Katherine Aviation. A sinking ship?
 

Can anyone shed any light on the situation with Katherine Aviation? I heard from a pilot who left there recently that the company is on shaky ground due to them not being able to retain single/multi engine pilots.

I used to work there many moons ago and made some great friends and made a very small amount of money!

Don't know anything about Katherine Aviation but I do know they will wake up to a few hundred CV's tomorrow morning :eek:

I had a friend fly from Sydney for an interview at this lot (after they called him), did not even bother to call him back letting him know he was unsuccessful, when he called back the next day after the interview regarding the check flight that was being organised for him, the office girl kindly informed him that they had already hired someone else. :yuk:

I think they would be disappointed. They pay $0.35/Nm for single drivers. I'd go out on a limb and say the worst paying GA operator in the NT. That's why I left.

Seriously, that's the rate of pay?? lol

Ah centre, request traffic for diversions up to 100nm left and right of track. :E

Is that really the pay?
How many nm are you flying on an average day?

Well the YPTN to YDEA run is 244Nm so $85. It's one of these "contracting" arrangements. No allowances, no pay for being on standby/preflight/postflight, no annual leave. Just a joke!!! :ugh:

One of the lads (who shall remain nameless) has emailed me a copy of the new "work agreement" which he says is the reason for the last mass exodus. I haven't read the whole thing yet but page one was rather interesting!

:mad: Hope you don't prang a plane boys! KB will be sending you the bill :}

Crikey!!
now, if i could get my apprentice onto an agreement like that, i would make a fortune!

Does that qualify as technical slavery? I hope there's more dignity in the GA world than this.

Mean while Chartair are giving guys with 350 multi $65k...

...interesting times ahead, definitely a shortage of experienced drivers.

I suspect not. The absolute ruthlessness of this game both by operators and pilots will ensure that it continues. Why would an operator offer to pay a reasonable (read liveable) wage when a spotty faced CPL with brand new gold bars and a flight bag turns up and offers to do everything from washing the bosses car to sweeping the hangar floor and pay for the priviledge?
Ironically, a lot of the people who come on here complaining of conditions are the very ones who have helped perpetuate the problem.:ugh:

Hmmm.... 65K for 350hrs multi from Chartair. Wonder what they'd pay for 10x that multi, endorsed on all their types & have worked in the NT before...?

28th Aug 2011, 06:01 * #15 (permalink)
Tinstaafl
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Join Date: Dec 1998
Location: Escapee from Ultima Thule
Posts: 3,234
Hmmm.... 65K for 350hrs multi from Chartair. Wonder what they'd pay for 10x that multi, endorsed on all their types & have worked in the NT before...?
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Y don't you ring and ask ??

It's about 20 pages of utter :mad: My jaw dropped about 50 times while reading it. Only an idiot would sign up to it. I'm not going to put the whole thing up on here but I'll give you the important points.

*Rate of pay $19/hr
*6 months probation (can be terminated for any reason)
*Bonded for 6 months on your initial C210 training
*Bonding on endorsments/ratings:- Leave within 3 months 100%, 3-6 months *75%, 6-9 months 50%, 9-12 months 25%
*Pay is averaged at 20 hours/week.
*Waiting time at another company base in unpaid. (when not flying the aircraft you are classed as "free of employment" 15 mins after engine shutdown)
*Annual leave must not be taken during the "busy period"
*Annual leave MUST be taken during Easter and Christmas
*Pilots rostered on standby must be available 6am -6pm (standby is unpaid)
*Pilots may not have a second job

The list goes on.

Bottom line is $19,760 base pay, this is worst case, but still :ugh: I know I wouldn't have been able to live on that kind of money in a remote community.

YPJT, you are 100% correct. This operator is well known for not paying the award. They have been doing it for years and ripping off young/inexperienced pilots who don't know better. I for one have looked into claiming back pay from KA, only to find that I didn't have enough paperwork to allow FWA to build a case.

I can now understand why people are leaving left, right and center, and hats off to them.

When your neighbor quotes the scriptures.......Brand your calves early!!!!

Bbbbbbbbzbzbzbzbzbzzzzzzzzzzzz

beat ups are fun
 

beat ups are fun = how many people have died doing just that

most (but not all) low time pilots are near useless to any operator without further training and usually are not willing to pay for their mistakes

why would any operator take one on?


i don't condone low pay at all - but it's a two way street.
in my opinion, too many mommies boys/girls are around.

Could be Ausflyer:ok:

Bbbzzbbz

Bloody hilarious.

The owner of this outfit has been a staunch unionist - unwilling to budge on certified agreement negotiations at his previous employment, allowing them to flounder for years.......and yet.....

Now he appears to be paying people rubbish and requiring them to sell themselves and their time for next to nothing.

Hypocrite is the word I'm thinking of.

PS: I am in the union and believe operators should pay the award, plus some.

The award is the barest minimum an employer can pay you without running the risk of being sued.

It is not a statement of the market rate, it is not the maximum your staff are worth, and paying just the award is not something to be proud of.

Job ads that state "pay is award" are saying "the boss is a cheapskate who will pay pilots the barest minimum to make the paperwork look ok". What else do they do the barest legal minimum of? Maintenance? Customer service?