(picture with thanks to Dilbert)
We have seen a huge amount of re organisation within Airservices Australia over the last 3 years. Our CEO commenced employment in July 2005. This was at the 'tail end' of our previous negotiations for our Certified Agreement. There was essentially no concessions awarded during that period of negotiation.
Despite this Air Traffic Controllers failed to take industrial action to improve their claim. Why not?
Cost.
Any effective air traffic control industrial action involves the withdrawal of labour (either stopping overtime or stopping work) or "working to rule" making the system less efficient, ie banning track shortening or with holding speed increases. This obviously translates to increased costs. Was this the primary consideration? No.
The previous federal government was in the final throws of laying down the "Workchoices" legislation in 2005. There were rumours about 'invoking essential services provisions'; otherwise known as making it illegal for you to take industrial action.
Essentially the advice that union members received was a choice to either take this "bad deal" or be prepared to pay for a long and lengthy arbitration process, a pay freeze of 18+ months likely, then at the end of that arbitration process you may find the original "bad deal" looked better than the arbitrated outcome.
The levy being discussed at the time was approximately $1000 per head; to pay for legal cost for arbitration. The joys of a small membership base. This was on top of the approximate $1000 annual membership fee of the relevant union.
Since that time we have 'restructured' the business. This may or may not have been about sacking the 'dead wood' at the top; nearly every level two or executive manager has been moved on in the corresponding 3 years.
The new CEO has 'reformed' Air Traffic Control into 3 distinct streams. Upper Airspace Services (UAS), Regional Services (RS) and East Coast Services (ECS). UAS and RS exists at present in some sort of quasi separate business; but share staff consoles and resources. Regional Towers have been combined into one 'supa group'. ECS have had airspace restructure to carve off no 'ECS model' airspace to UAS and RS; particularly the low airspace has been moved to RS.
But at what cost? Was it a good idea?
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