Cargolux

We would like to inform you that the LCGB together with the OGBL has decided to go for the next step in the CWA negotiations and initiate the conciliation process, as defined in the Luxembourgish labor law. Thus,  a letter to the Office National de Conciliation (ONC) was sent by both Unions on 2 January 2019 asking for their involvement in the current labor negotiations in Cargolux.

For you to understand why this step was necessary, we would like to give you a short overview of what has happened in the last six months.

The CWA negotiations started in June 2018 and in July both Unions presented their list of claims to the company, whereas no list was received from management.

From the very beginning both negotiation teams had the impression that management was neither ready nor prepared to negotiate seriously. This impression was confirmed by an email sent by the CEO to the employees on 31 July 2018, stating that no more meetings would be scheduled until further notice.

In order to continue negotiations and to pressure management to restart the process, the Unions had to repudiate the current CWA in August 2018. As a result, after a break of 3 months and the initiation of the “100% compliance with your CWA “campaign by us pilots, the negotiations continued with a one day meeting in September and 2 day meetings – one day for the ground staff and one day for the pilots – in October, November and December 2018, representing a grand total of 7 days of negotiations.

In the last three meetings the discussions were held in a respectful manner – which should be the norm anyway – and some subjects like FTLs, the so called B-scale, or the B2B scheduling were touched. However, disappointingly, after the December meeting it became clear, that no real progress could be achieved. At the same time, many other problems and items, which were identified by you, our members, were not even discussed.

For the negotiation teams these facts represented sparse results if any, after more than six months since the start of the CWA negotiations.

By involving the ONC, the aim is to find acceptable solutions for the identified problems and concerns. Solutions which are well deserved by the employees after such a long time period and considering the record profits that the CEO is expecting for 2018.

We have been prepared to engage into serious talks and to sign a new CWA to address many of the current grievances in a satisfactory manner. At the same time and in order to avoid any further escalation, we see an urgent necessity for management to stop their stalling-strategy and to give the negotiation-process the priority it deserves.

2018 was another labor-intensive year, peaking in the start of the negotiations for a better CWA at Cargolux. Even though we all are aware that these negotiations will continue to last well into the next year and are not finished yet, the entire Divisional Board would like to express our gratitude for your shown loyalty and continuous support in 2018! We wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
 
Please find below an update in regard to:

• SwissLife
• Cargolux Italia
• Back-to-Back operation

SwissLife 
Finally, all contributions to the Supplementary Pension Scheme are visible via the new SwissLife online portal. Your username and passwords were sent by SwissLife to your Cargolux email address already in late July 2018.
 
We would like to remind everybody of the fact that the company contributions for the year 2018 are invested in the SwissLife Guarantee fund and NOT in the previously selected fund(s). If you want to change the fund you can do this online via the new SwissLife online portal. Switching funds is free of charge.
 
Please ensure all the information is correct on the portal. You may need to update your selected beneficiaries that can be done online.
 
A meeting with Cargolux management, SwissLife and the ALPL is envisaged for the beginning of next year to align the new format with our existing conditions as was discussed in the Comite Mixte meeting this year. 
 
Cargolux Italia
To address rumours we received about a fleet expansion at Cargolux Italia (ICV), management was asked during the recent Comite Mixte meeting if there are indeed any plans to replace and/or add an aircraft in Cargolux Italia.
 
Management stated there are no definitive plans at this moment but depending on the market there might be a need for Cargolux to do so. 
 
The existence of 4 airplanes in Cargolux Italia was again justified with alleged lower operating costs and that certain market access can only be achieved with Italian traffic rights. As we proved in the past both arguments are wrong and do not get any more credibility if they are repeated over and over again. Cargolux Italia is -once again- used to undermine our working conditions in Luxembourg. 
 
The employee representatives noted that such routes are already and could be even additionally flown by Cargolux on a wet lease basis. The response from management was, that Cargolux is being used due to the lack of  747-8 in Cargolux Italia.
 
We will keep a close eye on this topic, while the unions claim to reduce the number of aircraft in Italy still remains in place. 
 
Back-to-Back operation
A requirement to derogate from home base rest according to CS FTL.1.235(b)(3)(ii), also referred to as “Back-to-Back operation” (B2B), is that suitable accommodation must be provided by the company. Recently, pilots found themselves in a situation where the usual crew hotel was not reserved and only after a lengthy time the IBIS hotel was used. Furthermore, it was only booked for an insufficient time and does not represent a crew rest hotel approved by the Hotel Committee. 
 
We want to reiterate once again:

• Crew hotels must fulfil the criteria as mentioned in the hotel policy. Please click here to have a look at the Cargolux hotel policy. Any discrepancies should be reported by Voyage Report via the iQSMS application and a copy send to cvhotels@alpl.lu for further investigation by the Hotel Committee.
• If the rest is disturbed and/or insufficient in such a way that you feel unable to sufficiently perform your next duty, a Fatigue Report should be filed via the iQSMS application and additional rest should be requested with crew control.
• In order to utilize the B2B option (which should be the exemption rather than the norm) it is a required prerequisite that a suitable accommodation is booked by the company. If crew control fails to do so, we recommend that any pilot carefully evaluates if the conditions for a derogation from home base rest are still given and if sufficient rest can be obtained before the next sector. If in doubt there is always the option to request the complete rest for time-zone compensation as per regulation.

Please find below an update regarding:

• Fatigue Risk Management (FRM)
• Court Hearing – Rest requirements (Time Zone Compensation)
• Hotels
• Crew Positioning Travel
• Social Media

Fatigue Risk Management (FRM)
Since the introduction of the new EASA regulations, there has been a shift from purely prescriptive limits to performance-based Flight Time Limitations. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with IFALPA and IATA have agreed that one regulation does not fit all types of operations and has required national authorities to introduce regulations that airlines must manage the hazard of fatigue in aviation through an FRM.

We believe it is important to look at the ICAO definition of fatigue and give you practical examples in our operation where you can identify areas where potential fatigue may arise and to assist you in your responsibility to ensure you are fit for duty.

ICAO Definition- fatigue:

A physiological state of reduced mental or physical performance capability resulting from sleep loss, extended wakefulness, circadian phase, and/or workload(mental and/or physical activity) that can impair a person’s alertness and ability to adequately perform safety-related operational duties. 

ICAO and the other stakeholders have identified four contributing factors that induce fatigue.

1) Sleep Loss; We all have experienced somewhere along our career that in the airline industry if we are not able individually to obtain our minimum nightly sleep requirements we accumulate sleep loss and we become fatigued not tired! Keeping a sleep log helps to be proactive to assist you in making the right decision in case you need to extend your rest times.

In many cases we only manage small amounts of sleep before being woken up to report for a duty. This depends what time we sign on and at what phase our circadian phase is in.

2) Extended Wakefulness; Here a clear example is when operating a long night duty as a standard crew at the prescriptive limit of 11 hours FDP. The 11 hrs FDP has meant that you will have been awake at least two hours before that (1 hour to travel to the airport + 1 hour after been woken up).

The above calculation assumes you will have been sleeping until the wake-up call. If this is not the case, you need to add the additional time of being awake. Let’s look at a duty HKG-ANC. You are in an unknown state of acclimatisation (max FDP 11 hrs) and managed only 4 hrs of sleep but have been awake 4 hours before the wakeup call. Your extended wakefulness is now 4+2 (wakeup call and travel to airport) +11 FDP = 17 hours for a landing in ANC.

In combination with the amount of sleep you have had prior to the planned duty every crew member needs to understand their physiological state to be capable of operating adequately.

3) Circadian Phase; As Cargolux pilots we understand that our body clock shifts. Unfortunately, it varies, and we need to understand that in many cases we are in an unknown state of acclimatisation. We have to adopt a precautionary approach and be rested sufficiently by obtaining the best/longest sleep periods prior to our duties. We see many times that the duties do not match our best Circadian Phase and we may need to inform operations of any adjustments in our duties to ensure our alertness is adequate for those duties.

4) Workload;Covers multiple sectors combined in environments such as high terrain, winter operations where additional measures of de-icing and performance calculations that add to the equation. All have additional effects to the overall potential fatigue.

Whilst the above helps you on the line on a day to day basis, we are actively engaged with the DAC-L and management to highlight their responsibilities under the EASA regulations ORO.FTL.110 Operator responsibilities.

Fact is that the current FRM system in place has severe limitations, 87% of the pilots are not satisfied with the way FRM is applied and a crushing 90% feel that FRM is not effective in preventing excessive crew fatigue at Cargolux. Thus we urge everybody to apply a very high and professional standard in determining your capability to safely operate any flight. 

Maintaining a sleep log, or using the LEAF App, will assist you in making the professional decision. Also, do not forget to file a proactive Fatigue Report when asking for additional rest.

Please click here for additional guidance on how to write a proactive Fatigue Report. If you need further assistance don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at cvboard@alpl.lu.

Court Hearing – Rest requirements (Time Zone Compensation)
On 24 October the initial court-hearing took place in Luxembourg at the administrative court. Also present was a lawyer by the company, in spite of the fact that Cargolux is not even involved into this issue between individual pilots and the DAC-L. Our lawyer reiterated our key arguments that are supported by EASA’s Guidance Material where they state among others;

GM2 CS FTL.1.235(b)(3) Additional rest to compensate for time zone differences 
REST AFTER ROTATIONS WITH THREE OR MORE FLIGHT DUTY PERIODS 
For a rotation with three or more FDPs, the greatest time zone difference from the original reference time should be used to determine the minimum number of local nights of rest to compensate for time zone differences. If such a rotation includes time zones crossings in both directions, the calculation is based on the highest number of time zones crossed in any one FDP during the rotation.

To our surprise, the DAC-L legal counsel added an additional argument stating that this case should not have been brought to the Administrative Court but instead to the Labor Court. ALPL’s lawyer strongly opposed this by clearly stating that the DAC-L is an administrative body, and this is the only correct forum to obtain a clear judgment.

It is our feeling that this last-ditch argument only serves to delay the process of getting a true judgment either in Luxembourg or through the European Court system.

The court will come back with a decision within the next few months. In any case there is a high possibility of an appeal that will move up the issue to the next higher and final instance within Luxembourg.

Hotels
As the new year approaches, we are in the midst of many contract renewals. Whilst the aim is that we maintain the majority of the crew hotels that are suitable for our crew rest needs, we have advised the company of the hotels that fall well short of these requirements.  Quality crew rest is a vital part of our safety loop in demanding schedules of non-circadian planning that appear in our rosters. It is also a FSAG recommendation that the hotels remain at a high quality.

However, the company has an internal procedure to request for tenders when hotel contracts are coming up for renewal. This creates additional work for the Hotel Committee to ensure that when tenders are sent to various hotels, they meet the minimum standards of the Hotel Policy. There are a few hotels that are now under review and we will provide you an update soon.

We do request when you have any issues at hotels to please write a Voyage Report via the iQSMS application, attaching photos if needed. The application then sends you a copy which you can forward to cvhotels@alpl.lu. Without any reports we are not able to present the facts of the deficiencies in the hotels to improve them and even to change them.

We are also currently looking for one or two members who would be willing to join and strengthen ALPL Hotel Committee and who are self-motivated, enthusiastic and dedicated to ensuring this vital part of our CWA is not forgotten. If you are interested please do not hesitate to send an email to cvhotels@alpl.lu.

Crew Positioning Travel
We keep receiving reports that when you are booked to position on commercial flights many of you notice that it is not as per the CWA. A letter was sent from the CEO to the LCGB earlier this year confirming the CWA text. Human Resources forwarded this document to various departments and we have asked that they once again remind them of the CWA and the attached letter.

In the meantime, please also review the “Know your CWA”series regarding positioning travel, where you can find further information about what you can do, if you think the CWA is not respected.

Social Media
It came to our attention that Flight Operations Management monitors pilot’s social media posts. While many of us use social media for it’s convenience we would like to urge you to be mindful what you post online and with who you share the information. Make yourself familiar with the appropriate privacy settings and use them accordingly.

Please find below an update regarding:

• Fatigue Alerts,
• Back-to-Back Operation and
• EWWET

Fatigue Alerts 
As you already know fatigue alerts that you receive from crew control are based on a mathematical model and trigger when the calculated alertness level exceed a predefined score. In fact, the actual alertness level could be higher or lower, depending on the real condition of the individual.

We want to reiterate that – according to EASA ORO.FTL.110 – it is the initial responsibility of the operator to manage and mitigate fatigue. It is in the first place the responsibility of the operator to schedule flights already in the planning stage so that rosters are sufficiently free from fatigue. A transfer of this obligation to the respective pilots to decide whether or not they would be able to operate a specific flight cannot be seen as a relief from the principle obligation of an operator.

In case you receive a fatigue alert, we strongly suggest to apply a very high and professional standard determining your capability to safely operate any subsequent flight. Please remember that you possibly might face a situation where you have to justify your decisions. 

As we have indicated in the past, maintaining a sleep log, or using the LEAF App, will assist you in making the professional decision. Also, do not forget to file a proactive Fatigue Report when asking for additional rest.

Please click here for additional guidance on how to write a proactive Fatigue Report. If you need further assistance don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via cvboard@alpl.lu.

Back-to-Back Operation
With the start of the high season we see again schedules being changed and pilots e.g. being turned around 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.

In the past we received several reports of pilots who were scheduled for a Back-to-Back rotation and had issues with the legally required hotel accommodation in Luxembourg.

Either, the Company did not fulfil their obligation to schedule a suitable accommodation in Luxembourg or the room was not ready in time or simply inadequate to obtain sufficient preflight rest due to various issues, such as noise, construction works or lack of air-conditioning.

In cases like this we would like to highlight the ultimate responsibility of the individual crew member to report for a flight duty sufficiently rested. Should there be any doubt about your level of alertness due to an insufficient rest period before, it is your obligation to request as much additional rest as you need to accept the next flight duty.

In such a case don’t forget to file a proactive Fatigue Report. Please also make yourselves familiar with ALPL’s guidelines on the use of Back-to-Back operations to assist in lessening the disruptive nature of our current operation.

If you need further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to email cvboard@alpl.lu for guidance.

EWWET
We would like to remind you that recently the definition of Eastward-Westward and Westward-Eastward Transition (EWWET) has changed.

In the past Eastward-Westward and Westward-Eastward transition meant the “..transition at home base between a rotation crossing 6 or moretime zones in one direction and a rotation crossing 4 or moretime zones in the opposite direction.” 

The change now defines EWWET as “… a rotation crossing 4 or more time zones in one direction and a rotation crossing 4 or more time zones in the opposite direction.”

It has been discovered that in AIMS this rule has not been updated yet. Please be vigilant and make sure to be scheduled for the required minimum 3 local nights at home base in case of an EWWET. This is also applicable for Back-to-Back Operations.

On 18 October 2018 the 3^rd meeting with management took place. After management´s “thorough” analysis of the union claims over the last couple of months that included asking for clarification on certain points to “fully understand” our underlying motives for such claims, they provided a single package offer. This offer has now revealed managements true underlying intentions, which after even a short review shows that there is a very large gap between the two positions.

It was our hope to have provided you with better news, but the fact remains that the negotiations process itself lead by the management team lacks in our opinion constructive guidance. A lot of time has been wasted so we again have proposed blocks of negotiation dates and a clearer timeline for future meetings.

The unions have provided two dates to management in hope that we can progress more effectively. Again, considering the very wide gap between our positions, we see these negotiations are not on a healthy path.

On 26 September 2018 finally another negotiation meeting took place. You might remember, the last one was on 5 July – almost 3 months ago. Meetings initially foreseen at the end of July were cancelled and as a consequence the LCGB decided to ask you, our members, to be 100% compliant with your CWA.

The meeting was chaired by the EVP HR, Legal and Compliance. Our EVP, VP Flight Operations and other people from various departments like Maintenance, Global Logistics, HR and Finance complemented the management team.

The main point on the agenda was the impact assessment presentation of the union claims based on the data available to management. A quantification of financial and productivity impact was done where possible with regards to specific claims.

It did not come as a surprise that in this presentation the “tremendous” financial impact of the claims for the company was highlighted. The CFO provided further explanations and assumptions of the future business plan until 2029. It was also stated, that the shareholders are not willing to put more capital into the company and hence all the financial burden will have to be borne by the employees. This is nothing new, we have seen it already in the past with the acquisition of the  B747-8 fleet. In short, management told us that the claims are too expensive and would have a huge adverse impact on the future of the company. On the other hand it was noted, that  management will not be presenting any claims of their own.

Management´s tactic was rather not-constructive, trying to dissect any of the union claims, pretending not to understand the issue or requesting further information. If this was owed to inadequate preparation or just a delay-tactic by management remains to be seen.

In summary we can say, that we are still far from finding any agreement, even from seriously engaging in negotiating. In the last two months management has had time to conduct a full analysis of the union claims and it is unfortunate that there were no written requests for clarification, causing additional delay. The Unions have sent a letter to the CEO, providing their impressions and once again highlighted the importance blocks of negotiation-days as a required prerequisite to initiate an efficient social dialogue. Please click here to read this letter.

In this context we also would like to thank our members for following the ”100% compliance with your CWA” campaign. We know that this campaign may have an adverse effect on your rosters and your private lives, but we need to maintain the pressure so that we achieve the goals you expect from these negotiations!

These goals are:

1. Introduction of flight time limitations within the CWA to include a reasonable buffer, to enhance flight safety and reduce fatigue levels providing a sustainable work environment for us pilots
2. Return to a single standard amongst the pilot group by eliminating the so called “B-scale”
3. Introduce mechanisms to improve roster stability and
4. a salary increase.

Even with Flight Operations Management modest attempts to address some of our concerns – that we have been expressing for quite some time now – only backing up existing FTLs with block-time limitations and rostering-buffers will ensure a safe and yet, sustainable operation!

In recent members updates we informed you about changes in the new regulations concerning the pilot scheme of the SwissLife Supplementary Pension Scheme. After consulting our lawyer a letter was sent to management informing them about these grievances in late August 2018.

In the Comite Mixte meeting on 27 September 2018, the company together with several SwissLife representatives admitted, that some of the changes indeed were to the detriment of the employees.

The CEO of Cargolux stated that management never intended any of these changes and presented a written statement, signed by the CEO of SwissLife, stating that all changes that were not beneficial to the employees will be reversed with immediate effect. Please click here to read this letter.

Furthermore it was agreed that SwissLife will collectively work with representatives of Cargolux and the ALPL Pension Committee on the proposed modifications to the contract, ensuring that any changes will not disadvantage the employees, but rather be made to their benefit.

We would like to thank everyone, who gave us feedback on this subject and made us aware of the problem. This way we were able to act on it quickly.