Flexicrew concerns
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Flexicrew concerns
I've been forwarded this recent post from a BALPA forum by a pilot colleague who shares my concerns about the short and long term consequences of Flexicrew contracts. I thought I would share it here as it doesnt just affect BALPA members.
"
Flexipilots
Just why the hell should I as a Captain in one of the UK’s major airlines care one way or the other if the low cost airlines in the UK choose to crew their aircraft with so called Flexipilots?
This action on the part of these airlines will almost certainly have no effect on the remaining 15 years I have left to fly before I can retire on whatever pension provision I have remaining.
I can feel reasonably confident that the changes that are taking place in the UK aviation industry will be slow enough that I will not run across these pilots. And, if I do; they will have struggled their way through the 2500 hours that is required to join most major airlines and no doubt they will then be glad enough to have taken that step into a “major” that the distant time in their career when they were a so called “Flexipilot” will have long since have been forgotten.
So, in simple terms, I have no need to be interested. I, like virtually all my work colleagues, have no reason to be interested, let alone care.
BALPA’s forum echoes this sentiment “WE DON”T CARE” - indeed there is no sentiment.
Yes, we about and fight for safe flight time limitations, We will fight for pension provisions, We will fight for improved crew food, We will even fight for hotel standards and so on. All of which are worthy causes, but are we overlooking the Elephant sitting in the corner?
As a union and indeed as members of a union we have been willfully negligent in allowing this abuse of our colleagues to occur. We have been aware it has been happening, but it has not affected us. Be under no illusion , it WILL affect each and every one of us if we do not act.
OUR profession is being undermined and eroded from within.
Not by those poor individuals that have found themselves in the position of being prostituted to the low cost carriers; but by the flying schools that are offering and indeed selling the dream of a career in the profession that so many of us have been able to live so comfortably from.
It is NOT the actions of these pilots that will ultimately cause the terms and conditions of every pilot in the UK to be eroded.
It IS however the market that has identified the opening to have a pilot’s seat initially filled by an individual who has been judged on the ability to “buy” that seat, this being the overriding factor in getting that post.
This has moved on to the situation we are now witnessing. That of selection being made on the willingness to allow oneself to take on vast debts to an airline: To indenture oneself to that organisation. Indeed while BALPA and the rest of the European airline unions are fighting a virtuous fight against changes in flight time limitations, we have allowed; by doing nothing, the airlines and flying schools to create a group of pilots that will need to fly 1200 hours per year just be able to service the debts that they have accrued to be able to call themselves Professional Pilots.
This situation has to be stopped, I am fully behind the issues raised in BALPA’s last issue of the Log.
Has it raised an eyebrow? I would guess not; simply for us, the majority of Professional pilots, it is inconsequential, it is simply not my problem.......IT HAS TO BECOME OUR PROBLEM
How long is it before as well as having contracted Flexipilots in the Right hand seat, that we have them in the left hand seat. What will that do for the command prospects of those in these airlines? Oh maybe the Union will then interject? But now our membership density has been diluted by Pilots to whom even if Union membership was an option or benefit will not. by virtue of their contracts, be able to act in a cohesive way.
So airlines now have the capability to park up not only aircraft in low seasons, but also crews. I ask how many of us could manage such a short notice removal of pay, without even considering the flight safety issues around recency and low morale?
So how do we stop this issue becoming endemic?
I fear the time to alter the pattern of behaviour among the airlines has long since passed, so it would seem to come down to a simple supply situation.
We have to ensure that every candidate that is considering entering into one of these agreements is fully aware of just what they are letting themselves into.
The flying schools providing these courses need to be held fully responsible for the dream they are selling. The image is of a shiny jet and the “promise” of command at 1500 hours. Does match up to the reality of living below the bread line in say Milan or Munich, taking all the flying that is available just to service the loans taken to secure the position?
Of course the initial training and employment will be based in the UK, but where does the next contract (if there is one) take you? Certainly away from the UK so that the next batch of trainees can be trained from a convenient UK base, so continuing the cycle. So you move at your own expense, with little if no security. (Oh and you can buy your own uniform, that will of course have to be returned at a later date.)
So maybe you are beginning to care a little, I would probably guess not?
I will pose the question that I guess I personally will not have to answer. As a line captain in a major airline I am not expected to be a Training Captain, indeed I can take my rest in the Bunk fully relaxed in the knowledge that those that I leave in the flight deck are fully capable of dealing with any situation that may be thrown at them.
I have no idea if this is the case that those that are flying with so called “Flexipilots” are faced with. How have these “Flexiplots” ever been given the chance to gain experience when all they have been faced with is as much expediency as is possible.
I have flown contracts, I have been laid off (redundancy) some 4 times, I know the stress that is involved in this, many of us do. Yet we are happy to let these organisations put pilots on our aircraft that are living with these threats on a daily basis, with the added factor of a crippling debt thrown in for good measure. Indeed am I alone in wondering why the authorities on the other side of the pond are looking to ask pilots for a minimum of 1500hours total time before being allowed at the controls of a public transport aircraft? While the issue of hours may seem to be punitive and to many elitist, I would wonder on the implications of a pilot flying with the concerns of servicing the debts incurred to join me on the flight deck.
So why do I care?
I have had a long, reasonably successful and prosperous career in aviation, and for my own soul I want to be able leave the legacy of my pride in aviation in the UK to those that chose to follow behind me. I was a young pilot that had the dream of a shiny jet (Granted a Viscount!) I had the dream of a command. And indeed in most ways I am living the dream, it has taken many years, but when I started my journey I was least told the truth. It has been hard, there have been innumerable hurdles. But I have MY Licence that I have gained myself and the airlines I have worked for have PAID me a good wage to exercise the privileges of MY licence. On that basis and that basis alone I would ask that all of you look to yourselves and ask what can be done to stop this flagrant degradation of our profession. Very simply if the airlines want pilots, they pay for Pilots.
We have to act to stop this supply of “Flexipilots” to the airlines, not to stop those that want to set out in a career in aviation, but to ensure our industry is one that retains the highest professional and flight safety standards in the world of aviation. And in doing so provides those that wish to pursue this career the same standard of employment that we have all enjoyed.
In the UK we enjoy a reputation for excellence in this piloting, it is now at risk and this cancer has to be removed from our industry by all available means.
To coin and alter the well used cliché all that it will take for this proliferation of contract crews to continue and to expand into every corner and seat of our profession is to do nothing"
"
Flexipilots
Just why the hell should I as a Captain in one of the UK’s major airlines care one way or the other if the low cost airlines in the UK choose to crew their aircraft with so called Flexipilots?
This action on the part of these airlines will almost certainly have no effect on the remaining 15 years I have left to fly before I can retire on whatever pension provision I have remaining.
I can feel reasonably confident that the changes that are taking place in the UK aviation industry will be slow enough that I will not run across these pilots. And, if I do; they will have struggled their way through the 2500 hours that is required to join most major airlines and no doubt they will then be glad enough to have taken that step into a “major” that the distant time in their career when they were a so called “Flexipilot” will have long since have been forgotten.
So, in simple terms, I have no need to be interested. I, like virtually all my work colleagues, have no reason to be interested, let alone care.
BALPA’s forum echoes this sentiment “WE DON”T CARE” - indeed there is no sentiment.
Yes, we about and fight for safe flight time limitations, We will fight for pension provisions, We will fight for improved crew food, We will even fight for hotel standards and so on. All of which are worthy causes, but are we overlooking the Elephant sitting in the corner?
As a union and indeed as members of a union we have been willfully negligent in allowing this abuse of our colleagues to occur. We have been aware it has been happening, but it has not affected us. Be under no illusion , it WILL affect each and every one of us if we do not act.
OUR profession is being undermined and eroded from within.
Not by those poor individuals that have found themselves in the position of being prostituted to the low cost carriers; but by the flying schools that are offering and indeed selling the dream of a career in the profession that so many of us have been able to live so comfortably from.
It is NOT the actions of these pilots that will ultimately cause the terms and conditions of every pilot in the UK to be eroded.
It IS however the market that has identified the opening to have a pilot’s seat initially filled by an individual who has been judged on the ability to “buy” that seat, this being the overriding factor in getting that post.
This has moved on to the situation we are now witnessing. That of selection being made on the willingness to allow oneself to take on vast debts to an airline: To indenture oneself to that organisation. Indeed while BALPA and the rest of the European airline unions are fighting a virtuous fight against changes in flight time limitations, we have allowed; by doing nothing, the airlines and flying schools to create a group of pilots that will need to fly 1200 hours per year just be able to service the debts that they have accrued to be able to call themselves Professional Pilots.
This situation has to be stopped, I am fully behind the issues raised in BALPA’s last issue of the Log.
Has it raised an eyebrow? I would guess not; simply for us, the majority of Professional pilots, it is inconsequential, it is simply not my problem.......IT HAS TO BECOME OUR PROBLEM
How long is it before as well as having contracted Flexipilots in the Right hand seat, that we have them in the left hand seat. What will that do for the command prospects of those in these airlines? Oh maybe the Union will then interject? But now our membership density has been diluted by Pilots to whom even if Union membership was an option or benefit will not. by virtue of their contracts, be able to act in a cohesive way.
So airlines now have the capability to park up not only aircraft in low seasons, but also crews. I ask how many of us could manage such a short notice removal of pay, without even considering the flight safety issues around recency and low morale?
So how do we stop this issue becoming endemic?
I fear the time to alter the pattern of behaviour among the airlines has long since passed, so it would seem to come down to a simple supply situation.
We have to ensure that every candidate that is considering entering into one of these agreements is fully aware of just what they are letting themselves into.
The flying schools providing these courses need to be held fully responsible for the dream they are selling. The image is of a shiny jet and the “promise” of command at 1500 hours. Does match up to the reality of living below the bread line in say Milan or Munich, taking all the flying that is available just to service the loans taken to secure the position?
Of course the initial training and employment will be based in the UK, but where does the next contract (if there is one) take you? Certainly away from the UK so that the next batch of trainees can be trained from a convenient UK base, so continuing the cycle. So you move at your own expense, with little if no security. (Oh and you can buy your own uniform, that will of course have to be returned at a later date.)
So maybe you are beginning to care a little, I would probably guess not?
I will pose the question that I guess I personally will not have to answer. As a line captain in a major airline I am not expected to be a Training Captain, indeed I can take my rest in the Bunk fully relaxed in the knowledge that those that I leave in the flight deck are fully capable of dealing with any situation that may be thrown at them.
I have no idea if this is the case that those that are flying with so called “Flexipilots” are faced with. How have these “Flexiplots” ever been given the chance to gain experience when all they have been faced with is as much expediency as is possible.
I have flown contracts, I have been laid off (redundancy) some 4 times, I know the stress that is involved in this, many of us do. Yet we are happy to let these organisations put pilots on our aircraft that are living with these threats on a daily basis, with the added factor of a crippling debt thrown in for good measure. Indeed am I alone in wondering why the authorities on the other side of the pond are looking to ask pilots for a minimum of 1500hours total time before being allowed at the controls of a public transport aircraft? While the issue of hours may seem to be punitive and to many elitist, I would wonder on the implications of a pilot flying with the concerns of servicing the debts incurred to join me on the flight deck.
So why do I care?
I have had a long, reasonably successful and prosperous career in aviation, and for my own soul I want to be able leave the legacy of my pride in aviation in the UK to those that chose to follow behind me. I was a young pilot that had the dream of a shiny jet (Granted a Viscount!) I had the dream of a command. And indeed in most ways I am living the dream, it has taken many years, but when I started my journey I was least told the truth. It has been hard, there have been innumerable hurdles. But I have MY Licence that I have gained myself and the airlines I have worked for have PAID me a good wage to exercise the privileges of MY licence. On that basis and that basis alone I would ask that all of you look to yourselves and ask what can be done to stop this flagrant degradation of our profession. Very simply if the airlines want pilots, they pay for Pilots.
We have to act to stop this supply of “Flexipilots” to the airlines, not to stop those that want to set out in a career in aviation, but to ensure our industry is one that retains the highest professional and flight safety standards in the world of aviation. And in doing so provides those that wish to pursue this career the same standard of employment that we have all enjoyed.
In the UK we enjoy a reputation for excellence in this piloting, it is now at risk and this cancer has to be removed from our industry by all available means.
To coin and alter the well used cliché all that it will take for this proliferation of contract crews to continue and to expand into every corner and seat of our profession is to do nothing"
Last edited by AirResearcher; 17th Sep 2012 at 09:08.
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Firstly every pilot who is flexicrew needs to take up a BALPA membership even if they are not recognised by their employer and then BALPA when they want to are very good at communicating with their members to achieve some form of mediation and action. The sticking point is no pilot who is employed is going to do anything that would adversely affect their company or position. I am sure support will be shown but what else can we do? The first port of call is simple sign up then stand up.
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yawn.
So flexicrew is abolished with immediate effect, and replaced with?....
How about...a permanent 'cadet' FO position, salary of £12k per annum, SSTR of 30k up front, no other benefits, oh and its part time (or no time) during winter months with pro-rata salary. After unfreezing of ATPL the 'cadet' will transfer to the current FO salary scale.
Two things you can be sure of :
1. The job applicants for these positions will keep coming in their thousands, blindly pushing and shoving to the front of the line, like teenage girls queuing for free tickets to see Justin Bieber.
2. Nothing will be done to prevent it. Company lawyers will find a way to legally implement it.
'Flexicrew' itself isn't really the issue is it.
There will be an entire workforce generation who simply expect to get paid nothing.
So flexicrew is abolished with immediate effect, and replaced with?....
How about...a permanent 'cadet' FO position, salary of £12k per annum, SSTR of 30k up front, no other benefits, oh and its part time (or no time) during winter months with pro-rata salary. After unfreezing of ATPL the 'cadet' will transfer to the current FO salary scale.
Two things you can be sure of :
1. The job applicants for these positions will keep coming in their thousands, blindly pushing and shoving to the front of the line, like teenage girls queuing for free tickets to see Justin Bieber.
2. Nothing will be done to prevent it. Company lawyers will find a way to legally implement it.
'Flexicrew' itself isn't really the issue is it.
There will be an entire workforce generation who simply expect to get paid nothing.
Last edited by clunk1001; 17th Sep 2012 at 12:28.
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clunk makes a valid point given the overall global marketplace that we operate in.
The only way to limit supply is to focus on the ability of candidates, e.g. currently, the real limiting factor is the ability to fund £80-£100k.
If those candidates had to have tighter rules, e.g. 4 x A's at A-level, then supply would fall off a cliff. The issue is that airlines seem broadly happy for mediocre cadets, especially given the training cost & risk is with the cadet.
The only way to limit supply is to focus on the ability of candidates, e.g. currently, the real limiting factor is the ability to fund £80-£100k.
If those candidates had to have tighter rules, e.g. 4 x A's at A-level, then supply would fall off a cliff. The issue is that airlines seem broadly happy for mediocre cadets, especially given the training cost & risk is with the cadet.
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Whilst in full agreement with the sentiment expressed in the 1st post, I am sure I am not alone in being frustrated that him & his fellow BA employees couldn't see it that way 5 , or even 10 years ago & have BALPA act collectively to press for legislation to stop it in its tracks. Jeezuz, they even carried (or perhaps still do carry ? ) ads in the Log for this Cancer. Surely legislation could have been enacted that required any professional training be provided, and I mean PROVIDED. . . by the employer, was it really that difficult ? I think not, but no doubt those in the CAA who could have forced the issue were "persuaded" that P2F was a satisfactory way to crew the right hand seat of apublic transport aircraft.
Brown envelopes again folks
Brown envelopes again folks
I am not alone in being frustrated that him & his fellow BA employees couldn't see it that way 5 , or even 10 years ago & have BALPA act collectively to press for legislation to stop it in its tracks. Jeezuz, they even carried (or perhaps still do carry ? ) ads in the Log for this Cancer. Surely legislation could have been enacted that required any professional training be provided, and I mean PROVIDED.
As for the law, I'm not sure legislation of the type you suggest could have been enacted in the UK/EU
..Wouldn't such legislation fallen foul of the rules on restraint of freedom of trade ( genuine question for the lawyers)?
Last edited by wiggy; 17th Sep 2012 at 14:51.
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How about the BALPA ad in this weeks Flight International that is called "Direct Entry Pilot Day" or some such?
It costs £125, and will tell the attendees, I presume, that there are no Direct Entry jobs anymore because of P2F, Flexicrew and Eagle Jet schemes........
Talk about backing both horses.
It costs £125, and will tell the attendees, I presume, that there are no Direct Entry jobs anymore because of P2F, Flexicrew and Eagle Jet schemes........
Talk about backing both horses.
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It can be difficult to keep up with ever changing industry terms and acronyms - Flexicrew, SSTR, P2F, CTC. For clarification, the term "Direct Entry" now refers to the action you receive after bending over.
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Want to know why it won't get better any time soon?
95% of the captains I used to fly with read the Mail, Express or Telegraph. They fundamentally hate unions and strikes. Do they have Flexicrew contracts in France? Nope.
It's all about labour laws and mentalities...
95% of the captains I used to fly with read the Mail, Express or Telegraph. They fundamentally hate unions and strikes. Do they have Flexicrew contracts in France? Nope.
It's all about labour laws and mentalities...
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Of course, in the short term, its all too late. Flexicrew et al is with us and so is the burden of debt for those that chose this path. The important point is that they willingly signed up to it, glossy adverts or no, it was all down there in black and white. And we can yell BALPA all we want but the simple truth is, is that no-one has done anything wrong. Immoral yes, but wrong, no.
All we can do now is try to help the succeeding generation which will mean a change to employment laws, and the only way to do that is through our MPs. Time to start writing those letters and signing those petitions.
All we can do now is try to help the succeeding generation which will mean a change to employment laws, and the only way to do that is through our MPs. Time to start writing those letters and signing those petitions.
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I emailed BALPA on this issue and this was the response I received yesterday:
"we need to continue to tackle the airlines that engage ‘flexicrew’, or whatever derivation emerges, on a disposable basis. We sought to do that in easyJet this summer but as you may know the deal got the thumbs down. **We are keen to return to the issue. *We are also looking at how we can stop the practice becoming established elsewhere and what we have done in Monarch and are currently balloting on in Thompsons are cases in point.
Fourthly we are working with Labour Research and our lawyers Speechlys to put together guidance and drawing on case studies. *I cannot commit to e mail all that we are doing in this project but when we have developed it further we will want to do a ‘sense check’ *with our members.
Finally we will, on the back of the above, be looking to widen the campaign and involve the media and other unions through the TUC to put pressure on Ministers and the Regulator to take a position and hopefully shame airlines to do the right thing."
"we need to continue to tackle the airlines that engage ‘flexicrew’, or whatever derivation emerges, on a disposable basis. We sought to do that in easyJet this summer but as you may know the deal got the thumbs down. **We are keen to return to the issue. *We are also looking at how we can stop the practice becoming established elsewhere and what we have done in Monarch and are currently balloting on in Thompsons are cases in point.
Fourthly we are working with Labour Research and our lawyers Speechlys to put together guidance and drawing on case studies. *I cannot commit to e mail all that we are doing in this project but when we have developed it further we will want to do a ‘sense check’ *with our members.
Finally we will, on the back of the above, be looking to widen the campaign and involve the media and other unions through the TUC to put pressure on Ministers and the Regulator to take a position and hopefully shame airlines to do the right thing."
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The genie is out of the bottle unfortunately, the only thing that will change the current situation is either market forces i.e. supply and demand or a number of accidents one after the other.
What happened to the U.S. new legislations that were meant to be introduced in the wake of the Colgan accident, where you needed to have over 1,500 hrs before you could fly a commercial airliner over a certain weight?
Have they/ will they be introduced?
What chances of these types of rules making it to Europe or the U.K??
Have they/ will they be introduced?
What chances of these types of rules making it to Europe or the U.K??
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Thomson...
**We are keen to return to the issue. *We are also looking at how we can stop the practice becoming established elsewhere and what we have done in Monarch and are currently balloting on in Thompsons are cases in point.
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Anyone who thinks that the bottom has been reached is deluding themselves. Flexicrew is here to stay, and the iterations of the contract that follow will be considerably worse than what is currently on offer. I predict that it won't be long before we see medium jet captains in the UK being paid £40k p.a. with no benefits, pension etc
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Oh John smith you are a managements dream, accepting all the nonsense they throw at us to drive down costs whilst at the same time taking bonuses for their excellent work at your expense, some money may be saved but the rest of it is neatly divided out by the top brass. Ryanair are the absolute best example of it !!! Somthing tells me oleary wont be short of a bit of brass, on his 000's of thousands of salary and bonuses. How can we ever survive as a profession with people like you in it !! Dear oh dear !
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I agree with the first post.
It is seen in all countries. The Union more or less worried about hotel and in flight meal standards whilst the bottom of the industry is crumbling to bits.
I have debated this with myself over and over again and can find only one conclusion:
The airline industry is working in parallel with the EU to ruin itself. It's like a mangy old dog that has finally caught it's own tail and is happily chewing; not realizing it is eating itself. Eventually, the flexicrew system along with all other economically logical methods of having pilots fly aircraft, other than by actual employment, will take over completely. The industry tried it; it worked and now is fully dependent on that nothing changes in the direction of increasing costs. Flight time limitations are the same. Not a chance in hell that FTL's will become better for pilots. It would simply cost too much. Re-arranging the contract industry so that things were put in order would bring many companies down. Costs would rise to the point where it would no longer make any sense at all to keep the companies going. Therefore, the airlines will refuse any improvements in the system. They have the bucks and therefore they have the power. Try telling Mr Van Roompfenoey or whatever his name is otherwise. In the meantime that pilots fight this futile battle, the oil supply will start to fail, wars will be fought in the middle east to enable the west to continue with its ways. Fortress Europe will fall with Mrs Merkel standing at the bow of the ship with tze German flag being the last bit of evidence of that there ever was something there. Greece will surprise us all by having done the trip prior to the rest of Europe, come out the end of the tunnel first of all and invent some new form of government. By the time I’m a pensioner, no one will remember that there ever was something called flexicrew. We will se planes in museums where we also might see a diorama of a crew room depicting pilots with empty wallets and in dire need of sleep. Next to it will be a notice the size of an iPad, briefly informing the visitors of the rise and fall of the airline industry.
So.. I'm not too worried about flexicrew or FTL's. It's what happens after industry failure that concerns me the most. In anticipation of this, I have now taken up university studies instead of continuing my flying career. Anyone having doubts should do the same.
It is seen in all countries. The Union more or less worried about hotel and in flight meal standards whilst the bottom of the industry is crumbling to bits.
I have debated this with myself over and over again and can find only one conclusion:
The airline industry is working in parallel with the EU to ruin itself. It's like a mangy old dog that has finally caught it's own tail and is happily chewing; not realizing it is eating itself. Eventually, the flexicrew system along with all other economically logical methods of having pilots fly aircraft, other than by actual employment, will take over completely. The industry tried it; it worked and now is fully dependent on that nothing changes in the direction of increasing costs. Flight time limitations are the same. Not a chance in hell that FTL's will become better for pilots. It would simply cost too much. Re-arranging the contract industry so that things were put in order would bring many companies down. Costs would rise to the point where it would no longer make any sense at all to keep the companies going. Therefore, the airlines will refuse any improvements in the system. They have the bucks and therefore they have the power. Try telling Mr Van Roompfenoey or whatever his name is otherwise. In the meantime that pilots fight this futile battle, the oil supply will start to fail, wars will be fought in the middle east to enable the west to continue with its ways. Fortress Europe will fall with Mrs Merkel standing at the bow of the ship with tze German flag being the last bit of evidence of that there ever was something there. Greece will surprise us all by having done the trip prior to the rest of Europe, come out the end of the tunnel first of all and invent some new form of government. By the time I’m a pensioner, no one will remember that there ever was something called flexicrew. We will se planes in museums where we also might see a diorama of a crew room depicting pilots with empty wallets and in dire need of sleep. Next to it will be a notice the size of an iPad, briefly informing the visitors of the rise and fall of the airline industry.
So.. I'm not too worried about flexicrew or FTL's. It's what happens after industry failure that concerns me the most. In anticipation of this, I have now taken up university studies instead of continuing my flying career. Anyone having doubts should do the same.
Last edited by low n' slow; 19th Sep 2012 at 18:33.
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Wish I could disagree with you 100% but. . . . . .
What I want to know , is where were BALPA when this was introduced ? Ryanair had/has no Union (yet ! ) but you guys ?
Have to assume that the rather less than dynamic bunch that form BALPA let your company down . . just as they failed Ryanair back in 2006 when IALPA implored them to push for recognition & they dithered & wittered on about appointing a full-time Ryanair rep (on a 6mth contract for chrissakes)
What I want to know , is where were BALPA when this was introduced ? Ryanair had/has no Union (yet ! ) but you guys ?
Have to assume that the rather less than dynamic bunch that form BALPA let your company down . . just as they failed Ryanair back in 2006 when IALPA implored them to push for recognition & they dithered & wittered on about appointing a full-time Ryanair rep (on a 6mth contract for chrissakes)
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JS I am aware of that, it is the accepting tone your post is written in, (ah well there's nothing we can do the big change is just around the corner and if and when it arrives, ah well we knew it was on its way theres mothing we can do about it now )kind of attitude that is most worrying !!! A roll over employee, a managers dream !! No offence it's just the vibe you give off ! I hope your opinions do not become realisation.