Dubai we want you to do more for less it is what it is
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Only time things will change is when people start leaving and the service is compromised. Has happened before and will happen again, just ask the old timers
Every 5 years or so, things deteriorate to the point that loads of people leave. Serco suddenly 'finds' a bunch of money and jacks up the package. A whole lot more people arrive. Slowly, things deteriorate. Rinse, repeat.
The problem with this scenario is that you are talking about people's lives. People have to move countries, not just retrain in a new job. It's a massive impost (to either come to the ME or leave it).
Instead of steady increases that keep up with cost of living and events in the world (currency movements, state of the job market, etc.), they seem intent on repeating this scrimp, scrimp, scrimp, piss everybody off, many leave, jack the package up and re-hire scenario over and over, with the ensuing turbulence to controllers (and their families) lives.
It makes you scratch your head. Is it lack of corporate memory, incompetence, or design?
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Until our management team realize you need your staff onside, things ain't gonna be too pretty here for a while.
So far they seem hell bent on pi**ing people off.
Our new manager's reputation preceded him long before his first day in his job and if what our brit-colleagues have been told by their buddies back home is even half-true (and so far it seems to be) then things ain't going to improve. Times have changed and you need man-management skills as well as management skills to be successful, something that appears to be massively lacking at the moment.....
As an afterthought, I wonder how much money was blown on there little roadshows..........
So far they seem hell bent on pi**ing people off.
Our new manager's reputation preceded him long before his first day in his job and if what our brit-colleagues have been told by their buddies back home is even half-true (and so far it seems to be) then things ain't going to improve. Times have changed and you need man-management skills as well as management skills to be successful, something that appears to be massively lacking at the moment.....
As an afterthought, I wonder how much money was blown on there little roadshows..........
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Ferris
Market economy rules with Serco. They will pay the going rate that is sufficient to attracts newbies. They are not particularly interested in in the long term nor the infrastructure that equates to ICAO compliance.
Correct in that you are talking about people's lives but as the NOTSO Great Dane used to say we don't hire the wives and children!
You come to the Middle East with Serco on a 3 months notice contract. Familiar to those from the USA but less so to those from Europe.
The older ATCOs that work with Serco they view as a liability because they cost more and wish that could boot them out and hire newbieas at a cheaper rate thereby enhancing their profit margin. They really don't care how good you are at your job 'cos they can hire a newbie at half the cost.
If you want loyalty, buy a dog as the ex DANS UAE used to say.
Good luck
Market economy rules with Serco. They will pay the going rate that is sufficient to attracts newbies. They are not particularly interested in in the long term nor the infrastructure that equates to ICAO compliance.
Correct in that you are talking about people's lives but as the NOTSO Great Dane used to say we don't hire the wives and children!
You come to the Middle East with Serco on a 3 months notice contract. Familiar to those from the USA but less so to those from Europe.
The older ATCOs that work with Serco they view as a liability because they cost more and wish that could boot them out and hire newbieas at a cheaper rate thereby enhancing their profit margin. They really don't care how good you are at your job 'cos they can hire a newbie at half the cost.
If you want loyalty, buy a dog as the ex DANS UAE used to say.
Good luck
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It's called working for Serco.Just go to work,don't screw up,go home,have a beer,count your $$.
When the $$££ or BS bucket is full you leave.The reason you are there is the Abduls can't do ATC for themselves.
When the $$££ or BS bucket is full you leave.The reason you are there is the Abduls can't do ATC for themselves.
Join Date: Sep 2001
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TAD and Verci,
We all know that there are some locals who actually have a work ethic and some interest in doing their jobs well. Some of them are also competent ATCOs.
As we also know, the reverse is true - there are those whose work ethic consists of instructing aircraft (paticularly if they wish to tow) to standby and/or to call back when their replacement's due (I kid you not) and who are a long way from being competent. We all know who they are.
In the past, this baggage was carried under the umbrella of "keeping the customer happy" by appearing to have an expanding number of local controllers. These days though, we can ill afford to do so.
The time has undoubtedly arrived where someone in the standards dept. needs to grow a pair and say "enough is enough". The constantly increasing traffic volume and complexity mean that the rest of us have much less time available to clean up the ensuing mess and are getting particularly fed up at so doing.
Here's hoping it happens BEFORE there's an accident, rather than as a result of......
We all know that there are some locals who actually have a work ethic and some interest in doing their jobs well. Some of them are also competent ATCOs.
As we also know, the reverse is true - there are those whose work ethic consists of instructing aircraft (paticularly if they wish to tow) to standby and/or to call back when their replacement's due (I kid you not) and who are a long way from being competent. We all know who they are.
In the past, this baggage was carried under the umbrella of "keeping the customer happy" by appearing to have an expanding number of local controllers. These days though, we can ill afford to do so.
The time has undoubtedly arrived where someone in the standards dept. needs to grow a pair and say "enough is enough". The constantly increasing traffic volume and complexity mean that the rest of us have much less time available to clean up the ensuing mess and are getting particularly fed up at so doing.
Here's hoping it happens BEFORE there's an accident, rather than as a result of......
Join Date: Apr 2007
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Market economy rules with Serco. They will pay the going rate that is sufficient to attracts newbies. They are not particularly interested in in the long term nor the infrastructure that equates to ICAO compliance.
Correct in that you are talking about people's lives but as the NOTSO Great Dane used to say we don't hire the wives and children!
You come to the Middle East with Serco on a 3 months notice contract. Familiar to those from the USA but less so to those from Europe.
The older ATCOs that work with Serco they view as a liability because they cost more and wish that could boot them out and hire newbieas at a cheaper rate thereby enhancing their profit margin. They really don't care how good you are at your job 'cos they can hire a newbie at half the cost.
If you want loyalty, buy a dog as the ex DANS UAE used to say.
Correct in that you are talking about people's lives but as the NOTSO Great Dane used to say we don't hire the wives and children!
You come to the Middle East with Serco on a 3 months notice contract. Familiar to those from the USA but less so to those from Europe.
The older ATCOs that work with Serco they view as a liability because they cost more and wish that could boot them out and hire newbieas at a cheaper rate thereby enhancing their profit margin. They really don't care how good you are at your job 'cos they can hire a newbie at half the cost.
If you want loyalty, buy a dog as the ex DANS UAE used to say.
You are basically 100% correct however the road the leadership team is going down seems to be future, planning and paving the road into the next 2 decades! For this you simply need people to stay. You need the long termers if it's costly or not. With the amount of projects and ideas they currently have, they'd be serious brain dead if they saw it otherwise therefore retention of staff is the ABC of this company. I know it seems awkward for this region and company, but it's the reality. Now to the big problem. To retain the staff you need to bring dollars. Dollars in the form of pensions, tri-yearly payouts, far higher gratuity, whatever it may be. That is the only way forward and once people start walking, the ship will sink and I can imagine just like the Costa Concordia, the leadership team and its captain will be the first to start running...
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HB-UAE
Re my earlier post I forgot to add that Serco won't look at a contract unless they are guaranteed a 20% profit margin. That is their main motivation and not that of long term retention of staff for the greater good of the operation.
Dollars in the form of pensions, tri-yearly payouts, far higher gratuity, whatever it may be would be a better approach but the Serco approach reminds me of the song "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" written by John Lennon.
Re my earlier post I forgot to add that Serco won't look at a contract unless they are guaranteed a 20% profit margin. That is their main motivation and not that of long term retention of staff for the greater good of the operation.
Dollars in the form of pensions, tri-yearly payouts, far higher gratuity, whatever it may be would be a better approach but the Serco approach reminds me of the song "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" written by John Lennon.
Navigate your way to excellence?
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The Cooler King
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The reason you are there is the Abduls can't do ATC for themselves.
I am with Vercingetorix......we have some brilliant local controllers here in Oman who have to deal with a lot of traffic, do it very well, and yet have to deal with the issue of sitting next to expats who are getting three times the salary for the same job.
Farrell
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Dubai ATS- et al
There is some philosophy here to consider.
Dubai Airports makes money by passengers and aircraft going through their airport and in the former case spending as much as possible, the latter is a fixed charge of course. In order to get a large passenger throughput it is necessary to get as many aircraft in and out as possible and maybe just delay the outgoing passengers long enough to part with a little additional cash. The ATS organisation is a financial overhead for Dubai Airport Authority and investment in the DWC ATC must clearly be seen as an investment into better technology to achieve the same function. From their eyes the new technology must reduce (or is intended to reduce) the ATC man hours per aircraft movement otherwise there is little point in the investment. From this stand point it is clear to see that regular (automatic) pay rises need to be justified by factors better than increase traffic handling.
Inflation can be mitigated by the readiness of new expats to replace old and local ATCOs will eventually attain sufficient transferrable skills to gradually replace expats from the bottom upwards (no pun intended).
When viewed from a world wide prospective the SERCO package for ATS is extraordinarily attractive given the working environment, and to support this, just look at the number of ATS staff who are making a lifetime commitment to SERCO for the pension and relative easy time.
Dubai Airports makes money by passengers and aircraft going through their airport and in the former case spending as much as possible, the latter is a fixed charge of course. In order to get a large passenger throughput it is necessary to get as many aircraft in and out as possible and maybe just delay the outgoing passengers long enough to part with a little additional cash. The ATS organisation is a financial overhead for Dubai Airport Authority and investment in the DWC ATC must clearly be seen as an investment into better technology to achieve the same function. From their eyes the new technology must reduce (or is intended to reduce) the ATC man hours per aircraft movement otherwise there is little point in the investment. From this stand point it is clear to see that regular (automatic) pay rises need to be justified by factors better than increase traffic handling.
Inflation can be mitigated by the readiness of new expats to replace old and local ATCOs will eventually attain sufficient transferrable skills to gradually replace expats from the bottom upwards (no pun intended).
When viewed from a world wide prospective the SERCO package for ATS is extraordinarily attractive given the working environment, and to support this, just look at the number of ATS staff who are making a lifetime commitment to SERCO for the pension and relative easy time.
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just look at the number of ATS staff who are making a lifetime commitment to SERCO for the pension and relative easy time