Full steam ahead
 

The way the EBA negotiations appear to be going its rather apparent that the iceberg looms large as we head towards December.

Will the Captain go down with his ship or will it be CEO and management types to the lifeboats whilst the crew pay for their insubordination.

I believe that yet again air traffic controllers will be in the cross-hairs, thanks TFN its a pleasure doing business with you particularily in regard to our EBA.

Despite all of your rhetoric we know where we stand, you are simply the worst manager our organisation has had the misfortune to contract, yes remember that your tenure is finite the rest of us until you arrived at least felt that we could work for ASA indefinitely. You sure fixed that!

December here we come!!!!!

I hear contract ALMs recently got 4.3% "market movement". Not sure which market has moved, because so far ATC's have got nothing.

I thought someone would have posted about the impending industrial action by Airservices against the ATC's in SYD by now.... what's the word on the ground ??

Do believe AsA's actions today show how desperate upper management is to point the finger of blame in some (any) other direction, especially as it seems the problems they are encountering were conveyed to the present CEO within days of him taking over - nearly 3 years ago.

What are they up to now?

ASA are taking Civilair to the IRC, blaming them for an industrial campaign that is causing service disruptions.

Civilair has NEVER directed ATCs not to do overtime. Apparently there were some 'notes' left in a couple of peoples 'mailboxes' at work.Who (?) it was who actually left these notes is not known.

ASA contend that this is some form of industrial action, they have also been furnished with a couple of edited comments off the Civilair Members Only forum site, and are citing these to back up their dubious claim.
They are not citing the many comments on the site that pertain to, an individuals right to assess their own fitness for duty in regards to overtime, ASAs total mismanagement over the last six years of its workforce planning, or the fatigue and disengagement of its workforce. ASA don't do 'balance'.

ASA will cite this trip to the IRC as an example of an industrial action, and try to lay the blame on the controllers in an attempt to cover up the culture which has been exacerbated under Greg Russells stewardship.

Who has 'gained' under this 'discovery' of notes? If in fact, someone did attempt to intimidate people, ASA should track them down and discipline accordingly.

An even better question to consider is:

If the staffing problem is fixed, how come 3 people going sick caused such an extended delay?

Has the potential to get pretty ugly for whoever was responsible given the content of the notes and the group targeted. At least one of them might have access to some significant high level investigative resources.
Bullyboy tactics by either side can't be condoned. :=

LOL. For real? Pretty silly on the writer of the notes. Was this in Sydney?

advice from the civilair site is that AsA withdraw their application this morning.

don't know the reason for sure, but I would guess that the "evidence" of anonymous notes was not a sound basis for their claim.

As someone on the union web site suggested, if we had the equivalent of AsA's spin department, we could claim that "Airservices admits ATCs aren't engaged in industrial action".

But we already knew that.

As has been said repeatedly, one day (hopefully soon) AsA will realise that cutting back the training capability/capacity, and removing 107 controllers from seperating aircraft, was always going to have an effect.

That may solve one problem but it won't stop further investigation into the source of the standover letters. Targeting newly rated regional services staff for helping avoid airspace closure is pretty low.:(

LapSap, did you overlook the part where the notes were described as anonymous?

LapSap,

What are you on about?

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed and am a mere Approach wacko but the IRC thing was Sydney and surrounding airspace. What has regional services got to do with it?

Or, are you talking about those working Tassie airspace that are doing 9 (or is it 10) days on and 1 day off to keep it all afloat? (Airspace staffing NOT Tasmania...get it...afloat...thats a joke :p ).

Someone throw me a bone here!!!

I'm trying to deal with Australia's spinning crisis in Bangalore for fecks sake gents, provide more info as to whom we are to kneecap.

I personally prefer a Sydney kneecapping because the waterfront areas are far more salubrious nowadays.

But, jokes aside, I'm awaiting a pan call from the AWB...going circles with terrain, Icebergs, dissaffected staff etc.

The USA, solve a debt crisis by creating more debt; Airservices, solve a staffing crisis by pissing off and disenfranchising your staff where the global market is rubber stamping.:ugh::rolleyes:

This is going to get interesting.

Jail terms following the Royal Commission?

Bill

Lionel has been representing AsA for years, judging by their strike rate! :cool:

They can only pull these smoke-and-mirrors stunts so often before the Minister wakes up and has a look at the bridge they are selling. :ok:

That golden! ROFLMAO.

"Captain! Icebergs on the horizon" "Flank speed son, I know my way around here".

I'm trying to sell dehyd popcorn on the internet...

• We have our baggy green boys pushing brown substances up an incline in the subcontinent;
• The immolation of Capitalism because some in America think that a picture of George washington on green and white paper is similar to the picture of Benny Franklin so lets multiply that money 'invisibly' (sp); and,
• Lies, deciept and 7 figure salaries...

Airservices has a coloured history in respect of matters of fraud... hence the appointment of Fraud Control Officers a few years ago. Don't underestimate the ability of individuals to create fraudulent documents and make false statements with malicious intent. It's happened before.

With time... small corruptions... become big corruptions.

Bit late but here is what was posted in CEO Direct...

CEO Messages

Special CEO Direct - 3 October 2008
Friday, 3 October 2008
Airservices Australia has today made an application to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission asking it to intervene and stop industrial action that has caused serious disruption to air traffic movements into and out of Sydney in the last 24 hours.

We have taken this action to address an increase in service disruptions caused by some Air Traffic Controllers refusing to work reasonable overtime to cover unplanned absences. These disruptions have coincided with the commencement of our Collective Agreement negotiations.

It is a credit to the professionalism of the majority of our ATC staff that they are getting on with it and getting the job done. It has become obvious that there is a minority that aren’t doing the right thing and Airservices can no longer tolerate the disruption to our customers.

So a "minority of staff" are involved in industrial action by refusing to work on their days off......causing major disruptions.

What would happen if a majority of staff engaged in industrial action, and decided not to work on THEIR DAYS OFF?

What would happen if the majority of staff engaged in real industrial action, and not just the excuse-for-not-being-able-to-balance-making-my-bonus-as-well-as-keeping-the-shop-open lies? I guess the CEO could blame-shift with a straight face. Maybe thats (cue sinister music) the plan?

I think August 135, 2008 might go down in history as a watershed in industrial relations at AsA.

I'd have to think about it, but if I was on 100k or so per month, I might do/say absolutely anything to squeak out another month or two. When government owned "businesses" are setting up tax shelters in foreign countries in order to exploit 'loopholes', anything is possible (ethically speaking).

Read the ASA claim before the IRC, prepared by a partner and Senior Associate of a BIG law firm.

Part of it states,
That it will be binding on ASA
Civilair
The employees of ASA employed by Civilair employed in the SY TCU and Melbourne on(sic) route centres.

Maybe the fact that Civilair doesn't have any ATCs as 'employees' cruelled things.
I wonder how much ASA got charged for this legal piece of wizardry? Partner and Senior Associate. Trips to the IRC, phone calls, faxes, and a 'snow flakes chance in hell' . The rumour going around is that 2 of the 3 weren't Civilair members anyway.

We must pay global prices to get the best managers. Maybe if they spent the time doing the job they were paid for , we wouldn't be in this mess.

Personally, I think you need to pull your head in, Max.

The 'management' has publicly stated that it has barely 3 years since becoming aware of the staff problem, which isnt a staff problem, its industrial action orchestrated by the union- who, quite rightly, were dragged into the IRC for a shillacking, and even if the majority of the rebels aren't in the union, it's unprofessional not to work on every day off. In fact, several emergency meetings were held over the last week to rename days off, as that incorrectly implies some idea that the employee will not be attending work. Fortunately, a solution has been found, and there will now be rostered days, and the poorly named "days off" will now be "late notice of shift days". You would have to agree that even though the wording of the EBA says days off, that wasnt the intent. These loose interpretations threaten bonuses, sorry, business imperatives.

3 Years. Just 3 years, and in that time you also expect them to have gutted the college, and then flogged the students until they can train themselves. You expect there to have been meetings held in order to generate the plan. (It might have been possible that some oversight or accountability had materialised). You need a plan when that happens. You expect that funding will have been found in order to alter TAAATs software to recognise 3 digit dates for when August exceeds the previous administrations short-sightedness in only expecting 2 digits per month. That budget has already blown out, after factoring in the possibility of 4 digit months. You expect SDE disciples to have been recruited and converted. There are all those intercontinental meetings to decide which tax shelters to use...the list goes on.

3 years, Max. Just 3 years. Pretty rude.

Apologies Ferris,

I wasn't thinking. You are right the CURRENT management has had only three years notice of the impending crisis.

Well three years down the track I believe we have 'end-to-end', 'Worlds Best Practice', 'growing the business going forward'.

The amount of 'optimisation' of 'client centric focus' is making Airservices an 'employer of choice'. 'Our core strategy' of creating a 'suite of non-remuneration benefits' for 'Our Commitment-Our People' has seen an 'holistic', central but 'flattened management structure' showcased in a 'World Leading Learning Academy'.
As we 'embark on our journey', 'embracing challenges', and 'delivering the future' we will have our 'vision' of 'Leaders Leading'

I'm pretty sure thats what it says,not sure what it means? That is about 10% of the cliches that get thrown around. Which ones have I forgotten?

Meanwhile the controllers, firies, techs,FDCs, Ausfic,SSOs,Instructors and training staff (apologies to the ones I have missed) just try to continue doing more with less as the SS Airshambles heads toward the iceberg.

Apoligies
 

Sorry for my naivety, but if, as is obvious to even the blind, TFN and other individuals are doing such an inept job at running AsA, how the F*$K are they still in their positions enjoying the lerks and perks??

That, dear C337, is one of life's little mysteries :confused:

I would guess that because they have delivered an increase in profit each year (constant cutbacks will do that) no-one has looked at how it's been achieved.

Special CEO Direct - 6 October 2008
Monday, 6 October 2008
On Saturday, Airservices Australia withdrew an application to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission asking it to intervene and stop industrial action that has caused serious disruption to air traffic movements into and out of Sydney in the last 24 hours.

We have taken this action because we now recognise an increase in service disruptions is because we have failed to provide adequate staffing and have successfully disengaged our ATC workforce. These disruptions have nothing to do with our Collective Agreement negotiations.

It is a credit to the professionalism of the majority of our ATC staff that they are getting on with it and getting the job done. It has become obvious that controllers are doing the right thing and Airservices will continue the disruption to our customers until I am sacked by the minister and someone capable is employed to fix things properly.


..........Only joking - but I wonder if the CEO will be quite so willing to trumpet a backdown on Monday.

C337,

As far as the Board and TFN go,

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh!t.

A bit like the US of A financial crisis, if the numbers are great never mind about the underlying problems.

Perhaps there was never an intention to pursue an action against Civilair and the non-members involved... instead, lodge the application... issue a press release... wait until the allegation is in the media... and then cancel the application.

The aim is to change public sentiment against all of the Air Traffic Controllers, gain the support of the shareholder and win in the EBA negotiations.

There you go again ... giving them too much credit !

Hit the nail on the head
 

Quokka

I also have absolutely no doubt that this is just a part of the strategy ASA has planned to implement as we move closer to December.

Make us look like crap with a bit of ground work so that Dick Fudley can cane us come the time when everyone finally gets the sh*its and says,

"NO MORE!, you ar*seholes"

whoops I did it twice ** :E, someone smack me

BgTFN

peuce... true, I have assumed an intelligent mind is behind the actions of Airservices' management much too often.

Acts of defamation against controllers have been seen in the Melbourne Centre, and, one manager involved is now in Sydney. Regardless of the legal advice that they may have received prior to lodging the application, I have no doubt that the client instruction was to lodge the application with the intent of maligning the reputation of Air Traffic Controllers in the media.

Are these people out of their feckin minds ?

IMHO, problems at the coal face is a direct result of managerial incompetence :suspect:

Now ask why there seems to be a deliberate policy of antagonistic claims against ATC's. Beginning with this claim of "renegade controllers" months ago. If renegades existed prior to now, surely they would have been identified and dismissed?

Maybe if TFN claims there are renegade controllers often enough, and continues with the heavy handed approach to staff terms & conditions, he may just succeed in creating some.

But why would TFN need renegades?

Off to the IRC...again
 

From our glorious leader today:

Special CEO Direct - 08 October 2008
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
As I advised on Friday afternoon, Airservices made an application to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission asking it to intervene and stop industrial action that caused serious disruption to air traffic movements in Sydney on Friday.

A hearing was convened by Vice President Graeme Watson at 5pm on Friday and went late into the night.

As a result of the Commission proceedings Civil Air undertook to post on its web site the following;

“Civil Air does not endorse any refusal to work a reasonable amount of additional hours, on a request other than in accordance with clause 4.3.2 (a) – (e) of the certified agreement, and recommends its members use their best endeavours to ensure any unplanned absences are covered”.

The union also agreed to contact members who worked on the Sydney Approach Group to convey that statement directly to them.

We considered the union statement as a positive step and decided on Saturday morning to withdraw our application.

Unfortunately a number of further disruptions have occurred in the previous few days based around differences in opinion of what constitutes “reasonable overtime” and an unwillingness to cover a number of unplanned absences.

Australia’s national airways system is now regularly being disrupted by some who are trying to pressure the organisation over a wage claim.

These disruptions are creating major delays to airline schedules and, as we saw last Friday, considerable inconvenience to thousands of passengers.

Accordingly yesterday afternoon we filed a further application in the Commission asking for it to assist in settling what we see as a dispute with Civil Air and with some of its members, around how the obligation in the ATC Certified Agreement to work a reasonable amount of additional hours is being interpreted.

We hope that the Commission will be able to list the matter for consideration before the end of the week. This will allow for conciliation on the interpretation of what constitutes “reasonable overtime”. This is a fundamental issue for Airservices.

Unless this issue is clarified we cannot effectively operate a 24 hour national operation while a small number of controllers consider that for them working “reasonable overtime” is optional.

Greg Russell
CEO



STILL all stick and no carrot!

This coming from someone who cut things to the bone, destroyed morale and any remaining goodwill. When will they realise its not a 'normal job' where a couple of hours overtime doesn't hurt. Time away is just as important to freshen up when safety is involved. Fully staff the rosters properly and not with creative numbers and we wouldn't be in this problem.

RAAFASA, with that attitude you'll get nowhere. :=

No, overtime is NOT optional. You are REQUIRED to work REASONABLE overtime. It's in the CA. The sticky is in the definition of "reasonable", and the definition ASA are expecting you to follow is theirs..people who never work overtime believe it is "reasonable" for those that do to come in whenever they are bloody well required, and anyone who says "no" in the knowledge that their refusal means closing airspace, well that's not just unreasonable, it's also "unprofessional" and "renegade".

'Reasonable' O/T...
 

In ye days of olde,

The term used to be accepted as one O/T shift per fort. - from memory.

Has this changed??:ok:

Regards to all.......:):).

Ye days of olde I believes relates to a decision made in 1989, before terms such as fatigue management, work/life balance, etc. Seems like AsA is angling for the commission to make a ruling so that AsA can threaten anyone who knocks back OT with action.

This IRC avenue is all about shifting the blame to ATC's.

You cannot take 107 controllers off the roster, away from seperating traffic, and just expect the remaining 750 or so to cover their absence with overtime.

It takes up to 18 months to get an ATC their first rating. And usually another 6 to 12 months to get any other ratings in that airspace group. After 4 years, TFN should know the lead-in times required. But the "restructure" went ahead anyway. (Johnnie was on his way out, and AsA had to get the AWA's in.....)

It won't matter what the IRC defines reasonable overtime as. AsA - probably because publicly they use statistics across service delivery lines (which include 3 or more ATC airspace groups each) to average the overtime required to a better sounding extra 1.1 shifts (or something like that) per ATC per month - But AsA needs to acknowledge that some groups need almost no overtime, and others for example have their rosters published with empty shifts to be filled in advance - BEFORE ANYONE GOES SICK!!

FFS - it's a safety critical job! Making ATC's work more overtime is going to increase their fatigue, impair their performance, and increase the risk of something going wrong!

We're not tackling this from the right direction.

Our base line should be "reasonable time off", not "reasonable overtime"

TFN's latest has lost me (and I'm conservative), no wonder any respect
for these bozo's has gone.