Expat Captains in SIA..!!
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Expat Captains in SIA..!!
Hi,
I'm an expat captain in SIA.And the purpose of this thread is to get as many of us together under a single forum so as to positively identify the employement issues which directly affect our daily lives today and those that are SURE to affect our lives in the very near future.
A couple of days ago,we were informed by management that compulsory no paid leave was inevitable.So as to avoid any retrenchments.We have also been told somewhere along the line that the first to go(read 'retrenched')would obviously be the expat captain,followed by the PR captain and then(IF required)the local captain! Now here's the tricky part.What's on the table right now from the mamnagment is 3 days Cnpl for ALL captains.This, to a great degree, pushes the prospects of retrenchments(in the order stated above)back by a whole lot of weeks/months.Numbers aren't very important here,but 3 days Cnpl per captain reduces the chances of retrenchments for all the others by a very very large percent.This....as per Capt.GY(SVP) himself.I for one would take the Cnpl hands down if it reduces my chances of getting the pink slip.
Now comes the fun part.Our union,ALPA-S seems to think otherwise.That is,if line pilots take 3 days Cnpl,then the additional "left over" hours would be split amongst who else but the managment.Effectively,making a gain for the managment at the cost of the line pilot.With this very weak argument,it seems they've managed to get some kind of a critical mass to back up this hypothesis.Here's what really will happen.....we refuse Cnpl,retrenchments begin(with expats to go first!),50-80% expat pilots are retrenched, which looks after the 200 odd surplus pilots at present and who do we have left home free to share the bonuses when the company does better....???!! The locals and the PR's who ironically,are currently running the show at ALPA-S anyways.That also makes room for "further talks"on wage negs with managment later,since 'we from Alpa were oh sooo helpful during your time of crisis!' Just a small detail here.Our expat bretheren aren't here to share the bonuses nor the wage hikes we're getting.Why...??? CAUSE YOU FIRED THEM LAH........!!!!
Now that's how my little mind reads the writing on the wall la.Anybody(especially genuine expat captains),with ANY other input,please feel free to pool in.We have another meet with Capt GY tomorrow,followed by a "Makan" session immediately after, from ALPA-S,in order to discuss the Cnpl(which is sure as fire going to be tabled by GY tomorrow).Why do I have this sick feeling in my gut that our Alpa secretary/president are gonna wholly and soully oppose this move by managment and 'convince' our colleagues that this Cnpl is absolutely NOT the right way to go.....
.
And then the expat heads will roll.What say ye all yonder.All expat(and otherwise)inputs welcome.....
And the swine flu hasn't helped either.
My two krunos worth...
I'm an expat captain in SIA.And the purpose of this thread is to get as many of us together under a single forum so as to positively identify the employement issues which directly affect our daily lives today and those that are SURE to affect our lives in the very near future.
A couple of days ago,we were informed by management that compulsory no paid leave was inevitable.So as to avoid any retrenchments.We have also been told somewhere along the line that the first to go(read 'retrenched')would obviously be the expat captain,followed by the PR captain and then(IF required)the local captain! Now here's the tricky part.What's on the table right now from the mamnagment is 3 days Cnpl for ALL captains.This, to a great degree, pushes the prospects of retrenchments(in the order stated above)back by a whole lot of weeks/months.Numbers aren't very important here,but 3 days Cnpl per captain reduces the chances of retrenchments for all the others by a very very large percent.This....as per Capt.GY(SVP) himself.I for one would take the Cnpl hands down if it reduces my chances of getting the pink slip.
Now comes the fun part.Our union,ALPA-S seems to think otherwise.That is,if line pilots take 3 days Cnpl,then the additional "left over" hours would be split amongst who else but the managment.Effectively,making a gain for the managment at the cost of the line pilot.With this very weak argument,it seems they've managed to get some kind of a critical mass to back up this hypothesis.Here's what really will happen.....we refuse Cnpl,retrenchments begin(with expats to go first!),50-80% expat pilots are retrenched, which looks after the 200 odd surplus pilots at present and who do we have left home free to share the bonuses when the company does better....???!! The locals and the PR's who ironically,are currently running the show at ALPA-S anyways.That also makes room for "further talks"on wage negs with managment later,since 'we from Alpa were oh sooo helpful during your time of crisis!' Just a small detail here.Our expat bretheren aren't here to share the bonuses nor the wage hikes we're getting.Why...??? CAUSE YOU FIRED THEM LAH........!!!!
Now that's how my little mind reads the writing on the wall la.Anybody(especially genuine expat captains),with ANY other input,please feel free to pool in.We have another meet with Capt GY tomorrow,followed by a "Makan" session immediately after, from ALPA-S,in order to discuss the Cnpl(which is sure as fire going to be tabled by GY tomorrow).Why do I have this sick feeling in my gut that our Alpa secretary/president are gonna wholly and soully oppose this move by managment and 'convince' our colleagues that this Cnpl is absolutely NOT the right way to go.....
.And then the expat heads will roll.What say ye all yonder.All expat(and otherwise)inputs welcome.....
And the swine flu hasn't helped either.
My two krunos worth...
Last edited by King on a Wing; 29th Apr 2009 at 16:44. Reason: Typo
It definitely different than all the times before. That's for sure.
Smart locals understand that whilst expats are around our pay package stays international - despite the racial, jealous nonsense that sometimes seems to be the norm.
However, i see that management is panicking - quite obviously so. What scares me is that we are still making money, so the panic is political.
And in Singapore, when politics is involved - anything goes.
I think we are seeing the benevolence in the benevolent dictatorship becoming less benevolent. (sorry for the tongue twister)
Sigh.
Smart locals understand that whilst expats are around our pay package stays international - despite the racial, jealous nonsense that sometimes seems to be the norm.
However, i see that management is panicking - quite obviously so. What scares me is that we are still making money, so the panic is political.
And in Singapore, when politics is involved - anything goes.
I think we are seeing the benevolence in the benevolent dictatorship becoming less benevolent. (sorry for the tongue twister)
Sigh.
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And all this when the SIA group has posted a profit of just over a billion dollars for the last fiscal.Imagine the apathy IF the profits.......GOD FORBID turn to a loss........!!!!
I would tend to agree with u wholeheartedly Balthazar.
The ONLY way the local pilots can continually keep raking in their current(otherwise unsustainable)payrolls is by 'quote the expat'.Its not far in the future that i can forsee a SIA minus all expats and the managment with the ALPA-S secretary's balls in his left and right pockets! With the cliched...."u're next buddy.Now take the pay cut or take the door...."
.
I would tend to agree with u wholeheartedly Balthazar.
The ONLY way the local pilots can continually keep raking in their current(otherwise unsustainable)payrolls is by 'quote the expat'.Its not far in the future that i can forsee a SIA minus all expats and the managment with the ALPA-S secretary's balls in his left and right pockets! With the cliched...."u're next buddy.Now take the pay cut or take the door...."
.
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skycatzSia Svp
The current SVP at SIA is the most useless, spineless, lack of leadership SVP that SIA has ever had in its history.
Absolutely 100% concurred. Evidence? If only you have attended the dialogue session he just conducted for the boys.
Now back to the topic.
King on the wing.
The way I see it, you're not in the company long enough to even smell what's coming. Gerald Y wants you to think CNPL is necessary, if you agree, why stop at 3? Why not 6? 10 is even better, that way we all will have our jobs for sure for next 10years? You know what, why don't all of us expats in SQ, come up and offer 10days CNPL each in return for our jobs, let's see what will they say shall we??
Here's what's factual. Regardless of the ALPAS position, which I seriously wont give a hood about. I know for the fact that they will continue to NOT renew the expats contract. Try asking the top performing expat captain who scored big time by fuel saving suggestion (mentioned somewhere on other thread as well), saves the company by the MILLIONS/Year, and his contract? NOT RENEWED.
If there's anything to it, flight ops is trying to push this down by imposing fear amongst its pilots. I sure know what GY & the gang want, they want to keep the pilots, at the reduced cost so that they achieve the KPI they need for their managerial bonoses/renewal. Don't be fooled, look around more intently and observe with shrewd sense. They will do what they WANT to do, not what is needed to be done.
To prove it, my own local sources tell me that there have been so many forthcoming suggestions on how more flexible no payleave scheme (Eg. Shorter work month with more no pay leave supplementing offdays for those interested) could be further explored. And guess what? Again you'd get your answers from the dialogue session. HE IS NOT INTERESTED. He wants you to go on HIS PLAN, not yours. His frivolous response made you wonder how on earth did he even get the job as SVP in the first place. There was no attempt, and even a pretended one, to consider some of the very good and relevant suggestions from the floor.
[SIZE2]It's indeed a sad era now in SIA, that the pilots have to be convinced that when the company is doing fine, we have to take the cut to sustain profitability. [/SIZE]Swine flu is mentioned, by our beloved flt ops. Not for highlighting the care for the frontline crew health safety, but for the bottom-line of company with an opportune and timely plea to accept the proposed CNPL. Only after someone wrote a critical comment to highlight the screw up, they promptly re-issued another one, please, go search the order of the circulars issued to further verify their trend of thoughts and mindset.
Lastly, try read the book "who moved my cheese?". It's really a short and nice read. Should have been more prepared as an expat. As I certainly do. My contract renewal is coming up next year, the way I see it: NO
chance!!
The current SVP at SIA is the most useless, spineless, lack of leadership SVP that SIA has ever had in its history.
Absolutely 100% concurred. Evidence? If only you have attended the dialogue session he just conducted for the boys. Now back to the topic.
King on the wing.
The way I see it, you're not in the company long enough to even smell what's coming. Gerald Y wants you to think CNPL is necessary, if you agree, why stop at 3? Why not 6? 10 is even better, that way we all will have our jobs for sure for next 10years? You know what, why don't all of us expats in SQ, come up and offer 10days CNPL each in return for our jobs, let's see what will they say shall we??
Here's what's factual. Regardless of the ALPAS position, which I seriously wont give a hood about. I know for the fact that they will continue to NOT renew the expats contract. Try asking the top performing expat captain who scored big time by fuel saving suggestion (mentioned somewhere on other thread as well), saves the company by the MILLIONS/Year, and his contract? NOT RENEWED.
If there's anything to it, flight ops is trying to push this down by imposing fear amongst its pilots. I sure know what GY & the gang want, they want to keep the pilots, at the reduced cost so that they achieve the KPI they need for their managerial bonoses/renewal. Don't be fooled, look around more intently and observe with shrewd sense. They will do what they WANT to do, not what is needed to be done.
To prove it, my own local sources tell me that there have been so many forthcoming suggestions on how more flexible no payleave scheme (Eg. Shorter work month with more no pay leave supplementing offdays for those interested) could be further explored. And guess what? Again you'd get your answers from the dialogue session. HE IS NOT INTERESTED. He wants you to go on HIS PLAN, not yours. His frivolous response made you wonder how on earth did he even get the job as SVP in the first place. There was no attempt, and even a pretended one, to consider some of the very good and relevant suggestions from the floor.
[SIZE2]It's indeed a sad era now in SIA, that the pilots have to be convinced that when the company is doing fine, we have to take the cut to sustain profitability. [/SIZE]Swine flu is mentioned, by our beloved flt ops. Not for highlighting the care for the frontline crew health safety, but for the bottom-line of company with an opportune and timely plea to accept the proposed CNPL. Only after someone wrote a critical comment to highlight the screw up, they promptly re-issued another one, please, go search the order of the circulars issued to further verify their trend of thoughts and mindset.
Lastly, try read the book "who moved my cheese?". It's really a short and nice read. Should have been more prepared as an expat. As I certainly do. My contract renewal is coming up next year, the way I see it: NO
chance!!
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True colours show when one is desperate. Blame one & all, everyone but me, so long as I can breath a little easier, stay a little longer.
So ALPA-S is the culprit now.
The trouble with trying to be reasonable and hold the middle ground is that it pleases no one entirely. Yet that ALPA-S must do, for other recourse are limited, and far from effective. A formality mediation at MOM, to more “take it or leave it” response & procrastination by Management, eventually to the IAC or the Istana – how else can they handle it but to take a stand that is as reasonable and fair to ALL pilots as possible? When the Establishment, the spins & public opinion aren't exactly sympathetic, can we at least hope for unity amongst ourselves?
Just because they are not inclined to bow to unreasonable ultimatums does not mean ALPA-S is racist or parochial, KoaW. As a (persumably) experienced expatriate, I'm sure if ALPA-S and your local colleagues are so intolerable, you would have no problem being hired elsewhere. And surely, this not being your first job, you would know if you have been treated fairly in SIN as well as other places you've been to. By fair, I mean not God-like or red-carpet treatment some tend to think as their birthright.
It is very distressing to have our jobs put on the line, what with mortgages, alimonies and kids to put through college. But please, spare a thought to those folks in similar circumstance, who've volunteered to be in unenviable & thankless positions.
So ALPA-S is the culprit now.
The trouble with trying to be reasonable and hold the middle ground is that it pleases no one entirely. Yet that ALPA-S must do, for other recourse are limited, and far from effective. A formality mediation at MOM, to more “take it or leave it” response & procrastination by Management, eventually to the IAC or the Istana – how else can they handle it but to take a stand that is as reasonable and fair to ALL pilots as possible? When the Establishment, the spins & public opinion aren't exactly sympathetic, can we at least hope for unity amongst ourselves?
Just because they are not inclined to bow to unreasonable ultimatums does not mean ALPA-S is racist or parochial, KoaW. As a (persumably) experienced expatriate, I'm sure if ALPA-S and your local colleagues are so intolerable, you would have no problem being hired elsewhere. And surely, this not being your first job, you would know if you have been treated fairly in SIN as well as other places you've been to. By fair, I mean not God-like or red-carpet treatment some tend to think as their birthright.
It is very distressing to have our jobs put on the line, what with mortgages, alimonies and kids to put through college. But please, spare a thought to those folks in similar circumstance, who've volunteered to be in unenviable & thankless positions.
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perantau,
I can clearly see from your post that you are alpa-s managment.Nevertheless let us not get biased here.
Quote:
"It is very distressing to have our jobs put on the line, what with mortgages, alimonies and kids to put through college."
And YES. It IS very distressing to have our jobs put on the line what with mortgages,alimonies and kids to put through college!! Yes,you're darn right about that.What ELSE do you work for i'd like to know.The slot machines as the sports club? For that matter what else does ANYBODY work for! You've pretty much covered all bases here perantau.
Then you go on to make an even sillier statment:
" But please, spare a thought to those folks in similar circumstance, who've volunteered to be in unenviable & thankless positions."
Which moron in his right mind would do what you just stated,unless he a) Had a better job up his sleeve or b) Is Mother teresa's step son(didn't say son cause she obviously was a nun,may god rest her soul!).
I mean.....ARE YOU JOKING OR WHAT.....??!! One has a perfectly decent job all these years,and one fine day just like a bolt out of the blue someone from managment asks u to take say 6 months off without pay with your kids in college,mortgages to pay and alimonies to make(in your own words).And you sheepishly comply without even a wimper.Come on,grow a beard man.Name me ONE pilot who's done that...
.
So, what you tried for was unsolicited sympathy.Don't ever try it again.NOBODY volunteers for suicide.Unless there's something to gain!
And nobody has!
And P.S-Nobody's desperate here.Nor does anybody here have an hidden agendas.Its all in the open.So please don't mask the real topic at hand.Your valuable contributions,however are appreciated.
I can clearly see from your post that you are alpa-s managment.Nevertheless let us not get biased here.
Quote:
"It is very distressing to have our jobs put on the line, what with mortgages, alimonies and kids to put through college."
And YES. It IS very distressing to have our jobs put on the line what with mortgages,alimonies and kids to put through college!! Yes,you're darn right about that.What ELSE do you work for i'd like to know.The slot machines as the sports club? For that matter what else does ANYBODY work for! You've pretty much covered all bases here perantau.
Then you go on to make an even sillier statment:
" But please, spare a thought to those folks in similar circumstance, who've volunteered to be in unenviable & thankless positions."
Which moron in his right mind would do what you just stated,unless he a) Had a better job up his sleeve or b) Is Mother teresa's step son(didn't say son cause she obviously was a nun,may god rest her soul!).
I mean.....ARE YOU JOKING OR WHAT.....??!! One has a perfectly decent job all these years,and one fine day just like a bolt out of the blue someone from managment asks u to take say 6 months off without pay with your kids in college,mortgages to pay and alimonies to make(in your own words).And you sheepishly comply without even a wimper.Come on,grow a beard man.Name me ONE pilot who's done that...
.So, what you tried for was unsolicited sympathy.Don't ever try it again.NOBODY volunteers for suicide.Unless there's something to gain!
And nobody has!
And P.S-Nobody's desperate here.Nor does anybody here have an hidden agendas.Its all in the open.So please don't mask the real topic at hand.Your valuable contributions,however are appreciated.
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fatbus PR = Permanent Resident. Usually Malaysians in SIA.
Permanent as in as long as you keep your nose clean and stay out of Alpha-S politics and don't stir up the troops to revolt.
Permanent as in as long as you keep your nose clean and stay out of Alpha-S politics and don't stir up the troops to revolt.
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welcome to SQ
Welcome to SIA, you lot...
Did u think anyone gives any hoot to any employees???
hah!.... lets blame the EVP that is barking like dog to get his 3/4day CNPL.
EVP HR was the one who is sacking all the expats he personally hates...
So.... let the blood shed begin.
LEt this be a painful reminder to all EXPATS who wish to join SQ.....
Whole Co is run by the Devil and his minions... and they WILL burn everyone
eventually.
Did u think anyone gives any hoot to any employees???
hah!.... lets blame the EVP that is barking like dog to get his 3/4day CNPL.
EVP HR was the one who is sacking all the expats he personally hates...
So.... let the blood shed begin.
LEt this be a painful reminder to all EXPATS who wish to join SQ.....
Whole Co is run by the Devil and his minions... and they WILL burn everyone
eventually.
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a345,
You claim to be from singapore and you use the term "coming over to QR".
You obviously are one of those who's "gone over" to QR.
When you go to a supermarket do you buy everything on the shelves just because it's on sale? No,you buy just what you want right. If we are unable to resolve things in our own backyards,what makes you think that we could do any better abroad in the desert.Just something to think about.Lets try and do some housekeeping in our own backyards first before we commence a migration shall we.There's no ONE solution.Thats why this post!
You claim to be from singapore and you use the term "coming over to QR".
You obviously are one of those who's "gone over" to QR.
When you go to a supermarket do you buy everything on the shelves just because it's on sale? No,you buy just what you want right. If we are unable to resolve things in our own backyards,what makes you think that we could do any better abroad in the desert.Just something to think about.Lets try and do some housekeeping in our own backyards first before we commence a migration shall we.There's no ONE solution.Thats why this post!
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Expat on a contract? Then that's is all you are, a contractor and expendable, period.
I have been an expat for nearly 35 years and realised very early on you are first out, when there is a surplus.
I do wish you all well for the future, however, welcome to the real world, as some of us have been living with the threat of redundancies for decades.
We are all in an unstable business and nothing lasts forever. NOTHING. Get used to it.
In my time as an expat, I have never contemplated selling out my birth right and never will.
I have been an expat for nearly 35 years and realised very early on you are first out, when there is a surplus.
I do wish you all well for the future, however, welcome to the real world, as some of us have been living with the threat of redundancies for decades.
We are all in an unstable business and nothing lasts forever. NOTHING. Get used to it.
In my time as an expat, I have never contemplated selling out my birth right and never will.
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delusion
It's always sad when we see a person in denial of the facts of life as an expat.
Seen many since the A310 days till now.
"All dragged screaming and cursing out the door" filled with contempt and hatred.
But, fear not, expats will always find some where to land eventually.
Of course, good luck handling the alimonies and wives at the same time...
Seen many since the A310 days till now.
"All dragged screaming and cursing out the door" filled with contempt and hatred.
But, fear not, expats will always find some where to land eventually.
Of course, good luck handling the alimonies and wives at the same time...
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some reasons.
30 April 2009
Dear Colleagues,
NEWSLETTER
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” - Abraham Lincoln (attributed) 16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
SHORTER WORK MONTH
The Company has stated on numerous occasions that this Shorter Work Month (SWM) scheme is not about cutting costs. In fact, the company has made it possible for Managers and Admin Officers to take either one-day CNPL or one day annual leave. If the objective is not cost cutting, then it does not gel with asking anyone to take one day of CNPL, let alone 3 and 4 days of CNPL. Doesn’t the company understand that CNPL means NO-PAY? If the company is really not interested in the money saved by NOT PAYING us then WHO, is the beneficiary of the money saved by NOT PAYING us.
Well, at least one member of management, in the form of EVP HRP, was honest enough to state that the company “did not want to bear the burden of the cost of the excess pilots”. At the MOM, when this was stated, the EVP proudly stated how the pilot numbers have grown over the years, at a higher rate than that of other staff. The Association had to remind him that the growth in pilot numbers was deliberately planned by management in anticipation of airline growth.
Hindsight is perfect and no one, including the Association, is blaming the Management for the downturn and the resultant excess situation. But really, is this the way to show “Concern for Staff”, by expecting the staff to bear the cost of excess resources. Instead of asking all staff to stand united and bite the bullet together, in this downturn, the company has resorted to dividing the staff and apportioning responsibility for the consequences of this downturn.
The Association’s position has been simple. We will gladly participate in the SWM scheme offered to Managers and Admin Officers on the very SAME terms. We are willing to do this, to show solidarity, because it is important in this downturn to demonstrate unity. If however the
company needs any particular group of employees to chip in more than the other staff, then the company must be willing to make restitution, should the company remain profitable(after accounting for the monies saved through the excess CNPL). For some strange reason, this world class management is unable to see the fairness of that proposal, instead insisting on 3 days and 4 days of CNPL for the pilots. The Company has REFUSED to negotiate on this.
HOW MUCH?
How much does the company save by imposing 3 days and 4 days of CNPL? Based on figures and information provided by the company, there are 914 Captains and 942 First Officers. At the MOM meeting on 23 April 09, the Company stated that there was an excess of 75 Captains and 127 First Officers. Using an average salary of $13297 for Captains and $6882 for First Officers, the 3 days and 4 days CNPL will translate to a savings of $13,368,804 for Captains and $9,508,171 for First Officers. This results in a total of savings of $22,876,975 in the financial year 09/10. Yes, that’s almost 23 MILLION.
What is the carrying cost of the excess crew? Using the same average salary, mentioned above, for the full financial year 09/10, it would result in a cost of $12,964,575 for the 75 Captains and $11,362,182 for the 127 First Officers. So while it would cost the company $24,326,757 to carry this excess crew, the company is now expecting the pilots to support $22,876,975 of this cost by taking 3 days and 4 days CNPL.
Is this fair? What next? Are they going to now ask the Planners who did the fuel hedging at higher prices to bear the losses? Are they going to ask the managers who ran unprofitable stations to pay for the losses incurred? Are they going to ask the Cargo pilots to make up for the losses incurred in their cargo operations? Is this is how Management has chosen to “reward” staff who have faithfully done their bidding?
We are all one Company. Despite many attempts to divide and rule by creating separate legal entities, the fact remains that we are all, in reality, one Company. Each member of this family, fairly motivated to play his part, is essential for the success of the company, and especially so to pull the company through this downturn. Instead, this enlightened management has resorted to sowing the seeds of discord, division and mistrust.
MONEY NO ENOUGH!!!
The Company has already saved money by denying the pilots the SI for 2009. This was despite the fact that proposals for the 2009 SI were made to Management, before any other union. No doubt the Association’s proposal was rejected, but when management was repeatedly pressed for a counter proposal, all management could respond to was that it was working on it. Yes, management was working on it alright.
Despite numerous reminders, no counter-proposal from the company was forth-coming, until, when pressed again at the Union-Management meeting on 17 Feb 09, Management’s lame reply was that it was too late – the proverbial horse had long bolted when it was decided more than a month before in mid-January that a wage freeze was to be implemented.
Behind our backs, while telling us to wait patiently, management went ahead, negotiated and concluded SI agreements with the other unions in the group in mid January 2009.
This is subterfuge by HR against a member of the SIA family. It makes a mockery of the Core Values, and the Team Spirit and all the other often heard clichés. Management’s intention has become crystal clear – Divide and Rule. How can employees have confidence and trust in a Management that resorts to such underhanded measures. Where is the Integrity? Where is the Honour?
By the way, even if we assume a lower SI for 2009 than 2008, the money that the company has deprived us is not just one year’s SI. Rather, it is that quantum per month compounded for the entire length of your career in the Company.
Just to give you a flavour of the amount, assume for example that the SI for 2009 for Captains was $300. Then, one Captain would have lost $3900 per year. If the Captain only had 10 years left to work, he would have lost a total of $39000(without considering compounding). Given that I have used a conservative SI, for the 914 Captains that we have, the SI lost for 10 years is $35,646,000. This is a very conservative computation and only for Captains. Hasn’t that saved the company enough to carry the cost of the excess Captains and First Officers? If you include the amount lost by First Officers, wouldn’t the total sum saved be enough to cover the excess crew and ensure that NO ONE NEEDS TO BE LET GO? WHY IS THIS MANAGEMENT OBLIVIOUS TO THIS FACT?
What about the money saved by not paying us our share of the bonus on the AVC in 2008? What about the money saved by not paying us 70 hours PPA, because of the downturn? What about the money saved by not paying LMA as a result of the reduction in services and layovers? Need we say more?
Management has let go of experienced crew, purely because their contract was up for renewal.
Yet, it was willing to retain new hires, simply because they were just hired and still had time in their contract. As management has admitted, when they recruited these new expatriates they didn’t expect the downturn. Well, quite honestly, except perhaps for those select bankers, halfway across the globe, nobody could envisage the tsunami that was coming. Yet, management, in not renewing pilot contracts in this manner, is not only disregarding international best practices, but is sending the wrong message to pilots worldwide.
WHAT ABOUT MVC?
Not too long ago, a wage cut was initiated with restitution provisions. This was then translated to MVC and AVC. Eventually, we were left with an MVC agreement incorporated in our CA.
If management is so bent on honouring contracts, then lets honour the MVC agreement that was painstakingly crafted after much angst in the shadow of SARS. Then, during SARS, we were told that the company was bleeding $6 million a day. Today, before the MVC agreement can be invoked, management is now talking about pre-emptive measures to remain profitable. There is nothing wrong with that, but then, why the reluctance to make restitution when we ARE profitable?
PILOTS PROPOSAL REJECTED
At the MOM on 23rd April 09, the company rejected the Association’s offer to join in solidarity and participate in the SWM on the same terms as the Managers and Administrative Officers. The ministry proposed, that the Association consider implementing one day of CNPL per month and continue negotiations on the other days demanded by the company. This had to be deliberated by the Executive Council.
The Executive Council met for an extra-ordinary session on 30th April 2009 and deliberated the Ministry’s proposal.
DECISION
While it was felt that it was grossly unfair of the Company to single out the pilots for such special discrimination, the Executive Council also feels the need to demonstrate solidarity in the
Company. The Executive Council has therefore decided to accept the Ministry’s proposal for one day of CNPL per month.
Even though this is not the same as the SWM offered to the Managers and the Admininstrative Officers, the Executive Council feels that this one day CNPL is the closest equivalent to the SWM offered to the other staff. Going forward, we are willing to explore with the company and exhaust all reasonable and fair means of dealing with the cost issues.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Dear Colleagues,
NEWSLETTER
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” - Abraham Lincoln (attributed) 16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
SHORTER WORK MONTH
The Company has stated on numerous occasions that this Shorter Work Month (SWM) scheme is not about cutting costs. In fact, the company has made it possible for Managers and Admin Officers to take either one-day CNPL or one day annual leave. If the objective is not cost cutting, then it does not gel with asking anyone to take one day of CNPL, let alone 3 and 4 days of CNPL. Doesn’t the company understand that CNPL means NO-PAY? If the company is really not interested in the money saved by NOT PAYING us then WHO, is the beneficiary of the money saved by NOT PAYING us.
Well, at least one member of management, in the form of EVP HRP, was honest enough to state that the company “did not want to bear the burden of the cost of the excess pilots”. At the MOM, when this was stated, the EVP proudly stated how the pilot numbers have grown over the years, at a higher rate than that of other staff. The Association had to remind him that the growth in pilot numbers was deliberately planned by management in anticipation of airline growth.
Hindsight is perfect and no one, including the Association, is blaming the Management for the downturn and the resultant excess situation. But really, is this the way to show “Concern for Staff”, by expecting the staff to bear the cost of excess resources. Instead of asking all staff to stand united and bite the bullet together, in this downturn, the company has resorted to dividing the staff and apportioning responsibility for the consequences of this downturn.
The Association’s position has been simple. We will gladly participate in the SWM scheme offered to Managers and Admin Officers on the very SAME terms. We are willing to do this, to show solidarity, because it is important in this downturn to demonstrate unity. If however the
company needs any particular group of employees to chip in more than the other staff, then the company must be willing to make restitution, should the company remain profitable(after accounting for the monies saved through the excess CNPL). For some strange reason, this world class management is unable to see the fairness of that proposal, instead insisting on 3 days and 4 days of CNPL for the pilots. The Company has REFUSED to negotiate on this.
HOW MUCH?
How much does the company save by imposing 3 days and 4 days of CNPL? Based on figures and information provided by the company, there are 914 Captains and 942 First Officers. At the MOM meeting on 23 April 09, the Company stated that there was an excess of 75 Captains and 127 First Officers. Using an average salary of $13297 for Captains and $6882 for First Officers, the 3 days and 4 days CNPL will translate to a savings of $13,368,804 for Captains and $9,508,171 for First Officers. This results in a total of savings of $22,876,975 in the financial year 09/10. Yes, that’s almost 23 MILLION.
What is the carrying cost of the excess crew? Using the same average salary, mentioned above, for the full financial year 09/10, it would result in a cost of $12,964,575 for the 75 Captains and $11,362,182 for the 127 First Officers. So while it would cost the company $24,326,757 to carry this excess crew, the company is now expecting the pilots to support $22,876,975 of this cost by taking 3 days and 4 days CNPL.
Is this fair? What next? Are they going to now ask the Planners who did the fuel hedging at higher prices to bear the losses? Are they going to ask the managers who ran unprofitable stations to pay for the losses incurred? Are they going to ask the Cargo pilots to make up for the losses incurred in their cargo operations? Is this is how Management has chosen to “reward” staff who have faithfully done their bidding?
We are all one Company. Despite many attempts to divide and rule by creating separate legal entities, the fact remains that we are all, in reality, one Company. Each member of this family, fairly motivated to play his part, is essential for the success of the company, and especially so to pull the company through this downturn. Instead, this enlightened management has resorted to sowing the seeds of discord, division and mistrust.
MONEY NO ENOUGH!!!
The Company has already saved money by denying the pilots the SI for 2009. This was despite the fact that proposals for the 2009 SI were made to Management, before any other union. No doubt the Association’s proposal was rejected, but when management was repeatedly pressed for a counter proposal, all management could respond to was that it was working on it. Yes, management was working on it alright.
Despite numerous reminders, no counter-proposal from the company was forth-coming, until, when pressed again at the Union-Management meeting on 17 Feb 09, Management’s lame reply was that it was too late – the proverbial horse had long bolted when it was decided more than a month before in mid-January that a wage freeze was to be implemented.
Behind our backs, while telling us to wait patiently, management went ahead, negotiated and concluded SI agreements with the other unions in the group in mid January 2009.
This is subterfuge by HR against a member of the SIA family. It makes a mockery of the Core Values, and the Team Spirit and all the other often heard clichés. Management’s intention has become crystal clear – Divide and Rule. How can employees have confidence and trust in a Management that resorts to such underhanded measures. Where is the Integrity? Where is the Honour?
By the way, even if we assume a lower SI for 2009 than 2008, the money that the company has deprived us is not just one year’s SI. Rather, it is that quantum per month compounded for the entire length of your career in the Company.
Just to give you a flavour of the amount, assume for example that the SI for 2009 for Captains was $300. Then, one Captain would have lost $3900 per year. If the Captain only had 10 years left to work, he would have lost a total of $39000(without considering compounding). Given that I have used a conservative SI, for the 914 Captains that we have, the SI lost for 10 years is $35,646,000. This is a very conservative computation and only for Captains. Hasn’t that saved the company enough to carry the cost of the excess Captains and First Officers? If you include the amount lost by First Officers, wouldn’t the total sum saved be enough to cover the excess crew and ensure that NO ONE NEEDS TO BE LET GO? WHY IS THIS MANAGEMENT OBLIVIOUS TO THIS FACT?
What about the money saved by not paying us our share of the bonus on the AVC in 2008? What about the money saved by not paying us 70 hours PPA, because of the downturn? What about the money saved by not paying LMA as a result of the reduction in services and layovers? Need we say more?
Management has let go of experienced crew, purely because their contract was up for renewal.
Yet, it was willing to retain new hires, simply because they were just hired and still had time in their contract. As management has admitted, when they recruited these new expatriates they didn’t expect the downturn. Well, quite honestly, except perhaps for those select bankers, halfway across the globe, nobody could envisage the tsunami that was coming. Yet, management, in not renewing pilot contracts in this manner, is not only disregarding international best practices, but is sending the wrong message to pilots worldwide.
WHAT ABOUT MVC?
Not too long ago, a wage cut was initiated with restitution provisions. This was then translated to MVC and AVC. Eventually, we were left with an MVC agreement incorporated in our CA.
If management is so bent on honouring contracts, then lets honour the MVC agreement that was painstakingly crafted after much angst in the shadow of SARS. Then, during SARS, we were told that the company was bleeding $6 million a day. Today, before the MVC agreement can be invoked, management is now talking about pre-emptive measures to remain profitable. There is nothing wrong with that, but then, why the reluctance to make restitution when we ARE profitable?
PILOTS PROPOSAL REJECTED
At the MOM on 23rd April 09, the company rejected the Association’s offer to join in solidarity and participate in the SWM on the same terms as the Managers and Administrative Officers. The ministry proposed, that the Association consider implementing one day of CNPL per month and continue negotiations on the other days demanded by the company. This had to be deliberated by the Executive Council.
The Executive Council met for an extra-ordinary session on 30th April 2009 and deliberated the Ministry’s proposal.
DECISION
While it was felt that it was grossly unfair of the Company to single out the pilots for such special discrimination, the Executive Council also feels the need to demonstrate solidarity in the
Company. The Executive Council has therefore decided to accept the Ministry’s proposal for one day of CNPL per month.
Even though this is not the same as the SWM offered to the Managers and the Admininstrative Officers, the Executive Council feels that this one day CNPL is the closest equivalent to the SWM offered to the other staff. Going forward, we are willing to explore with the company and exhaust all reasonable and fair means of dealing with the cost issues.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Last edited by linksys; 3rd May 2009 at 09:27. Reason: typo error
Join Date: May 2009
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I second linksys's uploading of Alpa-S newsletter since the actual situation may not be portrayed accurately by the originator of this thread. Here are the undisputable facts:
There are MORE excess in FOs than Capts right now. Most of the FOs are on local (non-expat contract) terms. Therefore they (the FOs) are the majority group who will be affected if there's going to be a retrechment. They are fully represented by Alpa-S w.r.t the negotiation on CNPL & potential retrenchment.
The above newsletter seems to be available for viewing & downloading by ANY members of the public (at least for now!!!) at ALPA-S homepage
There are MORE excess in FOs than Capts right now. Most of the FOs are on local (non-expat contract) terms. Therefore they (the FOs) are the majority group who will be affected if there's going to be a retrechment. They are fully represented by Alpa-S w.r.t the negotiation on CNPL & potential retrenchment.
The above newsletter seems to be available for viewing & downloading by ANY members of the public (at least for now!!!) at ALPA-S homepage