SilkAir releases 8 expatriate pilots
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SilkAir releases 8 expatriate pilots
In The Straits Times of 30 April 2003, Home Section, page H4,
"Yesterday, its regional carrier SilkAir said it was releasing eight expatriate pilots in accordance with their terms of employment before their contracts ended, after suspending 35 weekly services as part of cost-cutting measures"
Fellow ppruners please take note of the carefully worded statement from The Straits Times, there is no mention of retrenching but releasing the pilots.
Is this a face-saving measure too?
"Yesterday, its regional carrier SilkAir said it was releasing eight expatriate pilots in accordance with their terms of employment before their contracts ended, after suspending 35 weekly services as part of cost-cutting measures"
Fellow ppruners please take note of the carefully worded statement from The Straits Times, there is no mention of retrenching but releasing the pilots.
Is this a face-saving measure too?
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Those are not my words, the word "releasing" was used by The Straits Times, Transport Reporter, Nicholas Fang!
I would have used "retrenched" or "laid off" (in the past tense).
So I ask again, is this a face-saving measure?
I would have used "retrenched" or "laid off" (in the past tense).
So I ask again, is this a face-saving measure?
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The newspapers are just an instrument of the political regeime in Singland. Of course it is a "face saving" thing!! The government don't even recognize that there is an unemployment problem.
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I detect some resentment in the air...
How does an airline and its group of companies which has lost nearly half of its pax load recover from this crisis?
Releasing the expats first are just another one of the many cost cutting measures being taken. I'm no company stooge to defend the sacking (or maybe "release") of staff but I've seen the extent of their cost cutting measures. Have you walked through an office corridor that is only half-lit in the afternoon so the company can save on its electricity bill? Even the bird logo signboard has been switched off at night.
So far we seem to be only talking about the flight crew - what about the other lower graded - but certainly not any lesser - staff who have been let go, and particularly those who sit in fear of losing their jobs? Rumours are flying around hard and fast about a paycut of up to 20%.
These are uncertain times and my sympathies go out to those who have lost their jobs. I'm just buckling up to weather the storm... Who knows what the future will bring?
How does an airline and its group of companies which has lost nearly half of its pax load recover from this crisis?
Releasing the expats first are just another one of the many cost cutting measures being taken. I'm no company stooge to defend the sacking (or maybe "release") of staff but I've seen the extent of their cost cutting measures. Have you walked through an office corridor that is only half-lit in the afternoon so the company can save on its electricity bill? Even the bird logo signboard has been switched off at night.
So far we seem to be only talking about the flight crew - what about the other lower graded - but certainly not any lesser - staff who have been let go, and particularly those who sit in fear of losing their jobs? Rumours are flying around hard and fast about a paycut of up to 20%.
These are uncertain times and my sympathies go out to those who have lost their jobs. I'm just buckling up to weather the storm... Who knows what the future will bring?
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Hey, Combi, get real!
If any European airline would even dream of firing foreigners in preference to their nationals when the s..t hits the fan, that would be illegal! The only thing they could do would be to implement a "last in, first out" policy regardless of nationality.
Flight crew, be they local or expatriate, are NOT a commodity.
It's about time you guys "somewhere in the Orient" got out of your 20th-Century nationalistic bias...
If any European airline would even dream of firing foreigners in preference to their nationals when the s..t hits the fan, that would be illegal! The only thing they could do would be to implement a "last in, first out" policy regardless of nationality.
Flight crew, be they local or expatriate, are NOT a commodity.
It's about time you guys "somewhere in the Orient" got out of your 20th-Century nationalistic bias...
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FM What you do not seem to realise is that when you join an Airline as an ex-pat your services can be terminated for no reason usually just by being given 3 months notice or salary in lieu. That is how it has always been and seniority means nothing and obviously one would expect us 'foreigners' to be got rid of first of all in any downturn as we cost more than locals and afterall it is their Airline and we have no employment rights or protection,not that the locals have either in most Airlines.
When you leave Europe/US etc you enter a totally different world.
When you leave Europe/US etc you enter a totally different world.
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You got that right Gypsy. I just looked at the expat contract and it is as clear as ever. The company has the right to terminate your services with a three month notice period. So far the company offers three month salary to the crews they have terminated. So what is the big deal. You just go out to the airport and have a good look at the check in counters and you realise that this time there is a real problem. And by the looks of it this is just the beginning of a long and downward spiral of jobcuts all over the board. Time to tighten these expat belts!!
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3 months notice is for all
TheGypsy:
"FM What you do not seem to realise is that when you join an Airline as an ex-pat your services can be terminated for no reason usually just by being given 3 months notice or salary in lieu. "
You suggest by your post that only expats are at the mercy of this clause. Perhaps you have not seen a local's contract.
I am a local and my contract also has this clause. While I have not seen every single contract, I expect that most if not all pilots with SIA have this clause.
When the SQ006 pilots were terminated the SIA spokesman said to the Straits Times that the pilots being terminated had this clause in their contract, so as such no reason was needed to terminate them.
Remember, if it is in the Straits Times, it must be true!
"FM What you do not seem to realise is that when you join an Airline as an ex-pat your services can be terminated for no reason usually just by being given 3 months notice or salary in lieu. "
You suggest by your post that only expats are at the mercy of this clause. Perhaps you have not seen a local's contract.
I am a local and my contract also has this clause. While I have not seen every single contract, I expect that most if not all pilots with SIA have this clause.
When the SQ006 pilots were terminated the SIA spokesman said to the Straits Times that the pilots being terminated had this clause in their contract, so as such no reason was needed to terminate them.
Remember, if it is in the Straits Times, it must be true!
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Not 100% certain on this but I think you will find that the Singapore Government Labour Laws, under which the pilot's contract is issued, states that in the event of redundancy then expatriates have to go before locally employed staff.
From previous experience SIA will want to apply the 'first-in-last-out' policy according to type of contract, so, a foreigner employed after an expatriate but on local terms may be retained if they don't apply redundancy to that group, but an expatriate could be terminated even though he has been employed longer.
That said, SQ will proably have their very own unique way of getting rid of people, quite possibly the most expensive first, regardless of when they joined!
From previous experience SIA will want to apply the 'first-in-last-out' policy according to type of contract, so, a foreigner employed after an expatriate but on local terms may be retained if they don't apply redundancy to that group, but an expatriate could be terminated even though he has been employed longer.
That said, SQ will proably have their very own unique way of getting rid of people, quite possibly the most expensive first, regardless of when they joined!
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Thermal Image,
The ****ty Times, oops I mean The Straits Times would love to adopt your slogan for advertising. You better start to make them an offer they can't refuse!
"If it is in The Straits Times, it must be true!"
The ****ty Times, oops I mean The Straits Times would love to adopt your slogan for advertising. You better start to make them an offer they can't refuse!
"If it is in The Straits Times, it must be true!"
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Thermal Image I did say that the locals in most Airlines also had not much protection either.
As for those SQ6 Pilots you surely do not think they could expect anything other than termination??? They had to go IMHO '.Sorry I will do better next time' is not an option.
Also expats have' term' contracts unlike locals in SIA so apart from having the 3 months notice they can just choose not to renew one's contract,so I think it fair to say that ex-pats have less job security,at least in SIA.
I doubt if 'last in first out' will apply in SIA's case as they do not value loyalty,more an excuse to rid themselves of those in their little black book and those with large services increments and with children at expensive schools perhaps???? I think I had better start packing my bags!! SIA do however hate letting people go who are still under 'Bondage' as they seem to think we are getting something for nothing . Time will tell if things get any worse.
As for those SQ6 Pilots you surely do not think they could expect anything other than termination??? They had to go IMHO '.Sorry I will do better next time' is not an option.
Also expats have' term' contracts unlike locals in SIA so apart from having the 3 months notice they can just choose not to renew one's contract,so I think it fair to say that ex-pats have less job security,at least in SIA.
I doubt if 'last in first out' will apply in SIA's case as they do not value loyalty,more an excuse to rid themselves of those in their little black book and those with large services increments and with children at expensive schools perhaps???? I think I had better start packing my bags!! SIA do however hate letting people go who are still under 'Bondage' as they seem to think we are getting something for nothing . Time will tell if things get any worse.
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Lee,
>>The ****ty Times, oops I mean The Straits Times would love to adopt your slogan for advertising. You better start to make them an offer they can't refuse!
I confess that I only parrot this phrase. The first time I heard it was in the late 80s when an ex-scholar had just left the RSAF to return to the commercial world. We were making small talk about air force incidents when he very seriously said:
"If it's in the Straits Times, then it must be true".
Yes perhaps I'd better start looking for some other day job.
The Gypsy,
>>Thermal Image I did say that the locals in most Airlines also had not much protection either.
Yes I missed it. I must be a good specimen of local upbringing, only able to read direct instructions from on high and somewhat poor at reasoning, particularly when long sentences are involved.
>>As for those SQ6 Pilots you surely do not think they could expect anything other than termination??? They had to go IMHO '.Sorry I will do better next time' is not an option.
It's not that I had expected them to stay on. But for the company to rely on that clause as "the official reason" was somewhat lame.
>>Also expats have' term' contracts unlike locals in SIA so apart from having the 3 months notice they can just choose not to renew one's contract,so I think it fair to say that ex-pats have less job security,at least in SIA.
I'm not sure about expats having less job security than locals. Locals have so far demonstrated an incredible lack of mobility, in terms of working for other airlines. For whatever reasons. In any case, the option not to renew can be exercised by either party, correct? Also, since the least denominator is the magical 3-month clause, in effect in means that everyone, expat and local, can only count on 3-months supply of cash at worst.
>>The ****ty Times, oops I mean The Straits Times would love to adopt your slogan for advertising. You better start to make them an offer they can't refuse!
I confess that I only parrot this phrase. The first time I heard it was in the late 80s when an ex-scholar had just left the RSAF to return to the commercial world. We were making small talk about air force incidents when he very seriously said:
"If it's in the Straits Times, then it must be true".
Yes perhaps I'd better start looking for some other day job.
The Gypsy,
>>Thermal Image I did say that the locals in most Airlines also had not much protection either.
Yes I missed it. I must be a good specimen of local upbringing, only able to read direct instructions from on high and somewhat poor at reasoning, particularly when long sentences are involved.
>>As for those SQ6 Pilots you surely do not think they could expect anything other than termination??? They had to go IMHO '.Sorry I will do better next time' is not an option.
It's not that I had expected them to stay on. But for the company to rely on that clause as "the official reason" was somewhat lame.
>>Also expats have' term' contracts unlike locals in SIA so apart from having the 3 months notice they can just choose not to renew one's contract,so I think it fair to say that ex-pats have less job security,at least in SIA.
I'm not sure about expats having less job security than locals. Locals have so far demonstrated an incredible lack of mobility, in terms of working for other airlines. For whatever reasons. In any case, the option not to renew can be exercised by either party, correct? Also, since the least denominator is the magical 3-month clause, in effect in means that everyone, expat and local, can only count on 3-months supply of cash at worst.
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SQ is famous for breaking contract so what is new here..
They leave so much empty space between wordings that
the whole contract can be changed immediately..
So working for SQ is quite risky at all times..
Just be prepared to Fight back whenever they start acting
funny with contracts..
Remember, contracts are only for the Employee not the employer
.... employer reserve the right is change and terminate
even if it says 3 months , somewhere...
They leave so much empty space between wordings that
the whole contract can be changed immediately..
So working for SQ is quite risky at all times..
Just be prepared to Fight back whenever they start acting
funny with contracts..
Remember, contracts are only for the Employee not the employer
.... employer reserve the right is change and terminate
even if it says 3 months , somewhere...
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Thermal Image You are confusing locals lack of mobility which is totally different to an ex-pat having less job security. Yes as an ex-pat I can return home or seek a job elsewhere,whereas I recognise in Singapore you are giving up one hell of a lot by leaving. As PM Goh says are you a stayer or a quitter?? How about his daughter???
However in SIA Locals have permanent contracts and yes you can be terminated at 3 months notice but in practice this only happens to locals such as the SQ6 incident and say the A310- which went off the end of the runway at Kuching. In all other respects you are fairly safe in your employment.
As for SIA's reasoning behind terminating the SQ6 pilots we all know why they were terminated so what clause SIA want to put on it is really irrelevant.
I cannot believe that any locals will be terminated in the present crisis until all ex-pats have gone.
However in SIA Locals have permanent contracts and yes you can be terminated at 3 months notice but in practice this only happens to locals such as the SQ6 incident and say the A310- which went off the end of the runway at Kuching. In all other respects you are fairly safe in your employment.
As for SIA's reasoning behind terminating the SQ6 pilots we all know why they were terminated so what clause SIA want to put on it is really irrelevant.
I cannot believe that any locals will be terminated in the present crisis until all ex-pats have gone.
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Fair deal?
In early 88 I had the opportunity to dine on a personal level with SIA's Training boss (LM) 12 guests (10 Singaporeans)
His reply to a gentleman that was enquiring why SIA needed so many expats was " The foreigners deserve every cent we pay them because SIA give no guarantee of long term employment"
Well SIA havn't laid off anybody for a long time. The blokes who got the chop this time can consider themselves unlucky.
His reply to a gentleman that was enquiring why SIA needed so many expats was " The foreigners deserve every cent we pay them because SIA give no guarantee of long term employment"
Well SIA havn't laid off anybody for a long time. The blokes who got the chop this time can consider themselves unlucky.