Message to Low Hour Pilots

[Pelorus Jack]

I've been sitting on this for a while now and have been hesitant to put it out there, mostly because I was embarrassed by the abrasive comments and lie's received from someone who I had previously looked up to.
I has been 11 months since this was written and I am now more confident than ever that what was happening and most probably still is was wrong.

I have been fortunate enough to go straight from one (to put it mildly) not so good employer to a great one - who pays me enough to cover my costs and have a few pennies left over for beer at the end of the day. One who I might also add is very happy with my work and has put structure in place to ensure longetivity of my employment.
$4 an hour is not enough (We had one guy working 40-50hr weeks at this place for $100 AUD per week, all on the promise that he may get some ferry flying in... This went on for months and he never touched the controls). No amount of sweet talking, broken promises or cheap car salesman tricks can justify it. You need to eat.

My message is this;
There is a minimum wage out there.
Employers who undercut the rest of the industry with low costs because they don't pay their staff properly should be put out of business.
Pilots who turn up and work for nothing and except it are screwing this industry from the bottom up. If they turn up at your door they should be told to go back to where they came from

There are two letters below, one from me to my previous employer and the reply. I have removed the names because I don't want this to be a public shaming, just a bit of an eye opener to those who are interested......

Hi ,

I have had a phone call this week from my temping agency asking me to come and work for them for six weeks on a full time basis (Mon-Fri).

Since I desperately need extra income at the moment, I wish to reduce my hours because my current wage is putting a strain on my finances. Neither the temping agency nor myself are unable to find any part time work that is Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays only.

During my interview I was told that I was being offered a pay of $100 per day (for two-three days work a week) and it was not until my first day at work that I found, to my astonishment, that this pay rate had suddenly altered and that I was only to be receiving $100 per week. This drop in pay rate was conveyed to me only after having agreed to work an extra day. This means that I am earning $33.00 per day for at least an 8 hour work day ($4.00 per hour) and this income makes it impossible for me to meet the minimum of my financial responsibilities.

I understand that I will be getting paid more when I start flying productive hours, but I don't see this happening in the short term, as you told me two weeks ago it will actually be three months before I am up and running. This is also contrary to what was promised at my interview and I was lead to believe that I would be having four weeks training and flying within a month.

Alternatively, should you wish me to continue working the days initially agreed to (3 days), I would require at least $15.00 an hour. You mentioned at the time you offered the reduced pay rate that the company was still young and that everyone needed to make sacrifices to make it work and get off the ground. I am happy to do my best in helping you and the company out with this endeavor, but I cannot do so while at the same time, becoming financially crippled myself.

I don't want to put out and I really enjoy my work for as well as with the great staff & have been happy to come in on extra days and meetings as needed but need to meet my financial commitments. I cannot continue to volunteer most of my time as I have rent, utilities and food bills, which at present is setting me in the red.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this.

Sincerely

PJ


......................................



Hi XXXX

It is unfortunate that you are choosing not to take responsibility for your decision to take this opportunity with . During your interview you were told you would be paid $100 for 2 days of marketing then ultimately a flying day for which you would be paid a percentage of revenue hours flown for that day. If this was misunderstood by you as we have already covered, that’s unfortunate. The choice to remain or leave has always been yours. None of this, through our conversations seemed to be an issue as your position with XXXXX was secure and supported your days of work with . Your personal financial situation when starting in this industry can and is completely demanding and all of us have a story to tell. Yours is no different. You have also been asked if other days rostered would be more suitable for you to cover yourself financially which you have also chosen to not take advantage of.

As was also conveyed in your interviews, these first 3 months are an opportunity for both of us to see whether this position suits you. As with many other pilots who have come and gone, saying one thing and actually demonstrating another is what you are failing to align. To break down an hourly rate for the hours you participate in this company to date is amusing if you would listen for a moment about what the rest of us have and are daily experiencing. I was hoping to be able to spend more time with you for sure to have you perhaps better trained and operational within the month but with Base1 doing so poorly, training Bob to manage Base1, relocating BC, the employment of my girlfriend, Big boss going away, aircraft maintenance, ballooning and base2 running hot my time has been limited. This opportunity you have little patience with is supposed to make my job easier and this operation more efficient. With you already having a sick day, giving resistance to be operationally flexible and consuming my time managing your life for you is underwhelming any potential you have with us.

You haven’t even come close to earning a flying slot and you have requested to be on the insurance which will cost the company $1000.00 so forgive me if I don’t rush for the cheque book. You have already received some one on one flying which is also a cost. You are an investment to this company and a risk. With 50 resumes on my file of pilots who would give their right arm for your opportunity I’m sorry that you have found the going so tough. I have remained completely transparent on every issue in our running commentary but your eyes are firmly fixed on your own outcomes, not those of your colleagues and the company. As you have obviously decided, it would be better if we parted company.

To finish, my feedback from other staff unfortunately relay that you are less than effective as a team player and your time management obviously suffers inside and out of so offering to pay you more than anyone else in the company for the value you currently bring would not be in our interest.

Regards.

XXX


In my Defence I would like to say that the Chief pilot was happy to give me a really good reference and I still remain friends with some of the staff who used to work there.

[Chukkablade]

Jack, I'm not a professional pilot, but I can draw one parallell.

Years ago, during the last recession in the UK, I know Turners/Lathe operators who were doing shifts for 1/4 of their previous hourly rate just to get some work and to get in a company's good books, hoping to be kept on full time and put onto the normal rate of pay. Even the guys who worked in the place on full wages were turning a blind eye, because they knew how tough times were for others of the same trade, and how easy management could 'performance manage' them out the door if they kicked off about it. This was in a non union place, BTW.

Seems with 50 CV's on your old employers books, it was a broadly comparable situation. Not getting into the rights/wrongs/whose prostituting their skills/etc debate, just highlighting that aviation isn't the only trade where people can get very hungry and desperate for any break they can get.

[shadey]

from a soon to be Low Hours Pilot

Jack

I am sorry to say that this is not the first time I have heard of this sort of this in the industry, but it is the first time I have seen any evidence. Thanks for sharing you experience

Looking at the letter this is a story from Oz. Employment Law in the UK is much tougher and I would hope that nobody in the UK is allowing their employer to behave in this way. I currently work in IT for and investment banking and there is always talk of going the extra mile, but not to the point of putting you in debt. 'When I was a lad....' talk is no excuse , employers should never be allowed to exploit the workforce. At the end of the day we all work to live not the other way around.

Tough talk from someone who is about to try to break into the industry, I know lets hope I can walk the walk as well


Thanks again Jack

[Pelorus Jack]

Thanks for your response Shadey & Chukkablade.

At the end of the day this sort of practice reflects on the business, its no wonder he had been through 6 pilots in 9 months.

[helimutt]

Nice to see you standing up for yourself PJ. I'm not sure what the case is in Aus but here in the UK, I think there is a slight shortage of pilots in certain sectors and this will only be sorted by taking pilots from other areas, leaving gaps to be filled. Working conditions will only improve if people do stand up and say no more to being treated like sh*t. I always thought pilots were professionals? Shouldn't we be treated that way?

Good luck in your endeavours to find employment with a worthwhile employer. It will happen.

[gulliBell]

To their credit, at least you got a reply to your letter. Well done for standing up for yourself. Unfortunately for many who stand up for themselves in this way find themselves in the employer black book and are unlikely to work in the industry again, even those with thousands of hours of experience. Like they said, they have 50 pilot resumes on file and many of those would be prepared to work for $100 per week. That is the problem with the industry, it always has been, and probably always will be.

I just hope for you that your name hasn't found it's way into the black book, and you can move on to find gainful employment in the industry.

[Pelorus Jack]

Its funny how the world works, one week after I recieved this letter I was offered a position with a wonderful company who take pride in looking after thier staff .
Since then I've done 250 hours in the Robbie 44 and did my first hour in the AS350 last week!!
As long as you conduct yourself in an honest fashion I see no need why you should be blacklisted.
My current boss applauds the stand I took against my previous one.

[paco]

You should post all that where some of the dinosaurs in Canada can read it.

phil

[Flingingwings]

PJ,

Good for you

My first CP treated his pilots very poorly and as if they were basically stupid. (In fact he still does!). I was the third in a short space of time to 'take a stand' and the third to leave. CP tried to black book all three of us for varying reasons and I doubt he'd have a good word to say about any of us even today.

That said a couple of years on the CP is still working for the same awful company, and doing the same job poorly.

The three who spoke out are all employed with good companies.1x FI,1x UK IFR onshore and 1x North Sea.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and thankfully every year that passes these dinosaurs get a year closer to 60

[Smike]

That´s great nus pelorus...i´m sure i will run thru some of this s**t when i get my CPL(yeah, i´m just a wannabe,hehe) done so, it´s a good example on how one could face this sort of situation...althought i´m sure that the fear of losing the job might do one to think twice.

Congrats!

[dragonsfly]

Well according to the new editor of the Australian Helinews magazine, this is something we as pilots really shouldn't fuss about and we should stop complaining. He made an analogy in the March edition I think, and compared this situation with that of Doctors and Lawyers and said that they too have problems with employers during their early jobs. Does anyone know this idiot? I wanted to call him and tell him what I thought of him as he has absolutely no idea about what goes on in this industry.
What he failed to realize was that doctors and lawyers are all but guarenteed jobs when they graduate so at least they have one to complain about. Most pilots with a fresh commercial licence don't even get a look in these days and it's the lucky few that get a start. Out of those lucky few, a lot of them are subjected to shonky operators willing to exploit their passion in this particular way and I just wish that more people would stand up to them.
To all you low life operators that do this, try and remember when you needed a start and understand that pilots have the lives of people in the palm of their hands so a few measly dollars usually helps put that in to perspective!!
DF

[Dynamic Component]

Good on ya PJ,
I also hate operators that exploit new pilots.
It does happen from both ends though. I know of a company that tried to give low time pilots a break by giving them a job(yes, with good wages) and gave them pilot training in astars and R44s(130-200hr pilots). In return the pilots agreed to comit to the company for a certain time(done by a gentlemans agreement)The first pilot left without any notice after 3 hours in the astar and the 2nd pilot left after 4 hrs in the R44 and 3 hrs in the astar. Both left because they thought they had better job offers
Now I know for a fact that this company won't ever agian try to help low time pilots to break into the industry.
just my 2c

[helimutt]

That's a real shame as there are few companies prepared to do this for newbies. Unfortunately there will always be those few who spoil it for the majority.

[Pelorus Jack]

Dragons Fly;
Well put, unfortunately what a lot of newbie’s don't realize that the hard part is not in fact your training or exams but the job hunting period. I remember a post on here last year where members shared the time they gained their CPL through to when they had gainful employment - this ranged from one day to seven years.
A friend of mine calls this the bull**** filter, and many don't make it through but persistence and a positive can do attitude defiantly help I think.
Funny, when I talk to a few of my seniors they seem to think that this has only been a problem for the last 15 years or so?


Dynamic Component;
That is decidedly poor form, "when a man is not as good as his word then he is essentially nothing".
Unfortunately in this day and age a gentleman’s agreement counts for bugger all, the mistake I made during my interview process and this company you talk of, is that nothing was written and signed for. Nobody should have a problem signing a piece of paper if their intentions are honest.

[CYHeli]

Can of worms...

Would it be any different if they paid for their endorsements?
Or, they could take a reduced wage as they paid for the endorsement. Then it doesn't cost the company $$.

There is always a risk. The new pilot has the risk of getting an endorsement and PIC time to do charter. Does he/she pay or the company?
The company has risk (time as well as money) as they train up a new pilot, go through company Ops manual, route checks, etc.

Why did the pilots leave? So called grass being greener? Often it is.
If the company and pilot had better communication then it might not happen, "Hey I've been offered this, what can you do to match it?" If the Cp says, "Go for it, just don't come back..." Then go and there should be no hard feelings, the CP had his chance to match the offer.

I work casual for a company that pays $20/day. I know where new pilots are coming from, but I have talked enough with CP's to know there is another side.
But I'm still negotiating a better rate!
As for that Editor, don't get me started... (Doctors get a guarateed rebate from Medicare, that means they know how much they get paid from how many patients they see...)

[heli_spy]

You're working for $20 a day ?????
Is that all you consider yourself to be worth???? How does that work from an insurance point of view if/when you overspeed/bend a machine???
Can you really be an employee and fully covered on $20 a day???

[Dynamic Component]

CYHeli,

I hope you meant $200/day. I don't know enough of the details to be able to coment on what was offered from the other employees, but I do know that neither one of the pilots lasted longer than 2 months before leaving their new jobs.

No where did I mention the word "endorsement" I am not sure if they were already endorsed in these types.It would still have made a difference to the operators pockets, even if the contribution was only big enough to cover cost.
"The new pilot has the risk of getting an endorsement and PIC time to do charter."
Not quite sure what you mean that new pilots take a risk when getting a new endorsement. Will the time on type not count , if not now, at a later stage in their career?

Later
DC

[fluffy5]

I think everyone has had to put up with a disreputable firm, in the end as the years go bye, the industry just veto's them in the end.

[Whirlygig]

True Fluffy, and it's not just limited to the aviation business.

Cheers

Whirls