgds

CL747

[fireflybob]

You don't have to break the SOPs to make your point (and neither, I believe, should you!). Quite the reverse, just WORK TO RULE! No discretion, no fly with ANY defects on a/c, no visual approaches - just fly the full procedural approach, etc - in fact follow the SOPs to the letter and some more!

I wish the Easy Pilots good luck - the industry has seen Ts and Cs eroding on a weekly basis and someone needs to take a stand.

[Cancel2LateLunches]

Clara, the figures you quote are for some Euro contracts. UK contracts which most pilots are on are quite considerably less than those figures.

[Centreline747]

.....also cannot find anyone suggesting "breaking" SOP's.

I would like to think all on here are more professional than that (although not all come across that way ;))

Rgds

CL747

[qualitycontrol]

LGW Capt - £4800-£5100/month.

[capt. solipsist]

It appears the drums are beating amongst the troops at Easy for industrial action over the latest from the inept pilot management team.

When reality sinks in, has any pilot group ever really gone on strike?

YES, the Airline Pilots' Association of the Philippines (ALPAP) did in June 1998. I should've been a 744 capt now instead of an expat 734 were it not for that. Was invited back in after the case was resolved with finality in 2003. But NO regrets. While feelings of unease continue to linger among those who became scabs when they meet us, guys who live up to their word walk with head up high and dignity intact.

[Stone Cold II]

Clara nobody says anything about breaking SOP's with regards to us say not doing any single engine taxi for a period of time to make a point is not breaking a SOP since single engine taxi is at the commanders discretion.

You should know that Clara being as you are supposed to be working for us for the summer period. Looking at your post from other threads I doubt you will last for very long before the axe is swung, that is if you really are joining which I doubt. :=

[THE POINTY END]

I spent quite a few years in FR and lived through the continuing degrading t&c's such as the taking away of crew water, no traveling expences, paying for hotels etc. It was a totally miserable place to be. The feeling I have witnessed amoung crews at ezy is almost identical to those that were felt in Ryanair. It's a horrid avenue to continue down. I can understand a difficult economic climate and the need to reduce costs, but why is it always the crews who have to pay? During my last rotation, not once was there a GPU for us on stand at my home base. Sorry, it was there, but no ground personel had turned it on and plugged it in. So, lets burn the fuel for the APU then. There are trained cabin crew who have not had their contracts renewed and are forced to leave. At the same time the company continue to train new cabin crew at a cost. We fly with poorly stocked bars and can't sell to the punter. And because of this the cabin crew get it in the neck for not meeting the cost per head. Even when we ask for a new bar we're told no. So why should we as crews who do try to save money for the company and go the extra mile have to make up for the for huge mismanagment from those above us? I don't think striking is the answer as it will undoubtadly put our jobs at risk in such a difficult economic climate, but give it a year or so (peaks and troughs) when the market place is better, we can vote with our feet and go where the grass will be alot greener. Treat people like crap and don't expect ANY loyalty. That was the how it was in FR, I'm just sad that EZY is becoming an orange version.

[Starbear]

Why are Easy suggesting contract captains at all? Surely with the downturn they cannot be short of captains or if they are, I read elsewhere they have a considerable pool in waiting. Is this suggestion just a deliberate threat for some other reason?

All comments regarding the almost continual drip erosion of T & Cs are valid and not just at Easy of course, its just that it seems to take us all so long to wake up to the idea. And to those who say "don't rock the boat and have you seen how bad the real world is etc. etc." Just how far would it have to go to get your attention?

[Leo Hairy-Camel]

Remember also that Al Italia pilots had the guts to stand their ground in the airline darkest hour.
Jesus tap-dancing Christ, GreatBelt, are you for real? It takes a brave, brave man to hold the Italian Zombie up as the high water mark in pilot industrial relations. I thought in you I'd located my choice for imbecile of the year award, but wait, there's more!

I don't know the answer but feel that burning the extra fuel is probably the most effective way of making your point
At a time when, next to survival itself, environmental politics is the defining red button issue in our industry, and when well-intended but cluelessly misled groups like Plane Stupid (http://www.planestupid.com/) (sic) are utilising guerilla tactics in making their point, what does Centreline747 offer them and others on a platter? That's right, he's telling the world that pilots are encouraging acts of environmental sabotage. Well done, that man! Proof, if any more were needed, that sitting so high in the cockpit accelerates the irradiation of one's brain by cosmic radiation.

Our jumbo driving BALPA member goes on.....
This is one of the reasons the aviation industry has lost so much ground in the last 30 years.
No it isn't, chum. "lost so much ground", for those unaccustomed to their tiresome recruiting campaigns, is BALPA code for the transformation of the industry whereby customers have decided they'd rather not pay an extra three or four hundred quid for the pleasure of a rubber chicken dinner served to them by a sour, menopausal frump. When this great eye opener occurred in the collective psyche of our customers (remember them, boys?) the days of fur-lined conditions for the few were consigned to the way of the Dodo.

That they don't like it is, I suppose, understandable, but the paucity of their argument in defence of the bad old days and, worse still, their suggestion that union membership is somehow the universal panacea for pissed-off pilots everywhere is offensive and disingenuous in equal measure.

To them, of course, it is irrelevant that thousands of more pilots have jobs these days, and millions more customers can afford to fly. To them, a full plane is proof that an airline is profitable. The truth is, they wouldn't recognise yield management or unit cost if it ran into them in a lubricated Ferrari. No matter, though, the literature demonstrating that Throttle Monkeys make for terrible businessmen is documented to the heavens, as these four pages will ably attest.

To the pilots of EZY, go on boys, STRIKE. I double-dog-dare you! And over what? Oh that's right. No more free water, coffee and crew meals. BALPA fiddles while Easyjet burns.

TO THE BARRICADES, COMRADES. Last one in the bunker's a sissy!

[BitMoreRightRudder]

We just don't like the idea of taking it up the proverbial everyday Leo, like your boys do. Funny you mention lubrication in your musings there - I imagine you're an expert in such matters.

[Stan Woolley]

BitMoreRightRudder

Very short memory at easyJet haven't you, or probably just a new boy?

Anyone with any sense left years ago, why do you think they eventually looked at the roster? Now the balls firmly in their court again so expect the worst.

Hell will freeze over before easyJet pilots go on strike. :rolleyes:

[Cancel2LateLunches]

Sorry to correct you again but LYS is not a pilot base

[BusBoy]

The issue is not so much about the erosion of Ts&Cs.I genuinely believe we would all give up whatever was required IF it were a level playing field, IF someone was not going to collect a fat bonus for saving this £400k on Tea and Coffee.
Come on guys, the issue is not crew food or drinks. Personally I like working at EZY and will go a long way to see it weather the storm. HOWEVER, if the management are going to convert all our fuel & crew savings into bonus payments then why the hell should we bother.

be the best beat the rest?? think not, more like "Do as I say not as I do"

[BitMoreRightRudder]

Stan Woolley

No I've been here a while, through the last stand-off over pay, and long enough to know that working for a loco means management have us by the balls. Doesn't mean as a group ezy pilots should abandon collective representation, surrender hard won T&Cs and bend over, like you boys over at FR.

Anyone with any sense left years ago

They didn't join Ryanair, that's for sure.

[Stan Woolley]

BitMoreRightRudder

Fighting talk right enough!

Lets see what transpires. :ok:

[qwertyuiop]

Busboy has hit the nail firmly on the head.
The £400k cost saving has not saved the airline, it has boosted a managers bonus. We have seen the bankers rape and pilage the economy and many airline managers are doing the same.
There are so many areas that would improve the bottom line but the stupid managers ignore these, The Pointy End highlighted a couple. I fear for EasyJet as it seems to be in the control of a very short sighted bunch of below average managers. Stelios must be very concerned that the vibrant, energetic company he started is in such poor hands.

[stakeknife]

Wouldn't be so sure about EZY pilots not striking, every improvement in T&C's has come from sticking together and the threat of industrial action. It's not about tea and coffee, the pilot group will fight hard for EZY as most of us are shareholders however we have lost faith in the current management team who want short term gains for themselves which we have to pay for. In short, it ain't going to happen! For those EZY pilots here, email the bonus takers and let them know how disappointed you are in them! As for the rest of you non EZY pilots, thanks for your opinions , they are duly noted but we will fight this one out thanks.

[Meikleour]

Because no pilots are permanently based there! Go check with your `boyfriend`!!

[kick the tires]

Guys,

ignore Crala,

She claims/dreams of working for ezy and knows nothing of the Company, her latest being LYS as a pilot base.

She claims to shag training captains for advancement for god sake!

Still, entertainment value is there I suppose.

[disco87]

Comedy Gold

[BitMoreRightRudder]

I am in love with an easyjet training captain based in the euroland, and sexually everything is perfect.

Yep, this is getting priceless.

[EpsilonVaz]

I was based in the uk for my line training, and my next base for this summer I still don't know what it'll be.

12 ATP cadets have been offered summer contracts with EZY, their bases were allocated about 2 weeks ago. Another hole in your story :oh:.

I really wonder what your motivation is for trolling all the EZY threads :hmm:.

[Marvo]

Leo, Oh how I've missed you ! and for once I slightly agree with your post. It's only taken me three years and several flights (twice June 06)with you but you are nearly making sense..

Having experienced the delights at Ryanair I came to easyJet for improved the T's and C's. Striking because of the removal of tea and coffee in todays economic climate would be suicidal - the introduction of contract captains whilst SFO's like myself wait for years, to finally go on a 75% temp contract, is worth fighting over however. If the guys at FR stood up to MOL and Leo for once it might be a great place to be again.


Ignore Clara ,as HE is a windup merchant - but very amusing.

[disco87]

I give it a month...tops

[Centreline747]

Aaaahhhh!! isn't that so sweet :yuk::yuk::yuk:

[EpsilonVaz]

I didn't say ATP CTC, I said ATP. All bases have been allocated and confirmed. Anyway, need to stop feeding the troll, the food is expensive :ouch:.

[kick the tires]

MODS:

To avoid crala deleting the post I have reproduced it here:


Quote:
I want to screw your ass my little clara, and I will then have a slash on your pussy.

kick the tires
thank you for your PM but you are too rude for me.


Clara

I have emailed you ref this, can you check the PM's from both myself and flying clara and then act accordingly.

Specifically, crala's posting has violated the terms and conditions of use of this site, namely:

Without limiting the foregoing, the following behaviors are strictly prohibited:

* Strong, vulgar, obscene or otherwise harmful language,


Thank you.

[wind check]

Kick the Tyre and Flying clara, please go back to your stupid discussions in PRIVATE message :* :yuk:

[Right Way Up]

Wind Check

I dare say KTT has a fair grievance.... wind your neck in!

[Viking101]

Back to topic.

easyJet is doing good. Of course the airline is affected by the financial climate, but not at all in trouble. This is very imoirtant to remember. The AMB is using the economic climate to try and change the T&Cs for the pilots with help of threats and horror stories of how bad its affecting the airline. Once again, thats just the managament trying to use the market against us, whilst it is not correct in that sence.

easyJet does not want to upgrade their own FOs, they want to hire contract pilots instead. This will affect standards and safety. This I can say because looking back at last year with some of the contract pilots eJ had over the summer ( well actually 6 months.........) there were much more G/As and ASRs filed and most often including contract captains name on the paper. Also not to forget, the fuel bill for that, AND the cost! They earn about £700 per day plus travel expenses.

Taking away the tea and coffee is just to have some fun, and showing the pilots that the managment can do what they want. The serious thing is them taking away food and water that the pilots pay for, and summer time with duty days of about 11 hrs and 3 bottles of water only??? In the heat? This is where the airline made a investigation about Health and Safety, and just how important it is to drink minimum one bottle of water per sector. So its pretty clear the maths dont add up here.

Finally, the managment cutting down on things is fine, as long its negotiated and agreed upon. But when its not negotiated at all, and the managment giving themselves a payrise AND bonuses, well then they are asking for trouble.

And I hope to God BALPA will give them hell for this, because its not acceptable at all. The managment has proven to be very unreliable, and for the pilots means that them being loyal went out the window. The managment shot themselves in the feet really really bad this time. :ugh:

This fight I hope gives all of us some extra guts to stand up towards airline management that are screwing around with pilot colleagues. Ok, time are bad, but using that to cut down on our living quality for own bonuses that is illegal and shall be punished! :=

[kick the tires]

Vikings post sums the situation up very well indeed.

I recall a Futura sub from LPL-BFS a few years back trying to land in the disused airfield west of BFS, fortunately going around when ATC didnt see the aircraft as it called 'finals' and warned them (despite notes on chart, warnings on ATIS, DME etc). The subsequent approach into the real BFS was so unstable that the on board Training Captain telephoned Ops and insisted the crew did not fly again.

The aircraft positioned back empty to LPL!

I'm sure there are many other horror stories of third party **** ups. It is so frustrating that we have/did have the spare training capacity to upgrade our own FO's, having agreed to the PPY75 etc, and yet all along the hidden agenda of the management was to get the contract captains in.

One presumes that the CC of Thomas Cook has had a similar battle with their management and I am sure Nick has been able to benefit from their battle.

I remember my divorce some years ago. All very amicable until the ex started hiding stuff and her hidden agenda became apparant. Then the gloves came off and it was hard rules!!

Seems a little deja vu!

[rubik101]

EZY will not go on strike for the same reasons that RYR never went on strike. Many pilots at many different bases, on different contracts, some paid in euros, some in sterling, some getting loads, flying and money, some getting little, some FOs just promoted, some waiting, some don't give a ****, some already did.
Striking over a crap meal is not the question. The idiots who voted for it back in the day when you had a chance to opt for feeding yourself, post GO takeover, lost you that chance at looking after NO 1 and not consigning anything needful to management.
These same idiots voted for a bonus/share scheme which gave them a one off payment in 2003 and has paid little or nothing since.
The FOs waiting to be shafted by their new promotion/75% deal will not strike because if they do, they are off the list!
Strikes are so Arthur Scargill; get real and be happy to be in the great throng of shat on plebs who drive aeroplanes for a living.
Join your also shat on buddies at RYR and try to do something constructive TOGETHER, instead of continually shooting caustic and silly barbs at each other ad nauseam.

[curser]

One can always rationalize oneself out of action. Blaming those that have gone before is a great old chestnut. Management never announce on a Monday Lads and Lassies as of Tuesday half pay and no leave, it is the constant whittle that will get you.
You may decide now is not the time and many would agree but get a plan construct a strategy and don't let those who have been broken or lack drive or are plain lazy distract you from your end game. Rubiks last point sums it all up.

[kick the tires]

Rubik,

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Re food: it was discussed to death at the time, the options were explored and in the end I believe even the CAA had an input into it. We voted and the majority won. Would we of voted the same if we knew then what we know now? Probably not.

Bonus/share scheme. What was that? I dont recall us having such an option. What BALPA have done is got the profit clause taken out of our annual loyalty bonus payment - now that could be worth a LOT of money!

PPY75 - yeah, it sucks but better than getting in even more contract captains. I suspect tho that when it is released to the general pilot population, it will be well oversubscribed!

Strike? No, I dont think it will happen. Work to rule, as others have mentioned, yes I hope it will! With all the FLIDRAS/ACARS data available they will very quickly see that the bottom line is being hurt. THAT will make Cor Blimey and his merry men sit up and hey, WE might even manage a vote of no confidence in him!! Twice in his career, now that would be something!!!

[zumzum]

Hi guys,
I'm sorry but we NEED to be prepared to do anything to stop them. If we need to stop the fleet we have to!
Honestly I'm a bit tired of this british way.. (no offence) always trying to find an excuse not to take responsability and say enough is enough.
What they are doing is illegal and need to be stopped. I'm a professional pilot and I want to be respected so please stop to bleame te previous pilots and bla bla bla...and do something!
thanks
zz

[Alexander de Meerkat]

Great to see Leo Hairy-Camel out and about. He is without doubt the most consistent pilot in the industry - he is consistently wrong about every issue affecting professional aviators.

Regarding easyJet, this is a BIG deal. My gut feeling is that people will whine about the crew food but get on with it. Contract captains are a different matter and if the issue is not resolved (ie real live contract captains are employed at easyJet over the summer), there will be a strike. I have not yet met a single pilot at easyJet who does not regard this as a striking matter. Incidentally, until recently BALPA membership at easyJet was in the low 70 percent area. It is now rocketing up as people wake up and smell the coffee.

Also, at SEP days, a senior manager (CEO/Director level) usually comes to give the business chat at the end of the day to anyone who wants to hang around and hear it. It is always much-appreciated by the crews as it is the only real chance the worker bees get to meet the top people. At last week's SEP day, no manager could be found talk to the troops - very odd! As another little aside, Cor Vrieswijk, our Flight Operations Director and the most invisible man at easyJet, is actually coming to Gatwick on Friday to discuss the issues of concern with the crews. Bearing in mind that no one outside of Luton could recognise him if they saw him, this is an indication of the alarm felt by our managers at what is unfolding. They are absolutely right to be alarmed as they are about to save a few quid by employing contract captains and lose millions on a damaging strike in the middle of the summer season. It makes you wonder if Andy Harrison our CEO and Jeff Carr our Financial Director are really worth their recent pay rises (10% and 20% respectively) - nice work if you can get it.

[olster]

Leo is a very articulate and amusing correspondent who writes with a verve that the real MOL would not be able to achieve.I am sure his posts are designed to be provocative and in this aim he succeeds very well;however,although his central topic is normally Ryanair there are evidently parallels with orangeworld.

I worked for easy for six years and in the main,it was not a pleasant experience.The pilots are marginalised to the point of working in a parallel universe with minimal contact with the rest of the airline.The business focus was always profit and share price;flight safety and technical competence was brushed to the side and left to the 'chaps down the road'.The pilot share option schemes were 'crumbs from the table' subject to full 40% tax;the directors/senior managers were on the 'approved scheme' -strangely enough no tax due to the local horse trading with HMRC -I think you get the picture.The core business plan was and probably still is driven by greed -the now so very fashionable deadly sin demonstrated by the bankers and elected politicians.

As Leo says it is probably not a brilliant plan to go on strike in the current economic atmosphere.To get to the point:food was unambiguously paid for by the pilots in negotiated settlement some years back;I know the ex cc chairman still works for easy and would I am sure point you in the right direction.Our negotiated settlement of the time included a percentage pay increase minus a sum deducted for the privilege of having execrable crew food.This did not include the cabin staff but I believe it was felt that this would hardly be fair due to their paltry income.

I think the easy pilot community need robust leadership from Balpa coupled with a united pilot workforce.A good starting point would be to publically highlight the avarice and hypocrisy of the directors/managers.A recurring theme in the modern British business/political landscape.

All the best to current easy pilots

[Alvin]

Kick the Tyres - looks like you got your request she/him/shim has vanished!! No doubt we await the appearance in another form!!

[kick the tires]

Yes, heard from pprune towers, she was indeed a he and has been removed from the site.

As Borat would say, Great Success! :-)

[captplaystation]

He, she, somewhere in between. . . . IT was full of sh1t & won't be missed.
Too much space wasted already responding to ITS inane posts.
Wonder who the Easy training Capt with a tranny for a girlfriend is :D ;)

[autobrake3]

Instead of messing about with half hearted rhetoric with the company, I hope that BALPA simply takes the company to court for contractual breaches. While they're about it enter discussions with the CAA and the H and S executive, I suspect both would have something to say about being stuck in a cockpit for 10 hours without a ready supply of refreshment. Water is a basic human right included in the Geneva convention. I for one will not have my profession degraded any further by these greedy people. The plane stops when we run out of water.