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Working for Airservices Australia, the safety based organisation

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Old 1st Sep 2011, 07:58
  #61 (permalink)  
 
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No worries, understood.

I was brought up by a single parent (Mum) whose work ethic was unchallenged.

I'm working alongside a female acting ALM whose management is far superior to the male ALM she is acting for. To say the 'manager' referenced by the article is repugnant is being nice to him. He was an isolated case but there's more to the article than meets the eye

All of ASA's targeted recruitment is window dressing designed to make them look good. They don't resource this group the way it should be. It puts pressure on the controllers left to carry the load (both male and female).
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Old 1st Sep 2011, 09:22
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You are not a human - you are a number on an excel spreadsheet in a Canberra office. You have no right to have a life - ASA is more important. You have no right to have a baby when you want to - you should be checking when it suits your employer's spreadsheet. You have no right to take leave when you want it - it is when you are told you can have it. You don't really have any right to uninterrupted days off - you should be working overtime. Long Service Leave - just forget about it.

How many years has this been going on? Well I think about 10 years now. It's about time you all accepted your destiny. You lot really need to fall into line before the next CA negotiation - you are only going to get annual CPI pay rise plus a reduction in your conditions of employment to "pay" for it anyway.

That's the truth from my armchair.
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Old 5th Sep 2011, 14:53
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Always ready to fire across the bows Jack!?!

The boys club you deny exists allegedly includes the one who is gone, the teflon coated one, a senior manager "General"ly speaking and the former head of security. If that isn't an interesting list, I don't know what is.
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Old 5th Sep 2011, 23:07
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Always ready to fire across the bows Jack!?!
Not so much talking about the management Roger, as I have stated. I'm talking about identifying us all in with that lot.

But you and your ilk keep distorting my posts, that's ok. You're like most of your comrades, can't see another point of view unless it's 100% the same as yours.
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Old 6th Sep 2011, 06:10
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Oi have heard Blockrs voice many toimes heading across dee atlantic. Rumour has it at least one antipodean has departed oirland due severe depression and blow me down there was an Aussie accent on ATC coming into heathrow the other day. Whats going on Blocka?!
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Old 6th Sep 2011, 08:53
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one antipodean has departed oirland due severe depression
News to me (there aren't many here so I'd have heard)... Not sure about any Ozzies in London; there was one a few years back, but he's now in Canada AFAIK. Most of the Expat "Irish contracts" are coming to an end (as they only gave max of 12 month extension on the original 3 year deals), I'm going to the other side of the equator soon... I think there will be only three antipodeans on the green rock (including Dublin) in 3 months time; probably all but 1 gone (who's permanent) within 12 months, including the 4 new Swedes/Norgs, who only had 18 month deals.
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Old 6th Sep 2011, 23:00
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Getting warmer, Block?

ML been cool but dry this winter, why not come back and see how much the clowns have improved?
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Old 7th Sep 2011, 04:50
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Aagh, that bit about leaving was from a MEL atco l know,will have to put the good LADY right!
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Old 7th Sep 2011, 22:04
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incompetance in management, surely no

as a currently employed airline pilot, and past ATC, I am dismayed at the regular instances of poor management. Pilots and ATCO's each have to pass rigorous testing and assessment, yet the same is not expected of management. What's good for the goose.........
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Old 11th Sep 2011, 06:13
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Jack,

I would have thought that you of all people would keep an open mind about what makes it to print in the media. Do you really think she was talking about you and I?

You know who I am so I'm surprised that you cast me into a particular "ilk". Most of the time I agree with what you have to say. Close minded? Interesting observation. Not sure you want to get too personal, tho.
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Old 11th Sep 2011, 08:30
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Roger,

The argument I put forward and have always done so right from the start of this is that both the girls involved had 100% support from the rank and file controllers. We weren't the problem and that was stated by one of the girls.

ASA has been very clever in turning this whole affair around to a problem in the 'rank and file' when it was purely a management issue. The posters plastered all over the rec room walls when clearly they should have been hung up in managers offices.

And once again, Kirsty should have known when she was talking to a toilet paper, rag of a newspaper that they would have manipulated her comments. Why not state from the outset that it wasn't anything to do with the rank and file, that it was MANAGERS, why not state it over and over again until they got the message.

See all of my argument not just the bits in isolation that you and a few others like to drag out.

At least you have the gumption to post your comments.
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Old 11th Sep 2011, 15:51
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Jack,

both the girls involved had 100% support from the rank and file controllers
Agree

ASA has been very clever in turning this whole affair around to a problem in the 'rank and file' when it was purely a management issue
Agree

The posters plastered all over the rec room walls when clearly they should have been hung up in managers offices.
Agree. And I know very well who put them up. I think the reason for those is to reinforce to the members that we need to be vigilant that we don't cross the line. It's not an accusation. Even in this day and age, people still overstep the mark at times without meaning to cause offence within the workplace. It's supposed to be thought provoking, not accusatory.

should have known when she was talking to a toilet paper, rag of a newspaper that they would have manipulated her comments. Why not state from the outset that it wasn't anything to do with the rank and file, that it was MANAGERS
Probably. I don't think she's been quoted since, but I'll certainly pass that point on to her.

I don't want to drag anything out. Infighting gets us nowhere. Management must love that they've managed to deflect a bit of it on to us. Quite frankly, I find that their solution to management bullying and harassment was giving the staff a suck eggs computer based training module on said harassment, disgusting and offensive in it's own right. But that's what we're dealing with these days. I suspect it's going to get far, far worse over the next 6 to 12 months.
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Old 12th Sep 2011, 22:07
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It was not my intention to question Kirsty's integrity or character and for that I apologise.

My motivations were in how the rest of us were portrayed in this matter. As is usual, management have been devious in dealing with this matter and have let a great many people down.

The way that I have responded in this matter could have been mis-construed and I regret posting on this matter on this forum. I could have handled this better.
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Old 18th Dec 2011, 16:50
  #74 (permalink)  
 
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Air Services Australia In the Firing Line Again.....

If the allegations made below are true, then one factor in the eventual Qantas/Jetstar smoking hole in the ground will be the behaviour of Air traffic control.


Women 'bullied, degraded' at air-traffic centre
Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie
December 19, 2011

.

Kirsty Fletcher

SENIOR managers responsible for Australia's air-traffic controllers allegedly ignored pervasive bullying, the distribution of pornography and degrading behaviour towards women, including an email threat by a manager to ''kick their [female workers'] arse till their nose bleeds''.

The allegations about the managerial conduct at Airservices Australia are contained in an amended writ filed in the Federal Court by air-traffic controller Kirsty Fletcher, who is suing ASA for discrimination.

Ms Fletcher and fellow air-traffic controller Jacki Macdonald made headlines last year when they went public with their lawsuit and allegations of a rampant culture of pornography within ASA's Melbourne operations centre. Ms Macdonald has since settled her legal action.
Advertisement: Story continues below

In Ms Fletcher's amended statement of claim, filed last week, fresh allegations have been made against several past and present senior managers, including Peter Holmes, Chris Bren-Clarke, Nicole Connelly, Andrew Ploog and their ultimate supervisor at Melbourne, Rod Sciortino.

Ms Fletcher has named senior managers at the Melbourne centre, which is responsible for controlling air space over Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart, who allegedly received or were aware of pornographic emails sent by Mr Holmes while on duty. They include Mr Sciortino, Mr Bren-Clarke and Mr Ploog.

She accused ASA management of failing to properly investigate a whistleblower complaint about the distribution of pornography by not engaging a computer expert to retrieve emails and by having another ASA employee - who Ms Fletcher claimed was a friend of Mr Holmes and had received porn from him - conduct the initial inquiry.

The statement also accused Mr Holmes, who was forced out of ASA in 2009, of discriminating against female air-traffic controllers when they became pregnant or wanted to work part-time for family reasons.

Mr Holmes is accused of denying pregnant women training opportunities and making derogatory comments such as ''it is well known that women get dumber when they were pregnant'' and referring to a pregnant employee as the ''fat chick''.

Senior management is accused of failing to act on complaints about Mr Holmes' attitude towards women.

The amended writ refers to an email unearthed by Josh Bornstein from Maurice Blackburn, in which senior manager Trevor McKeon admitted Mr Holmes was authorised by his superiors to take a ''baseball bat'' to employees.

''[Holmes] was given a baseball bat to go in there and make them happy with a baseball bat and he would love it. We've all been asked to use varying degrees of a baseball bat,'' Mr McKeon stated.

In another email, Mr Holmes tells Mr Sciortino in May 2009 he intends to take action against Ms Fletcher and Ms Macdonald and would ''kick their arse till their nose bleeds''.

Ms Fletcher has claimed ASA had a workplace culture hostile to women that permitted bullying and discrimination by management.

Asked in March by The Age about the legal case, an ASA spokesman said continuing court proceedings prevented the agency from answering specific questions.

''Airservices takes the issue of workplace harassment and bullying seriously and investigates all allegations thoroughly,'' he said.

Read more: Women 'bullied, degraded' at air-traffic centre
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Old 18th Dec 2011, 23:24
  #75 (permalink)  
 
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mmmmmmm, this is gonna get interesting

All of you pilots should follow this and all of your managers. All passengers of aircraft should follow this as this is how the profits ASA make are spent. On removing managers that should never have been appointed in the first place. On paying compensation to employees treated in this way.

It says a lot about the integrity of this organisation that a loose canon would be appointed to 'kick heads' and to think that those who appointed him thought that they and he would get away with this?

Can anybody point me to any aptitude test, interview technique etc that would have recommended PH be appointed to the position he was? Every body in Melbourne was aware of his behaviour YEARS AGO. How anybody above him thought he would get away with this behaviour I don't know?

Interesting times, 3 of the 5 'managers' mentioned in the above article are still in management positions.
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Old 19th Dec 2011, 01:39
  #76 (permalink)  
 
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Another example of bureaucratic incompetence and political interference.
If this organisation was in some ways run like a coroprate business then these type of questionable managers would be shown the exit door fairly quickly.
But of course being a government run outfit means that only the worst of the worst bureaucratic nimrods will be employed in management positions as most of the civilian businesses out there would not hire them.

If the evidence is there then these managers should be immediately terminated. There is no excuse for bullying or harrassing staff. With that in mind, I would be very surprised if it is just the female staff who are victims of workplace bullying in this organisation.
Managers in government organisations enjoy the freedom that the government offers by protecting it's own.
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Old 20th Dec 2011, 03:55
  #77 (permalink)  
 
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P-Diddy,
Run like a corporate venture is better than public service?
Correct.

You mean like QANTAS? Or Sydney Airport? Or Telstra?
Neither Telstra or Qantas are fully privatised, grubby government hands are still attached. And I am unaware of SACL's profit disclosure for the past few years. I bolt in the opposite direction to aviation related investments.

As it turns out, Airservices does have a corporate structure. A board, a CEO, and even a shareholder.
Your point???
CASA also has a Board and a Director (CEO equivalent).Hmmm, great success story there, not.

There is no argument here to have, we merely have a differing view of business. I have been involved in business in both sectors hence my comment which is predominately based on that experience. There are plenty of corporate success stories in Australia, and of course some failures. I am simply not too aware of any stand out public service success stories within my yeras upon this earth. Perhaps I am wrong? If so, so be it.
Have a great Xmas friends.
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Old 1st Apr 2012, 11:30
  #78 (permalink)  
 
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Gravy train

Some interesting newspaper articles out today in relation to Russell's ludicrously high salary. $700-$800k per year, almost $250k in perks, an Audi and no doubt his own personal ass wiper!
Once again, a single person is rewarded immensely for performing a crap job. Buy hey, that is the general opinion of frontliners. No doubt Albo and the bureaucrats would think he is doing a stellar job guiding his troops through the hazards of airspace!
What's Fu#king new, another day, another trough dweller, more rewards for mates.....
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Old 1st Apr 2012, 22:27
  #79 (permalink)  
 
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This little piggy went to market.......

I know this has been posted elsewhere bu I thought it would be a good fit here in the Air Services thread (sorry MODS).
What can one say except for 'It's good to be the king'!

Paid to live the high life - the man who spent $243,702 of your money

by: Linda
Silmalis
From:The Sunday Telegraph
April 01,
201212:00AM




Greg Russell, CEO of Air Services
Australia at Sydney Air Traffic Control Tower. Picture: James Croucher
Source: The Sunday
Telegraph




ONE of the nation's highest-paid bureaucrats - who earns more than double the PM's salary - has racked up a huge corporate credit card bill, including more than $21,000 at one Canberra restaurant.


The federal-government appointed head of a national aviation body uses the card - effectively funded by airline passengers - for stays at upmarket hotels around the world, fine dining and the upkeep of a luxury Audi.

The Sunday Telegraph has obtained the corporate credit card
expenditure of Airservices Australia CEO Greg Russell, who earns at least
$700,000 - and possibly as much as $800,000 - a year. Despite running a
government body, Mr Russell's exact salary is kept secret from the public.

Airservices Australia is responsible for providing air traffic tower,
fire-fighting and aviation rescue services. It comes under Transport Minister Anthony Albanese's ministerial portfolio and is entirely funded by levies charged to airlines using Australian airports. Those levies are passed directly on to passengers.

Last year it turned over an estimated $900 million and paid the federal
government a dividend of about $30 million.The Sunday Telegraph has obtained credit card statements showing Mr Russell spent $243,702 between January 2007 and August 2010. This includes $118,255 on
hotel accommodation, $61,940 on food, $2432 on taxis and. $61,075 on fuel, parking, car hire, repairs to a company Audi and stationery.
The statements show Mr Russell made 21 visits with various airline executives to the Ottoman Cuisine restaurant, spending a total of $21,355.

Among the hotels Mr Russell stayed at while attending international and
domestic conferences were the Millennium Hotel in New Zealand, the Cable Beach Club Resort in Broome, the Hotel Sofitel in Melbourne and the Grand Hyatt in Singapore.
The leaked statements follow a bid by the organisation to increase the fees
it charges airlines in return for managing what it describes as 11 per cent of the earth's airspace.

The ACCC last year rejected an application by Airservices to lift its charges, ruling that it needed to become more efficient.
Airservices Australia defended Mr Russell's credit card use as acceptable for someone expected to travel internationally and to host dinners with senior aviation officials.
"The use of company credit cards by Airservices staff is governed and
administered under strict policies and guidelines," it said in a statement to
The Sunday Telepgraph.
"All credit card usage is checked, reconciled and authorised monthly.
Accordingly the credit card used by the CEO for the purchases described is appropriate"
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Old 1st Apr 2012, 23:12
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Be interesting to see Mr Angus Houston's comments, reactions to both these issues?

Whilst a corporate credit card is appropriate for a CEO is it really neccessary for an Air Traffic Service Provider to have one?

Air Canada is a not for profit Service Provider, how does it work there?
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