Same goes for the ATSA's !!
They are on the verge of signing a rostered overtime agreement !!!!!!! :eek:
Management must be laughing their heads off.

Flybywyre you're right.
When EFPS was being introduced the ATCOs at Aberdeen were tripping overthemselves to do AVAAs.This was to introduce a system which would eventually reduce ATSA numbers.It was rostered Overtime.
Then they are getting a bung from management for a job well done :ugh:.They are lambs to the slaughter,and management will have a field day.:D

On my local TV news there was an article about council cutbacks and its effect. At Blackpool Council the employees had decided that they would all take a collective pay cut to ensure that colleagues were not made redundant. I was quite impressed and thought how their stance was very ethical.

But are the Blackpool council making over £100m in profits every year?

NATS's massive profits over the past 3 years have been based on current staffing levels. Their incessant drive to increase these profits at the expense of cutting jobs "to the bone" is, quite frankly, appaling.

And these profits give them plenty of scope for a decent pay offer...they just choose not to.

Heard on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this a.m a spokesman for the IDS Pay Report stating that, including January's figures, the average pay settlement is now standing at 2.8%...

And here we are in a highly profitable body being offered 2% with strings...

:ouch:

Perhaps we will be dealing with new owners in a few months anyway

A couple of pages ago it was suggested that management wanted to delay a pay deal until April, wasn't it management that changed the pay deal to January? I'm not one for bungs, but I believe that our pay deal should be for January and nothing else. If April is (or has been) mentioned, then the union should use the phrase, 'Backdated to last April or bugger off'.

I am a NATS ATCO2 at the top of the salary scale, Band 4 Unit.

In April my take-home pay will be going down by £516.77 a year.

What will happen to yours?

Here is a useful calculator

UK PAYE Income Tax Calculator 2011 salary calculator UK. Updated for 2011 / 2012 tax year. Calculate wages pension national insurance and student loan repayments online.

I can't see any of NATS senior managers taking a pay cut this year... The company is making millions of pounds every week... Donkey Choking Bonuses all round.

Screw the workers.

Fat controller....

Im at the same unit....not quite top of of the scale and my Net monthly pay from that calculator is down nearly £100 per month!

The first couple of percent of any pay deal will now be swallowed by tax!

Sorry to point out the obvious but how is tax changes related to pay negotiations? It isn't the company's fault what the government have changed the laws and you cannot expect NATS to pay you more just so your net monthly pay doesn't go down.

Mantovani has a good point, does anyone have the stats for the negotiated grade pay increases for the last few years? I know the bonuses a few of the top brass took, but how about the rest of them, did they get rises when we all got diddly?

"Sorry to point out the obvious but how is tax changes related to pay negotiations? It isn't the company's fault what the government have changed the laws and you cannot expect NATS to pay you more just so your net monthly pay doesn't go down."

Assume you have been to your drugs and alcohol briefing! Guess your not at work for a day or two! :D

Yes you can....................and further more you should!!

Especially given the profits that NATS are making :eek:

Are you a member of the NTUS ?

"Screw the workers" isn't that what managements are supposed to do?

Flybywyre
blueskythinking
Actually no... 5miles is 100% correct. The negotiated pay increase is a cost-of-living increase. Tax is a completely seperate issue.

you can't just lump everything you don't like together and then demand someone does something about it... It's a rather simplisitc and naive attitude.

If we voted in a Scandanavian style government and started to pay up to 63% tax, as in Denmark for example, then you wouldn't see employers doubling salaries to make up for it - you'd just expect better services to tax payers in return.

Really, there is a very strong argument as to why NATS should pay a fair pay increase to staff... Don't spoil it.

Taxes, be they direct or indirect, go towards inflation.

The current RPI stands at over 5% with plenty more rises in the pipeline. There is talk of petrol hitting £2 a litre.

After nearly 10 months of negotiations and despite record profits NATS management have offered a core rise of only 2%.

Personally I am ready to vote on this offer right now.

Mantovani
errrr ... NO
Direct taxes affect standard of living, indirect taxes affect inflation and hence standard of living.
You may wish to preserve your standard of living (a reasonable, but perhaps optimistic, aspiration) but you should be aware of the basis on which you expect your representatives to be negotiating.

Direct taxes may not instantly effect the RPI like a VAT rise but they do eventually feed through and cause prices to rise.

For those who want NATS to compensate them for the adverse effects of taxation so they can maintain their standard of living: It's a two-way street my friend. If a future government reduces the level of personal taxation, will you follow logic and ask the unions to negotiate a reduction in salary? After all, you want to maintain your living standard don't you? :E

Actually high income tax is deflationary - since it reduces disposable income, liquidity and slows down growth in consumer spending.

Indirect taxes are inflationary. Direct taxes are not.

That said, I fully agree that I want to chance to vote on the 2% offer now and tell them where to stick it.