Papa: That will be a genuine Havana Stoggy?
 

I guess if BHA are still stooging around the edges with this 42 day thingo, then I guess it’s a little local mob, Jayrow that has lead the way again with 6 weeks as standard.

And by the way, the EBA you maybe be referring to is still not “Out There”.

From what I hear, the bigger issue with Bristow is the amount of engineers they have lost. Aparently there Licenced engineer numbers are at an all time low. I guess we will see Bristow lose more contracts.

Looks like CHC will keep on scooping up the Bristow leavers. When you have a company that proactively enhances salaries to retain staff versus a company that seeks to alienate its staff at every turn, there will be only one winner.

Is Bristow losing its position as the most respected offshore provider? :rolleyes:

:mad:

they are not being scooped up by CHC. It is well known that their pay is still very ordinary for engineers, even after the last pay rise.

Engineers vs pilots
 

Chopperdust,

From my information, certainly one engineer has been scooped up v recently by CHC.

Anyway, I thought we were talking about pilots.

P68:O

My apologies Papa68, we were talking about pilots, however, Helifixer has highlighted an important issue, if you do not have the correct engineering backing and you lose contracts, pilots may have to be laid off. Naturally most of them will get picked up by the competitors. It sounds like things are really turning to sh_t at Bristow, i'm glad i'm not a pilot there.

Coiled springs.....
 

From a good pilot source from within Bristow:
Things are indeed not good. The GM has said that they will not pay anymore money because they have such a good retension rate, nobody is leaving. I was told this one was taken very well by the pilots....not!
Ultimately, it has promted several mid-level captains to start active negotiations with other Companies. That I know of (in addition to those which have left in recent months);
1 is negotiating with another offshore operator in OZ,
1 is talking with a Middle Eastern operation,
1 is talking to a SAR/EMS operator.
1 is in talks/negotiations with a State agency.
It can probably be said that a combination of better deals elsewhere, domicile now being addressed with the competition & BHA not willing to negotiate because nobody is leaving (yet) will no doubt lead to a reduction in capability at BHA through competent, qualified, & valuable personel leaving if things don't change.:ugh:
Hey, just what I have heard......

Darwinism at it's finest
 

Flapping to Equity

Yeah, you are pretty much on the mark. As my old mate 'Charles Darwin' used to say;
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change."


I'll let you fill in the blanks.:)

Long memory?
 

Pepi72

presumably your memory extends to the time when there were significant numbers of Aussie pilots working on the North Sea, taking home significantly more than the locals. I had no problem with that then, and have no problem with it now but perhaps we could just tone down the rhetoric a notch?

TD

I agree -nobody complained when oz pilots came over to Aberdeen- we welcomed them and had a beer- if the grass is greener somewhere else bugger off there and stop winging!!!

PEPI72 I forgot - you have a long memory -ooooh we are all quaking in our boots!!!!!!!!!!!

PEPI 72,

You are reacting like a spoilt child, not a rational thinker.

It would be nice if we could all have fair conditions and management, but this is the real world. Pilots will not stick together on issues, and management of most companies will take advantage of that.

Part of the reason pilots will not band together is due to indivduals among the ranks who have too much to say, but want others to fire bullets up front.
It is all too often an individual is placed in a position of stating a case, rationally and fairly, on behalf of his surrounding peers, only to have those same yellow bellies leave the poor sod to face the music on his own, when confronted with management.
To you pilots at BHA - you need to agree on some action or plan together, approach management with the plan together, pointing out benefit on both sides.( not just to your benefit). Stay clear, consise, valid,appropriate, and calm. But above all stay together and be counted. If this cannot be achieved, there is no point reducing yourselves to tears and venting in this forum.
If you want change, put your heads together, and I mean together, and state your concerns properly and without emotion. You need to be prepared to stay in for the long haul, and learn to ignore the threats ( If any). You will also need to politely ask that individuals among your lot who are emotional , such as Pepi, be restrained. Put on the dog muzzle, so to speak.
Good luck all.

Cheers
Tribal

Tribal - Well said. Hopefully your advice will be heeded.

Pepi72 - Having been in charge of very large maintenance workshops in the mining industry when awards were replaced with EBA's, I have some experience with the emotion involved in industrial relations. I'll probably rave on a bit here but the use of the word "Scab" riles me up. Please listen to me when I say that referring to people as "Scabs" is counterproductive & will result in people who may support you in private being unprepared to support you in public. Australians are generally reluctant & embarrassed to be seen as radicals, & the term you use so freely is considered by many to be derogatory, defamatory as well as inflammatory. I personally have consoled a person who's house, car & boat were burnt to the ground due to the escalation of emotions caused by someone being called a scab.
I suspect that you won't really care, but I was embarrassed to be an Australian after reading your comments, & you might want to take on board some of the comments from the UK posters.
I am an Aussie pilot who has done the floor sweeping like a lot of others on my way up & had considered throwing my hat in the ring for offshore work here at home. In one post you have convinced me that I should continue working overseas, as the people are very welcoming of Aussie pilots where I work. Throw a few more rants out there & soon you will be the lowest paid & only native on your crew, not to mention more than a little lonely.

Downside of CHC?
 

All,

There has been much talk of the current EBA situation in regards to esp. Bristow's and now CHC. Most of the talk has been rather negative in relation to BHA and somewhat more positive on the CHC side in relation to pay and conditions (domicile in particular).

I'm of the general opinion that no company is either perfect or indeed all bad. Sure, one may have benefits over the other in certain areas and it may depend on an individual's situation as to which organisation is a better fit.

In an effort to "even up the ledger", can anyone with particular insight into CHC (Oz only) give us the downside of that organisation. Clearly, domicile and pay are not issues (in comparison to the competition generally) but surely there are other issues that continually annoy the pilot group.

Any insight guys?

P68:O

CHC Pretty Good
 

Hey P68,

From the inside CHC is pretty good. You don't see many of us on here posting as we don't have a hell of a lot to complain about. Must be the fact our management engages us on issues.
It doesn't sound like your mangement want to listen or at least hear your side of the negotiation.
And while we're comparing all the offshore companies, at least we both have a current EBA/CAthat all can access. I've tried searching the wagenet website but can't seem to find an EBA/CA for Jayrow(the other offshore operator here in Australia who seem to be expanding into bigger and better things). Do they have one or not. They may even be better than the rest of us, but who knows?!?
So out of the three companies sounds like I'm with the right one at the present time. But it's all swings and roundabouts, and things do change. At least(at the moment) our company is being a bit proactive about shoring up its workforce. Although a bit reactive on the engineer side of things.

My old Gandpa always used to say, don't be caught talking about things you know nothing about....but there is on thing I can comment on;
There is something about those CHC pilots.....there a bit funny lookin.:p

Industrial action at Bristows?!
 

Word on the grapevine is that the Bristow blokes have had enough of their EBA and they are about to start taking industrial action within the next couple of weeks or so!! Serious stuff. Any details?

Heard that tuesday there was an application to the comission to start industrial action and the company still hasn't tried anymore negotiations.

Negotiate Or What?
 

It's good to see the guys there are trying to change things rather than just moving on, which they could quite easily do as there is plenty of work around.
If the company doesn't want to negotiate in this market they do so at their own peril!

GG

Who would be representing the application?? I can't imagine for a second that the AFAP would ever get involved again in invoking industrial action.