Just the other week I saw on the screens at work that there had been a 200% increase in aircraft moved compared to last year :}

Although the thread has moved on a bit from discussing AAVA's, I've just come across an interesting passage in Christopher Lee's history of Great Britain 'This Sceptred Isle'. Talking about the derisory pay offers being made in 1973 he states: "In response, coal miners banned overtime working - by the end of the year there was a 40% shortfall in coal supplies to power stations - leading to an energy crisis that caused the government to declare a state of emergency".
Admittedly that overtime ban came direct from the NUM leadership, not something Prospect would ever do, but it does show how much industry relies on overtime, and the effects of refusing to work extra hours. :E :E

And planted the seeds of the decimation of the mining industry by the tories determined that the government would never again be held to ransom....

Not Long,

Thread creep :=

You may have a point, but I was merely trying to illustrate that refusal to work AAVA's could be a powerful, yet legal way of bringing down NATS management. (Not, of course, that any loyal employee would wish to do such a terrible thing).

All you are doing is working the hours that your employment contract stipulates for the agreed salary. If an employer does not have enough staff to cover their obligations then that is not the concern or responsibility of the employee.
It seems quite straightforward to me.

It isn't that straightforward at all. Any form of organised industrial action requires a ballot first.

Where's the "organised industrial action" in -
"working the hours that your employment contract stipulates for the agreed salary" ??

Band 2, top of the scale, an AAVA is worth about £30 to me over a normal working day. This is why I don't do em. And that's at 2010 rates, 2011 / 2012 rates if passed, will make them even less attractive.

After all, what does the V stand for?

Vexatious?? :eek:

If you, as an individual, decide to work your contract hours there is no organised industrial action. If a group of you decide to do so with the aim of encouraging your employer to yield to your demands there is, especially as you need to be able to tell the employer that you are taking action and why for it to have any effect.

Has anyone from NSL had a briefing yet?

eglnyt:

I think you'll find that if all the "individuals" in NATS decided to just work their contractual hours only, NATS would soon find out that it has an effect!

I find it hard to believe that one has to inform their employer that they will be working only that for which they are contracted and paid.

The Fat Controller

Yes we have and it's a good selling of how the company is stuffed and if you don't like it; tough!

Basically engineers should shut up and take the offer 'cos they have no job security and are lucky to still have employment.

ATSAs are getting paid for doing nothing and need to realise that they are holding the company back.

ATCOs have to do the met as the savings are needed for (dividend) (management bonuses) (cheap coffees) keeping the contracts. The person who did the presentation didn't understand that doing something full time, when we get paid 2% for doing it when required, didn't mean that it was a 3.2% pay rise and we should be grateful that we're getting any rise as the 'median' is 2.8% up to March.

Our contracts don't go up by RPI so the company can't afford it basically. When it was raised that Heathrow won't do met (ATM) but they will get 5.2 % and can vote and perhaps this wasn't fair, the answer was essentially TOUGH.

The union are happy with all this and this is what you get.

Personally I wouldn't bother going,I think an all body waxing would be more useful. Wait for the union briefing and then vote, which ends before the annual report is published incidentally, and then wait and see what happens. I suspect that it may be a no but some of the younger ATCOs only see the 5.2% and a spine increase and not think of the whole picture. Anyway what will be will be.

Oh, and following on from the above, I suspect that London City may be a start point for the contract 're-negotiation' with Gatwick next.....

Whether you define it as industrial action or not, the practicalities of a successful AAVA boycott dictate that the workforce would have to have the union involved (if only to orchestrate the timings of any such action), and that's not going to happen while Prospect is riddled with management apologists. Anyone fancy putting their head above the parapet and emailing "All AC" with a suggestion to boycott AAVAs? No, didn't think so.

Much as I'd like us all to stick it to management throughout the entirety of July and August (for instance), when it will hurt them the most, there are more than enough recently valid ATCOs - who have been paid peanuts at the college - who will say that they 'need' the money and consider themselves exempt from anything which isn't entirely watertight.
And it wouldn't only be them - does anyone remember the ATCO a couple of years back who suggested people take a stand and refuse to do AAVAs, while all the time continuing to volunteer for as many shifts as he could get his grubby little paws on? :yuk::yuk::yuk:
Well, there'll be others like him, and only a TOTAL overtime boycott will really hurt management, so I don't see how it's workable.

No, it appears the only avenue left to register our discontent now is by firmly voting NO when the ballot comes round, and convince as many of our colleagues as possible to do the same.

LTP

Thank you for that. And in many respects you are right in suggesting that the majority of the ATSA population do nothing to help themselves but if we allow this divisiveness to manifest itself then what is there to stop PCS going after prospect jobs. They have a lot to offer!

rocket science. That is not what i said. That is what management said at the briefing.

I look forward to that comment from management regarding the ATSAs doing nothing and holding the company back circulating amongst the ATSAs at PC......

Well thanks to managements decisions to reduce ATSA manning to EFD levels even before EFD was proven to work we now find ourselves covering most shifts with Overtime just to keep our heads above water....if that's holding our Company back well maybe it will interesting to see how the Company moves forward when we decide to bin the O/T in the coming months!!