Dirk Becker No Comments

Members Update – January 2020

2019 was a busy but successful year for the ALPL Cargolux Division and its members. The great result in the Social Elections in March 2019 resulting in 8 out of 16 seats of the Delegation being held by Pilot Representatives certainly was one of the contributing factors to finally conclude the CWA negotiations in August that entails major improvements for all Cargolux pilots, especially for those that were initially hired under the so-called “B-Scale”.

This result demonstrates once more, what we as a group can achieve when standing together. Thank you for that!

In 2020 we will focus on the correct application of the new terms and conditions, especially on the implementation of the new FTL for Standard and Augmented Crew, which will take place latest by July 2020, as well as ongoing issues in the day to day operation, e.g. crew hotels.

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the new CWA 2020-2022 and to also read our “Know Your CWA 2020” series, which are available here.

Remember: We can negotiate conditions, but you have to enforce them!

As always, our work and engagement will continuously be guided by the ALPL´s mission statement:

Flight Safety and Pilot’s Health
Pilots’ Social Rights
Job Security and Working Conditions

Please find below an update on:

  • Hotel Accommodation 
  • V-Day Survey
  • Random Alcohol Testing

 
Hotel Accommodation
The ALPL Hotel Committee has received an increasing number of complaints from our members about crew hotels failing to provide the standards and services required to enable adequate rest during our demanding type of operation. Given the high number of complaints it is apparent that the standards of our hotels are slowly but steadily being challenged.
 
In this context we would like to remind you that in the case that your accommodation does not fulfill the requirements of either the Cargolux Hotel Policy and the CWA or your rest is in some way compromised, there are a couple of options you need to do. 

  • First, carefully evaluate your fitness to conduct your next flight. It is absolutely essential that you are well rested before commencing any flight duty. If in doubt do not hesitate to request a quieter room, potentially requiring additional rest which may delay the departure accordingly. Please don’t forget to inform all your colleagues and the local station. Make sure to file a fatigue report and send a copy to cvhotels@alpl.lu
  • If the hotel has deficiencies of the standards as laid out in the hotel policy, now also in the CWA 2020-2022, please file a VR and send a copy to cvhotels@alpl.lu
  • Many have asked the Hotel Committee to identify the suitable hotels. Please click here to see the list that is based on the Station Information and gives you a good overview of the contracted hotel and whether it is suitable or not. Should you be scheduled to be in a hotel that is not suitable, please liaise with crew control and request the booking in our normal hotel or another suitable hotel for the entire crew. Settling the expenses with the company credit card (after obtaining approval by the Company) is another option open to you. If you see a hotel on our network that is not familiar to you, please also send an email to cvhotels@alpl.lu.
  • Without a copy of the reports you submit, the Hotel Committee has nothing in their hands to follow-up these complaints with the Company. Therefore, please take the time and always write a report and send a copy to the Hotel Committee as well.

The ALPL Hotel Committee is fulfilling their obligation as laid out in the Hotel Policy by doing its best to select and propose suitable hotels. It is unfortunate however, that this process is continuously being ignored by Procurement Management and that the well-functioning of this collaboration is undermined by lack of transparency and poor communication from senior management. 

Whereas it was possible to resolve recent issues with hotels in LUX in a joint effort with the Chief Pilots Office, some do remain at certain destination, as you can see in the provided list.

To find acceptable solutions for all parties concerned will require a joint effort by you, our members, the ALPL Hotel Committee as well as the Divisional Board and the Delegation!  

V-Day Survey
In December 2019 we asked you to complete a survey in regard to the bidding and allocation of V-Days for the year 2020 to get a clearer picture of what happened during the allocation process. A majority of Captains and First Officers participated in the survey, representing a statistically relevant collection of data.

We have also been in touch with the Chief Pilots Office, who also gathered and provided more information in a recent email, sent on 31 December 2019.

In addition to that email, we would like to present you the result of the V-Day Survey, which reflects what has been reported by our members and illustrates mainly two things:

  1. A significant lower average success rate, and
  2. A decreasing success rate with decreasing seniority.

Considering the original purpose of the V-Days – a system that was designed to assist colleagues with relative low seniority to have the off days connected to a short vacation period primarily in the difficult summer season – we are of the opinion that in particular this bidding and allocation process must be reviewed and eventually adjusted with the aim to significantly increase the individual success rate.

Random Alcohol Testing
Please note, that in 2020 random alcohol testing will be introduced and will become part of the ramp inspection program in Europe. Tests could also be conducted outside the aircraft (e.g. in the crew room) and will take place after a pilot has reported for duty. Depending on national legislation, the testing may be done by either ramp inspectors or by police, or both. If the test shows a positive alcohol breath test, this must be confirmed by an additional ‘evidential test’ by the police.

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update on Hotels

Thank you to all of you who are filing the Voyage Reports (VR) on the deficiencies in some of the hotels we are currently staying at. As the Hotel Committee we estimate that 80% of all VR are directly dealing with hotel issues. This is quite an alarming statistic as 3 years ago we might have received one or 2 a month. Sadly, the reasons for the increase is self-evident; The company no longer grants the Hotel Committee members the responsibility to ensure hotels are up to the required standard. Instead, management look at this as a cost item and not as a vital link of the “Safety Chain” that allows us to do our jobs correctly.

Hotels are an intricate part of ensuring we as pilots are well rested before duties. The important components of being rested are being able to control the temperature, lighting and that the noise is managed so that sleep is not disturbed. Other elements such as security and access to nutrition are also part of choosing hotels.

Please click here to see the full list of criteria, which now also is part of the CWA 2020-2022 and must be respected by the company when selecting hotels. If you observe any deficiencies  according to this list, please file a VR. 

In the Secure Content Locker of our iPads, Section 7, the Station Information of approved hotels should have been updated with the hotel benefits. In our regular meetings with management the Hotel Committee has urged that this data is up to date. If you see deficiencies/errors or omissions, please file a VR.

Generally, you will see that there a very few hotels situated at or in the vicinity of airports for one very obvious reason, noise. Exceptions are due to security reasons e.g. currently in HKG. If you are confronted with a last-minute change and sent to an airport hotel, please enforce the guidelines and politely ask to be taken to our normal hotel or a similar standard away from the airport.

The company has also tried to move crews to new hotels in a couple of destinations like KUL without any consultation of the Hotel Committee, which in our opinion is a violation of the Hotel Policy and also has been communicated to management as such. The Hotel Committee is currently trying to remedy these errors to ensure the hotels are up to standard.

As already communicated by your ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board, always apply a very high and professional standard when determining your capability to safely operate your next duty or series of duties!  A high quality of rest in our hotels definitely is a prerequisite for that! 

Again, if there are any deficiencies please send a VR via the iQSMS and also send a copy to cvhotels@alpl.lu. We as Hotel Committee cannot track problematic issues or make changes at hotels without having knowledge of your report. Thank you for your cooperation!

Please click here to read about updates in regard to some of our hotels.

Dirk Becker No Comments

Publication of second round of vacation bidding for First Officers

We have been informed by Flight Operations Management that the second round of vacation bidding for First Officers will not be ready for publication to meet the deadline on 16 November 2019. This is mainly due to sickness within the crew planning department and consequently the handover of this task to another planner not having the same level of experience.

To avoid a rushed and potential erroneous scheduling of vacation periods for First Officers we agreed to delay the publication for a few days until next week. The publication of the second round for Captains is not affected.

As a consequence the bidding deadline for VOFF days will also be delayed to allow sufficient time for these requests.

A separate communication has been published by Flight Operations Management.

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update on Transition Roster Period 13+

With the newly signed CWA 2020-2022, a new off-days scheme including the switch from 13 roster periods to 12 monthly roster periods will be introduced. To cover the transition, Cargolux and the Staff Delegation agreed to the following:

  1. Roster period 13 will be extended by 10 days, covering the time between 24 November 2019 and 31 December 2019.
  1. The off-day entitlement for each pilot will be amended as follows:
    • 8 consecutive off-days (CODays) and
    • 5 consecutive floating off-days (FODays).
  1. The roster period overtime thresholds will be amended as follows:
    • Overtime will be paid for every duty hour worked above 225 duty hours during the period between 24 November 2019 and 31 December 2019.
    • Overtime will be paid for every block hour worked above 95 block hours during the period between 24 November 2019 and 31 December 2019.
  1. Additional “XPA-Days” will be allocated to pilots on 11% and 21,2% part time schemes, amounting to pro-rated 0,7 days and 1,4 days respectively. Pilots will be given 2 options to choose from:
    • The days can be paid out at a rate of 8 hours per full day respectively pro-rated, or
    • 1 additional “XPA-Day” (11% scheme) respectively 2 additional “XPA-Days” (21,2% scheme) will be allocated in one of the first 3 roster periods in 2020. 

Please click here to read the agreement that was signed by Cargolux Airlines International S.A. and the Staff Delegation of Cargolux International S.A.

We have been informed that Flight Ops Management together with Crew Planning are presently looking into ways if and how the PBS could be adapted covering the transition in roster period 13+.