Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.
Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. If a pilot notices a non-compliance with the CWA it is his/her right that his roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.
36.16. Off-Day Scheme36.16.1. Generala) An Off-Day is defined as a period of 24 hours free of all Duties commencing at 00:01 local time. b) All Off-Days will be fixed at Home Base. c) Each Pilot is entitled to 12 Off-Days at Home Base per Roster Period. Consecutive Off-Days will be allotted to each Pilot in 2 blocks and will be clearly identified on the Rosters as: ◦ 7 Off-Days (identified as ‘A’ Days), and ◦ 5 Off-Days (identified as ‘B’ Days) during 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year or ◦ 5 Flexible Off-Days (identified as ‘C’ Days) during the other 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year. d) The number of ‘B’ Day blocks scheduled by the Company is limited to not more than 2 per Calendar Quarter, except if requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot concerned. e) The entitlement for ‘B’ Days per calendar year for a Pilot on a part time scheme providing full Roster Periods off is reduced according to Table 14 below:
Table 14:
f) The entitlement for ‘B’ Days per calendar year for newly employed Pilots in the first year of service and Pilots when on long term sick leave (2 full Roster Periods or more) is reduced according to Table 15 below:
Table 15:
g) Only for the purpose of unpaid leave as per Article 12.2.4. or of parental leave as per Article 12.2.5. commencing or ending, or in case of retirement commencing on the second day or later of a Roster Period, the following applies: 1. The number of Off-Days in that Roster Period will be calculated as follows: i.) 12 Off-Days divided by the number of calendar days of that Roster Period, times the number of available calendar days before the first day of leave or retirement or in case of returning from leave after the last day of leave in that Roster Period. In case the calculated number of Off-Days would not fall on a whole number, it will be rounded up if the first decimal is equal to or greater than 5, and if the first decimal if lower than 5, the calculate number will be rounded down. ii.) If the number of Off-Days calculated in a) is equal or less than 5, all Off-Days will be identified as ‘B’ or ‘C’ Days; if the number of Off-Days calculated in a) is greater than 5 but less than 7, 1 Off-Day will be identified as ‘A’ Day and the remaining Off-Days as ‘B’ or ‘C’ Days; if the number of Off-Days calculated in a) is equal to 7 all Off-Days will be identified as ‘A’ Days; if the number of Off-Days calculated in a) is greater than 7, 7 Off-Days will be identified as ‘A’ Days and the remaining Off-Days as ‘B’ or ‘C’ Days. 2. The number of ‘B’ Day blocks in the calendar year in which unpaid leave as per Article 12.2.4. or parental leave as per Article 12.2.5. is commencing or ending or in which retirement is commencing are stipulated in Table 13. h) Unless requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot concerned, no Duties consisting solely of ground training and simulator fill ins will be scheduled between ◦ two Off-Day blocks, ◦ an Off-Day block and a Vacation Period.
i) No period in excess of 19 consecutive Duty days will be scheduled between 2 blocks of Off-Days or a block of Off-Days and a Vacation Period, except if requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot. j) Not more than twice per calendar year up to 2 days of a block of Off-Days can be scheduled to overlap into the next Roster Period, unless requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot concerned.
k) Pilot requests via the PBS are defined in Article 36.20
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Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. 36.16.1. However, most of this article should be self-explanatory.
a) This paragraph defines the term Off-Day as free off all duties commencing at 00.01 local time.
b) Off-Days can only be scheduled at Home Base, which is defined in CWA Part III as "For all Employees at the Company and for the Company itself: Luxembourg Airport."
c) Stipulates that per monthly Roster 12 Off-Days have to be scheduled. The Off-Days will be allocated in 2 blocks:
· 7 off days identified as “A” Days,
· 5 off days identified as “B” Days during 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year, and
· 5 off days identified as “C” Days during the other 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year.
The text of this paragraph does not prevent that both Off-Day blocks, “A” Days and “B” Days/“C” Days are scheduled back-to-back, meaning as one block of consecutive Off- Days. However even if scheduled as a block “C” Days remain “C” Days and “A” Days remain “A” Days, meaning that “C” Days could still be rescheduled without the consent of the pilot. We will expand on “A” Days, “B” Days and “C” Days in the next issue in more detail.
d) This paragraph defines how often the company can schedule “B” Day blocks per Calendar Quarter. We will focus on “B” Days in more detail in the next issue.
e) This paragraph defines the entitlement for “B” Days per calendar year for pilots being on part time providing full roster periods off.
f) This paragraph defines the entitlement for “B” Days per calendar year for newly employed pilots in the first year of service, pilots when on long term sick leave, pilots on unpaid or parental leave as well as for pilots leaving the company.
g) This paragraph explains how the number of Off-Days per Roster Period is calculated if a pilot resigns or retires during a calendar month. It also clarifies the number of Off-Days a pilot is entitled to if unpaid or parental leave commences or ends during a Roster Period.
h) This paragraph prevents, that ground training events, e.g. simulator or ground school, are scheduled between two Off-Day blocks or between a block of vacation days and an Off- Day block.
i) This limits the number of consecutive calendar days between Off- Day blocks or between an Off-Day block and a block of vacation days to a maximum of 19 days. It is the obligation of the company that this is observed, and a pilot is entitled that his roster is changed accordingly, if more than 19 calendar days are scheduled.
j) Maximum twice per calendar year, up to 2 days of any Off-Days can be scheduled to overlap into the next roster period, unless requested by the pilot.
k) Article 36.20 defines which requests can be placed by the pilot using the PBS.
[1] Number of full Roster Periods after completing initial ground training as defined in Article 43 or full Roster Periods after returning from long term sick leave.
[2] Number of full Roster Periods in the calendar year in which unpaid leave as per Article 12.2.4., parental leave as per Article 12.2.5. commences or ends or retirement commences.
