Six-days works weeks
 

Hello mates

Reading this report :

Drop in number of controllers fueling debate on privatizing air traffic system: Travel Weekly

what does really mean "six-day work weeks ? a roster of six days on duty / one leave ?
Sorry, seems an obviously question but....

I believe they have a standard 5 on 2 off work week (obviously not all Monday-Friday) but they have mandatory overtime scheduled for one of their two days off a week, hence the 6 day work week.

In the UK, some units roster 6 days on and 3 off.

??

As cossack says; in the US, many ATCOs are working 6 on, 1 off due to mandatory overtime.

Thank you both of you.
The standart roster in USA seems to be 5 duty & 2 leave, but if your 4th day on duty is a night shift the next "sleeping day" is included on the 5/2 roster? or you can end your roster 5 in night shift and then you have 5 + sleeping day + 1off?
Any FAA atco on the fórum to confirm this point?
Regards

Where I worked, the typical, normal schedule was two afternoon-evening shifts, followed by a mid-day and two morning shifts, OR, two afternoon-evening shifts, two morning shifts, and a mid- night shift. (2300-0700)

You could sleep all day after your mid, and still had 2 more days off.

The reason I retired a year before I was required to, was that I was scheduled for 6 day work weeks, with only one day off, and that was to train the new folks, who were mostly off-the-street hires with no background in aviation. That was more exhausting than just working traffic.

When I was hired by FAA in late '70s, with few exceptions, most hires were either ex-military ATC, or instrument rated pilots like myself.

Thank you vector4fun , BTW which is the minimum/maximun age for retirement for FAA atcos? Somebody told me that at 46 you can leave, its true?

You can leave whenever you want ;)

Not quite. You were eligible after 20 years and reaching age 50, or after 25 years at any age. Mandatory retirement age was 56. I retired at 55 with 30 years. Most of my crew retired within a year of me for similar reasons.

Many facilities now have similar issues. 6 Day weeks would have been OK when we were young, eager and needed the money. It gets damn old when the alimony/child support is all paid and work starts interfering with your golf game. ;)

vector4fun

Spoken like a true (ex) ATCO!

I have been working mandatory 6 day weeks for the last 10 years, and due to our huge staffing crisis, that will continue long after I retire. I'm 48 with 25 years of service already, so even if I go to age 56 mandatory retirement, we'll still be understaffed.