Please find below an update on:
- Staff Meeting and CWA Negotiations
- Staff Survey
- Hotel Committee
- Disruptive Schedules
- SwissLife
Staff Meeting and CWA Negotiations
At the recent Staff Meeting 20 Jul 2018 the CEO announced once again the extremely positive results for the first half of the year being USD 85 Mill net profit. Moreover, it was confirmed that three more aircraft will be joining the fleet next year, 1 long term lease aircraft that is currently being dry leased to ASL and two 747-400 that were purchased will arrive in May 2019. This, if no replacements of other aircraft take place, would increase the fleet to 26 aircraft in LUX.
Also announced was that the charter flights remain robust at 180% up from normal levels. Additionally, a large investment around USD 200 Mill is being committed to keeping the Rolls Royce (RR) engines operative by booking 33 shop visits at RR.
While all these business investments are being made, it is incomprehensible and even bordering on inattentive that necessary investments in improving safety are treated as undesirable cost factors. Our complex flight operation urgently needs to abandon the practice of using “legal limits as planning targets” and finally install lasting roster stability to realistically mitigate fatigue. On top it is extraordinary to see such a large attrition rate of pilots with a major contributing factor being the current CWA, which is not competitive enough anymore to attract and retain sufficient crews.
It was also noticeable that the CEO was irritated by the update we sent to our members after management cancelled the planned CWA meetings on 26 and 31 July 2018. In the meantime, the LCGB has asked for alternative dates in early August. Please click here to read this letter.
Following on, the CEO made a statement about a flight crew, who had turned back after taxing out as the maximum allowable Flight Duty Period as per EASA FTL would have been exceeded. This statement was then followed up with other issues that were to do with the negotiations and statements made on social peace.
The way these statements were presented raised concerns on the authority of the Commander`s Discretion and a meeting was held on 25 July where the CEO read out the transcript of his presentation. The reference to the turn back was to sensitize all departments asking them to be aware of all limitations including those impacting maximum duties of flight crews. He further reiterated that Commander`s Discretion cannot be challenged, and pilots cannot be forced to use discretion.
Staff Survey
You recently received the results of the Staff Survey that was conducted in April/May this year. To see the full results rather than the highlighted results in the body of the email, please click on here.
Looking through rose-colored lenses and stating that “…overall respondents are generally satisfied…” (email from our CEO on 19.07.2018) should not close our eyes from the fact, that a majority of employees within, but not limited to, the Flight Operations department are far from being satisfied with their work/life balance and the way management acts. This of course is no surprise, since this survey is already the third of its kind in a row and very little has been done to improve or repair the problems of the pilot community.
The claims for a new CWA which were brought forward by the Unions are targeting these issues.
Hotel Committee
In recent months, the Hotel Committee of the ALPL has been excluded from certain information as per the Hotel Policy. They have rarely been consulted on the changes made and furthermore the changes and suggestions that have been brought forward from the committee have been ignored.
The email that was circulated about the possible move to the airport hotel in CGO has been sent to the Compliance department for investigation. The outcome is to have a memorandum of understanding to ensure that the Hotel Policy and Purchasing Policy are not conflicting. The aim is to guarantee that hotels must meet the minimum standards laid out in the policy. Additionally, the recommendation of the Safety Department is that hotel quality must remain as an integral part of safety to indemnify that pilots are able to obtain their sleep without disturbances.
This brings us to the hotel change in MIA. Many of you have written safety reports due to the ongoing renovations that are occurring there. Without your reports, we are not able to emphasize the errors that are made by persons who do not use these hotels on a regular base.
Please send in the details if your sleep was disturbed via the ASR/Fatigue Reporting applications. Also send these to the Hotel Committee at cvhotels@alpl.lu
George Karambilas has now been confirmed by the ALPL Board to be the Hotel Committee Chairman. David Wainwright, Daniel Schlim, Joachim Eder and Sebastien Henry will remain members of the Committee.
Disruptive Schedules
Even though we are approaching the low part of the season, the schedules continue to change not only on a daily basis but even within a day.
We see that pilots e.g. are turned around back to the far east and having their FODs removed. When flights are not crewed one or two days before, we experience an increase in Back-to-Back Operations that are also causing these disruptive rosters.
We as pilots are then required to manage our rest, in order to be fit for the next duty or series of duties. In many cases this cannot be achieved. The only solution then is to determine how much more rest is needed or to call unfit to fly, if these changes are unmanageable. In these cases, please remember to complete a Fatigue Report. Click here for information and advise on how to write a fatigue report and view the guidance we have prepared to assist you.
If you need further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to email cvboard@alpl.lu for guidance.
SwissLife
As you most probably know, the contributions for 2018 into the Supplementary Pension Scheme with SwissLife have not been paid yet. In a recent meeting with Payroll Department we received the information that Cargolux was renegotiating the contract with SwissLife.
After some delay – two Compliance Departments have been involved – the contract was signed on 13 July 2018 and the money should be transferred by the end of the month.
This is also the case for the personal contribution, which was deducted from the individual´s monthly salary and held back on the company accounts. One advantage of the new contract is that from January 2019 onwards no fees for the personal contribution will have to be paid by the individual pilot any more.
Another change will be the new online portal. The login data will be communicated in the near future and all necessary steps e.g. changing personal data, switching of funds etc. can be done online without involvement of the Payroll Department.
