CEO Interview - part 2

Greg Russell on the reason for airspace closures:  “The problem that I see is that there is still a view amongst some of our controllers that they are not willing to accept overtime.” 

This is quality BS is it not?  How much Overtime is being worked, how does that compare to the traditional overtime rates; maybe the problem is that 1.85 is less (after removing travel time) than the previous agreement and the financial incentive isn't as good.  Maybe people have ‘hit the wall’ getting called every f#*&^’n day off, sometimes more than once. 

Greg Russell on fixing the airspace closures: “I appeal to the majority of our people who are decent and professional Air Traffic Controllers to understand that we are working to resolve this issue, they may think that it has come too late in some respects and in some respects frankly it has, but I am seeking their commitment to help us through this period.”

WTF, over.  Guilt up the ATCs to give up more days off, because you really are trying, “CROCODILE TEARS, Greg, CROCODILE TEARS”. 

Greg Russell on the latest staff plan: “Toward the end of June I will be putting my name to quite a comprehensive plan that will give our people in our operational areas in particular, Air Traffic Control, the Fire Service and our TAS group an undertaking from me about the recruitment, training and career development prospects for each of these critical areas of our business over the next five years.”

Putting your name to it, well obviously it’s better than the last two plans.  

What’s in the plan, what has happened or what you are going to do?  We want to know how you plan to fix it, not why it’s broken.  Any real numbers about retirements and early departures in it?  Any analysis about what is likely to happen if you only anti up CPI for the CA, vs if you put 12% on the table?

What do the WAYPOINT sycophants say?

Greg Russell on the new government: “ ... ultimately we need to ... build strong relationships with the government of the day. We have put quite a lot of effort into building a relationship with our still relatively new minister and his office. I’m pleased with the progress we are making in this area.”

As far as I can tell Big Tony is not planning on sacking me yet.

Greg Russell on oil prices: “I think an organisation like us ... needs to be empathetic to the pain that our customers are going through. What I mean ... is that we have to continue to pay close attention to our costs because ... the airlines fund this organisation...”

In other words, the are hurting, we need to reduce costs, so a ‘bloody good pay-rise’ is a long way off.  Perhaps when we made $106M profit we could have used some of that cash for good will.  We know, we know.

Greg Russell on airborne delays: “... we have to be much more innovative about how we tackle the issues of delays, additional flying, additional fuel burn and certainly the question of emissions. ... their costs at the moment is fuel burn and that’s something we can do something about. We’ve done a lot in the past, but its something we’ve got to do even more in the future.”

How about starting with enough staff to ensure that we don’t need to reduce traffic to manageable levels with reduced staff?  How about avoiding TIBA ‘fly arounds’ due no ATS.

Greg Russell on the NOC: “ is principally designed to get more efficiency out of the national airways system and I think there is very considerable scope for the whole industry - airlines, airports and ourselves as air traffic providers - to work much more closely to achieve that aim.”

Ahhhh Greg, staffing?  We hear applicants were rejected because they couldn’t be released, what is the NOC, a database of faults, incidents, media issues and reasons why delays are occurring?  Anything proactive happening?  If not, when will it start?

Greg Russell on the industry’s views of ASA: “I think the organisation is generally regarded as being responsive ... and I don’t just mean that in the sense of major airlines ... I had one of the vice presidents of AOPA in here yesterday and he ... comment {on} ... the work we have done on the general aviation survey and what it’s going to teach us about what we need to do to improve our service to that sector of the business.

Well only if you actually do something about the results, tabulating the result isn’t actually doing anything. We think AOPA has been sold a pup.

Greg on the federal budget:  “To some extent, we are insulated from it, as I was explaining yesterday at Senate Estimates, Airservices obtains all of its funds off budget.”

Well durrrrrr, you made $106M last year, paid tax and paid a dividend.  We are off budget, because we actually contribute to general revenue, where no ‘figure’ is included for general revenue inclusion; so if you returned a zero dividend, the government wouldn’t be annoyed in anyway shape or form; because it wouldn’t effect their position; it would probably effect yours though.

Greg Russell on the CA, 1: “...a lot of people in Australia are being affected ... Some are suffering under the increases to interest rates, and there are some signs that those increases have not finished.  Certainly the question of fuel price and the knock on effect that it is having on everything that is transported by road means that a lot of people that are doing it tough at the moment.”

So getting to work without a legitimate public transport option is hurting your workers too; we (mostly) all have mortgages or pay (higher) rents; CPI rises won’t cut it in the global market; don’t force us to leave, because many of us will.

Greg Russell on the CA, 2: “... our employees in Airservices are relatively well paid ... Its not an excuse for us to not take account of the movements in costs,  ...”

But I will, if you over paid bunch of sooks think you’re getting more than CPI (which is a bloody good pay-rise, right?) then you’ve got to be smok’n somth’n. 

Greg Russell on the CA, 3: “...wage increases need to be reasonable, there does need to be restraint and I think that’s to some extent going to be a fairly tough balancing act.”

Yep, use aint getting nuthin.

Greg Russell on the CA, 4:  “The Government is clearly concerned about a wages fed inflation spiral which could easily develop based upon the inflationary pressures that are in the economy at the moment.”

Oh, piss off!  The inflationary effects of less than 1000 peoples wages is next to nothing in the nations economy.   It’s ok for the like of Dixon and Russell to get 100% pay-rises, cause they are worth it, but you worker bees get the honey that we decide, when we decide it.

Greg Russell on the CA, 5:  “My own personal test is what would a reasonable person think is a reasonable outcome and that’s broadly the framework that I will be working in. There is certainly the issue of wage increases, and then there are also productivity issues. I see some opportunity to further improve the way we operate and to share those productivity gains.”

So everything that has happened over the last 3 years counts for naught; we need to produce more to get more.  So we need to trade-off conditions, such as sick leave, or rostering principles, to get more than CPI, F()CK!!!!!, here we go again. Going to ignore growth, again? Or produce more 'dodgy' figures to justify your stance, hell it worked a treat last time.

Greg Russell on the CA, 6: “One of the most satisfying things I’ve done over the last few months has been to visit the childcare centre in Melbourne that we operate now with Qantas. It’s just an amazing facility, and I know that quite a number of our staff in Melbourne are using the centre. “

How many employees are getting this type of ‘benefit’?  Nice try but no CIGAR Sir, too little too late.

Greg Russell on the CA, 7: “I want us to be a good employer and I am mindful of the fact that we are in a competition everyday not just to attract people, but to develop them, give them meaningful jobs and to retain them.”

Greg, sincerely it’s simple.  LISTEN TO YOUR MANAGERS AND STAFF!

We don’t want extras we want fair and reasonable treatment, we don’t want to be treated like numbers or assets but people.  We want real flexibility regarding work/life balance; this is more bodies at the consoles, help when you need it, real training and stop economic based short cuts, cuts in training, reduced facilities etc.

And because we won’t get any of that (dream the impossible dream), just pay us more so we don’t piss off.  Retention, huh?  The ‘development’ of which you speak, isn’t targeting us as the majority of your employees are beyond your ‘development’ targets.  Great for the new entrants, if you really get a structure, but what's in it for those employed for 10 years+.

Greg Russell on the the workplace: “I’ve always said that if you enjoyed coming to work and you got paid for it, that’s probably the best outcome you could imagine in your working career.”

Whoops, it is easy, where is your 2008 staff satisfaction survey?  Where is the communication and management structure that we asked for, in the Sh!tter that’s where, can anyone else spell “cock-up”.

Greg Russell on the negotiations 1: “... the engagement process has begun. There have been a number of meetings with the unions and what I am hopeful of doing is dealing with some preliminary things that needed to be discussed.”

Needed by whom?  It’s old school delay tactics, don’t talk tacks until the drawing board is hung; threaten a low offer, get them all unsettled, offer something a little better and watch them jump at it in fear of getting a worse offer.  Well it worked last time.  Perhaps you need to read the staff once more, it won’t work this time; people are expecting pay-back, don’t believe it, well how are the June TIBA/TRA stats looking, morale plummeting, perhaps people are no longer enjoying coming "to work and getting paid for it".

Greg Russell on the negotiations 2: “What I am referring to there is some of the employment instruments we are seeking to resolve for instance in the ATC group with respect to our ALMs and Unit Tower Managers.”

The F#%^KING New Government dumped the AWA option, bastards!  Maybe a sh!t ALM CA offer will get through, we’ll break them down.  These are the people ‘selling management’, don’t you get it?

Greg Russell on the negotiations 3:  “Also from what I understand from Civil Air, a lot of work has been done by the Union to have a look at the environment they are looking for.”

Even read the Vision document, nope, the OZ headline was enough?

Greg Russell on the negotiations 4: “From a Management viewpoint we are getting ourselves well prepared, we’ve looked at a number of options in terms of wage, non-wage productivity issues. I have asked that they be well and truly costed so that we know really what will give us the best outcomes and we don’t have to then wait from one iteration to the next that in some cases can take weeks and draw the whole process out.”

Ahh so it is all about cost.

Greg Russell on the negotiations 5: “I’d like to see us lock ourselves up and negotiate and do nothing else until we come out of the room with a deal. I want to keep our people informed in the process, and undertake the negotiations in a genuine spirit of trying to reach an outcome in a much shorter timeframe - and I think that will do us a lot of good.”

So you want us informed, but you want negotiations done in a lock up?  Well which is it?  You want a short time frame, yet you waste the best part of three months before even laying down one card?  WTF?

Greg Russell on the negotiations 6: “...So, some people have criticised me ... we are engaging but the negotiation itself is still a little while off and I am hoping we can make it in a much more condensed format than it has been so far.”

Do you really mean that, well we won’t be holding our breath.  Engaging but not negotiating, so have negotiations have begun or not?  Why didn’t you seek engagement over the last 3 years, why wait until now.  Claims that Civil Air doesn’t represent the members is always stated, yet you need to engage them for staff opinions before negotiating, well which is it, they don't or don't represent?

Greg Russell on the negotiations 7: “I think one of the criticisms I had of the former process was that it was stretched out over many, many months in 2005 and I think it was debilitating on our employees. I think the whole exercise left a sour after taste. There has

got to be a way to improve it and that’s really what I’m trying to achieve this time around.”

NEWS FLASH - NEWS FLASH - NEWS FLASH  It’s already too long, and we have that same sour taste, please put your clothes back on and step back, we don’t like it, another Certified SHAFTING coming on.