Privatisation
 

Lets guess which order they attack.

1. Pensions. Day 1 for a new pension scheme which will be "broadly similar" but nothing like as good.

2. Support staff. Get them from the job centre at a fraction of the pay. Never mind if they dont know a not from a knot.

3. Fatigue breaks. Bye bye enhanced breaks (thus staff numbers) back to SRATCOH minimum breaks and take advantage of the new extensions allowing up to 4 hours without a break.

Anything for month two ?

Management reward themselves for Month One's performance with double figure pay rises?

IPMS agree that it is a reasonable settlement.

Or is that too harsh?

If management is a regional structure, they'll centralise. If it's central, then decentralisation will be the way to go. Either way, there'll be more bosses with flasher offices and not much will change at the coalface.

Every few years will see top management move on to other jobs and make way for some "new broom". This will be a Manager with no aviation experience, "but that's not important because he will listen to the workers". His main job will actually be to screw the workers. Once he's done that he will add a new paragraph to his CV and move on to a similar job with a bigger company and nobody will notice what chaos he left in his wake, except the workers at the coalface, who will now be working harder while sussing out the next manager they wheel in. This guy will be a "really good guy", but before long he'll be wheeling out the latest restructuring plan because it's a competitive environment we work in now and we have to be lean to fight off the competition. This guy doesn't really want to do it and he's thinking of the long term future of the company, but the workers will be getting that familiar feeling of being screwed again.

Competition ? Even the government recognise there can be no competition so the managers will have to think up other excuses for screwing us.

Seen the bit in the consultation document about 'breaking up NATS' into smaller companies ? Bye bye 'Focus on People' for all the Airfield ATCOs awaiting a career progression to Area. So few are being released because there's no-one coming in to replace them - average wait .... 5-7 years .. just ask the ATCOs at Aberdeen. So much for the ATCO career development plan.

And then there's the bit about Insolvency, with apparently the Govt being the final guarantor to prevent NATS 'going bust' or being 'wound up'.

So let me get this straight .... NATS can't remain public sector because any borrowing counts against the PSBR, and the 'risk' is borne by the taxpayer. So instead we have to be privatised (oops sorry 'partnershiptised'), so we can borrow for investment (at higher interest rates). But if it all goes wrong .... err.. the taxpayer bails it out anyway.??

Did I get that right ?

2 six 4,
They might say "No Competition" now, but you can bet within 5 years the story will change. Ask NZALPA what's happening down under.

...

Did you guys see the story about that well known power company who have expressed an interest in buying us ? (NATS) The very same company who are in court this week being sued by their pensioners for skimming off £450 million to be used for redundancy payments.

Welcome to the world of public private partnership.

Sh1t. ..... have you guys seen the comparison in pension terms ? If you have more than 5 years and less than 35 you are shafted !!! How many MPs does it take to cause a rebellion ?

believe World in Action are doing a programme tomorrow - Monday 30th on ATC and include reference to privatisation

World in Action is doing a TV report tonight on the state of UK ATC. They claim the number of airproxes is increasing because of extra traffic and pax lives are being put at risk.
WiA reckons there have been 60 airproxes in past year, of which 25 can be linked to ATCOs. They say there has been a "huge increase" in overload reports by ATCOs and more than 120 cases where "planes strayed within set safety limits" (level busts?)
Lot of the info has come from Aviation Study Group which says there was a serious risk in about 25 of the airproxes. CAA tells the programme skies are safer than they have ever been and that of 60 airprox reports last year only one involved actual risk of collision.
WiA has also interviewed an ATCO at LATCC who says system is close to breaking point and that computer crashes are "numerous". Lib Dem MP also tells the programme that he has been contacted anonymously by ATCOs worried that a "disaster is waiting to happen because of the increased workload" Not know how much they are doing on Swanwick delays and reason for Clacton resectorisation





[This message has been edited by Stan Sted (edited 30 November 1998).]

Saw some reports in the Telegraph last and this Sunday. The Scottish Centre PFI is in trouble as the Credit Suisse advisors to the Government say you can not have a PFI and privatisation. Lockheed are reported as being ready to pull out. Scottish to move to NERC as well as Manchester?

Today's paper says that GEC are the forerunners to buy NATS in a sell off. They also have a tie up with BAe and Lockheed in some mega merger.

Maybe we will all end up working from California !!

Has any one seen The Times from 2/2/99? In it they announce the tie up between Serco and Nomura, a large Japanese bank,in order that Serco may be in a position to bid for NATS.
Let me just say that with my experiences of Serco in the NW of England,if they do take over NATS I will be taking to surface transport.

and the Telegraph which says Thomson (French Govt owned) want to buy NATS. Just happen to be an ATC equipment suplier as well.

Sensational comment on channel 4 Mark Thomas programme about leaked CAA memo.

Sensational to journos and the public but maybe not all that different to today when you think about it. There's always got to be a balance of safety against cost/profit etc. It's a fact of life and you can unfortunately never have safety at any price in the real commercial world in which we live. Important question is whether the current balance is one which will shift more in favour of profit. Let's hope not.

Thomson CSF buying NATS ! That's a good one! Frogg... sorry , Fench Management taking over LATCC ! What a wonderful idea ! At least your canteen facilities will improve......

And with a French attitude we'll be able to get lots of extra leave when we strike every summer, Easter, etc. Ooh La La !!

Read today that Nomura (rumoured to be getting together with SERCO to bid for NATS)have been fined in the Australian courts for share price fixing offences. So with that sort of company, or the National Grid who are in court over pension fund irregularities, it's no wonder that we should be worried about what this government have in store for us.