Merged: QF Delays/Serviceabilities - Add entries here

[Ngineer]

Mr QFguy, all we are doing so far is not working O/T. You can blame QF management for the delays, not us.

[Big Unit]

as a groundstaffer, there is nothing funny about these delays. I understand why you are doing them but please appreciate the hell we are going through.

I am not one of them but i can assure you, each day you are losing the respect and support from alot of people.

As i know you do, I hope there is a fix....SOON

Mate, what you need to understand is we are not causing these delays. We are not sabotaging the a/c like the abortions above us think we are. And more importantly WE ARE NOT ON A GO SLOW! We are working as hard if not harder than ever before in the entire time I have worked for QF. The reason you are seeing delays at your end is quite simply because we have ceased working overtime in the hope we will achieve a better outcome than the **** sandwich on offer.
So whilst i appreciate the crap you have to deal with, spare a thought for the guys on the floor. The guys on this forum may appear to be happy about delaying a/c but that is against everything we have ever believed in - a safe to fly and on time a/c. May i suggest you and your collegues write to engineering management.

[lovelondon]

Question for Ngineer

When the engineers were working overtime were they being paid for it ? Are the current overtime bans reducing engineers' income ? If so how long can they hold out on no overtime ? .

I dont understand how a company can rely so heavily on a an essential part of its workforce working so much overtime to get the job done .

[PitPin]

Groundstaffer

I appreciate that dealing with unhappy passengers is difficult anytime but unfortunately aircraft break or require maintenance checks ,which in turn may find defects that are required to be rectified before dispatch. Lack of manpower, licence coverage ,parts availability ,maintenance manual requirements and QANTAS procedures can also compound the problem .

Thanks for the support and tell the PAX the truth .

[Big Unit]

Are the current overtime bans reducing engineers' income ? If so how long can they hold out on no overtime ?

No worries at all mate. Dont forget tax refund time is just around the corner. Even for the few who are in a bit of debt, a tax refund will carry them on for some months yet.

[Ngineer]

lovelondon

Were engineers being paid overtime? Yes. Some younger fellas with families do rely on this as we are being paid below market rates, and have not had a pay increase in almost 2 and a half years.

Are the current O/T bans reducing income? No. But those who worked O/T are obviously not being paid for it anymore. The main thing reducing our income is inflation, and Qantas's refusal of a fair wage increase.

How long can they hold out with no O/T? For as long as it takes. Ask them yourself. No-one on the floor I have spoken to is in a hurry. A few I have spoken to have wives who are working, or have put a little aside for rainy day's like these. And remember that we are also very limited in the amount of O/T we can do due to OH&S, so the extra money for these guys usually didnt go far. And with Qantas always trying to reduce O/T, these workers have realised that they can't survive on O/T forever. They need a fair pay.

[Ngineer]

How can a company rely on so much O/T.

Our engineering management were replaced by people who do not understand our business. Coles/Myer ex-CEO used to brag that he had never set foot inside of a supermarket for 5 years before he took the reigns, and look what happened to them.

Some of our Engineer managers were replaced by guy's who never turned a spanner on an aircraft. They then tried to tell us that Qf Engineering were on par with any other MRO, our safety record meaning nothing. They cut spending money on Tech training, but spent up bigtime on change management courses (telling us the public were no longer concerned with safety). Heavy maint Syd was shutdown, loosing years and years of experience overnight. More jobs were subsequently axed and we lost a lot of experience. The hangar still sits there mostly empty and unused.

Instead of exporting our management to other industries, we are importing them from other fields. I can go on and on, but won't.

[kotoyebe]

From a groundstaff point of view these delays are getting really tiresome.

Angry pax, everything off schedule, we are working long hours to fix the problems...

I wish this would hurry up and and get fixed. We can't put up with this for much longer. It is draining us.

qfguy,

Well, don't fix the problems then. No one is forcing you to stay back after your alotted shift. Refuse the overtime...you know, you have to go to the doctors blah, blah, etc. Leave the mess to the managers to sort out.

As one of the people dealing with the mess everyday, albeit not face to face with the pax, I see this as management causing these problems, not the engineers. I haven't been staying back. It's stressful enough for the 8 hours I'm there.

If on the other hand, you are enjoying the extra dollars from OT, to me this just proves how we have ALL been done over by di*kson for years now, and are relying on OT.

Also, this has been going on well before the engineers have started their PIA. The coalface has been cut to the bone, and then into the bone, and we are all trying to do the impossible with crap facilities, crap aircraft, crap systems, and not enough staff. You can't even get customers called out when flights are cancelled, becaused there aren't any staff.

Like I said, this has been happening well before PIA. For example, I don't know why PER domestic haven't all walked out months ago and gone on stress leave from all the sh*t that has happened there. It can't be good for their health.

[whatdouknow]

I have it in good faith that a Pilot was spoken to at a Maintenance Base and he "fully supports" the Industrial Action.

A comment about the PIA 'strangling' the Airline, was stated.

Hold items not fixed for 10 days, A/C falling over causing him to miss allocated flights, which had cost him his allowances.

However, he still fully supported the action...

Do you think he flies on his days off?

[Keg]

Do you think he flies on his days off?

Actually, many 767 drivers actually do at the moment- and they're making a killing by doing it. You can now do a stand by (5:30 pay) for double time instead- 11:00 pay for a 12 hour standby. Want extra flying? If you offer them nothing you've got it. Tell them you'll do it for double credits and you're still a shot. Tell them you want double credits and then the double pay at the end of the roster for being over projected and they may baulk initially.....until you're the last person available.

Don't get me wrong, majority of 767 crew are supportive of the LAME PIA however they're not stopping from cleaning up due to the inadequate establishment numbers on the 767 at the moment.

Personally I think the ALAEA has painted themselves into a corner even if I do support both their right and desire for PIA. Geoff wants to protect his headline 3% rate for all sorts of reasons. There was the ability to 'give' him that and still get an effective 5% increase.

[Ngineer]

Thanks Keg for the support.

Geoff wants to protect his headline 3% rate for all sorts of reasons. There was the ability to 'give' him that and still get an effective 5% increase.

They also had the chance to offer us 3% with something equivalent to inflation, but blew it. We ain't backing down, and as you suggest, neither is he. Lets see where it goes from here.

[blueloo]

Actually Keg - i think its time someone cracked this mythical glass ceiling of 3%, and actually achieved a worthwhile 5% or more. Instead of pandering round and getting back door improvements to other areas (which i think happen to be needed too) - in an effort to look like we are only getting 3%.

I don't believe 5% is excessive, and I don't think any group should aim for less.


Its about time staff were openly rewarded (not necessarily even rewarded - but just an increase inline with the CPI) for doing their job, given the hell bent destruction Geoff and his cronies are doing, purely to line their own pockets, erm I mean the shareholders. Cough.

[Ngineer]

Cost of a delay

Does anyone know the actual cost assoc with a delay, and how it is composed.

I have heard figures from $400 per minute to over $1000. I am guessing these are maybe averages made up of hotel accom, taxis, meal vouchers etc.

Are airlines charged a fee for staying on bay after dept time?

[porch monkey]

I tell ya what ngineer, I don't know if they are charged for it, but now that you've said it, if they're not I bet those F@ckers at Macquaire are working on it right now...

[Millet Fanger]

The aircraft that was QF1 (delayed 16 hours) on Monday has had an air turn-back ex Heathrow today - Smoke in the cabin. Another 15 hour delay is estimated.

The way Qantas Engineering Management is running the maintenance at the moment is a joke. Inspections being carried out at night, in the rain, with the new ops managers standing over you. If you stop for a minute to think, claims are made that you are going slow. The holes in the swiss cheese are lining up!!! Aircraft are flying with scores of "acceptable" defects.

Where is CASA?

[qfguy]

qfguy,

Well, don't fix the problems then. No one is forcing you to stay back after your alotted shift. Refuse the overtime...you know, you have to go to the doctors blah, blah, etc. Leave the mess to the managers to sort out.

Kotoyebe,

Not all of us work in ports where we have the luxury of just packing up and going home. There is no one to hand over to in our port. We are it. So telling me to not put in the hours is just not possible.
As i have said, i support the Engineers, just saying that each day is getting increasing difficult and very tiring.

[Anulus Filler]

qfguy,

Not all of us work in ports where we have the luxury of just packing up and going home. There is no one to hand over to in our port. We are it. So telling me to not put in the hours is just not possible.

Never forget that you are nothing but a number to QF and defined in dollar terms. We all know you mean well and have the interests of QF at heart, but rest assured that the feeling is not reciprocal. Don't feel that you are the last link in the chain. If you do you will be continuously used ,all at the lowest price they can pay. Nevertheless thank you for your support during this difficult time. I can assure you that this will be a long and drawn out process. It would be best if you don't let things get to you. Sit back and relax, take 5.

[kotoyebe]

Not all of us work in ports where we have the luxury of just packing up and going home. There is no one to hand over to in our port. We are it. So telling me to not put in the hours is just not possible.
As i have said, i support the Engineers, just saying that each day is getting increasing difficult and very tiring.

qfguy,

I really appreciate where you are coming from. And your support and understanding is surely appreciated by the engineers.

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if your mother/father/wife/etc rang you from home and said they were having a heart attack, you wouldn't drop everything and rush home?

I don't know what you do at your port, and I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but what better way to show that things are not running in an acceptable manner, than to leave a plane on the ground overnight, and pax without any help other than calling reservations. Hey, at times it has seemed like that was in the Jetstar operations manual!

As they say, nobody is indespensible, including di*kson. Don't think you are. They will use you.

[blackguard]

Employee Status

As Seen by Dixon....."you are a unit of work"....not a human being with a family or home life or feelings.
Qantas..."the toxic carrier"
LAMES...you have the support of everyone at Qantas.....dont let the bastards win.
Never give up...never give in ...never say die.

[speedbirdhouse]

blackguard is right.

There are thousands upon thousands of frontline operational staff sick to death of the bullying, thuggery and self serving hypocrisy of qf "management".

We are all living vicariously through your actions.

Never give in.