Cargolux

On 31 July 2018 the CEO sent an email to all staff stating that, pending further notice, no negotiation meetings for a new CWA will be scheduled. This decision stands in conflict with the initial communicated commitment from management to pursue smooth and efficient negotiations and consequently leaves us highly sceptical about the true intention behind this decision.

Additionally, the Unions are still waiting to receive the data, which was requested in the very first negotiation meeting on 13 June 2018, as foreseen by the law. It is hard to believe that this general information cannot be provided within a reasonable time frame by the management of one of the biggest all cargo carriers in the world.

The LCGB hence decided to send another letter highlighting the need to commit to the negotiation meetings in the near future as well as a reminder to provide the Unions with the information, which was requested already in June.

Please click here to read these letters.

We are in close contact with the LCGB and will keep you informed about the next steps.

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.

By now many of you have seen the message from Mr. Forson regarding “Management preparing the CWA Negotiations”. Well, on Tuesday 17 July 2018, the Unions received an official letter from Cargolux cancelling the meetings which were scheduled for the 26th and 31st of July.

Where do we stand so far in the negotiation process? Management agreed that they would provide their list of claims prior to the last meeting which took place on 5th July, which they did not do. Although they reiterated in this meeting their willingness to negotiate and two more meetings to move forward in a timely fashion were scheduled, management now canceled these meetings.

Regardless of management’s reasons or explanations, the negotiation process is delayed until they feel comfortable to continue! The LCGB and OGBL negotiation teams are aligned and agreed before the first meeting on 5th July that these negotiations should not be dragged out by any delay tactics.

Although our CEO has constantly been talking about the importance of sustainability for the company, he unfortunately does not understand or is simply ignoring the lack of long term sustainability within the most precious asset of the company – the employees, their motivation and well-being.

For those of you who were asking for a stronger signal to underscore how much frustration exists in our company right now, chances are that you won’t have to wait much longer. The negotiation team was hopeful that management would place negotiations at a high priority, but it appears otherwise.

We will keep you informed about our next steps!

On 5 July 2018 the second CWA negotiation meeting took place. Present on the table were both Unions and Management as well as an external consultant for labour law issues, hired by the company.

A common list of claims from both Unions was presented to Management and discussed in detail. Although agreed previously, no list of claims was presented by Management yet.

The first impression of the negotiation team was that Management was not ready for efficient negotiations. Therefore we insisted to set future negotiation dates. The next meetings are scheduled on 26 and 31 July 2018, 8 hours each.

Please click here to view the letter and combined claims catalogue that was sent to Management by the Unions.

If you have further questions feel free to contact your negotiation team and ALPL Board at cvboard@alpl.lu.

On 13 June 2018 the first meeting for a new CWA took place. Members of the LCGB negotiating team as well as from the OGBL attended this meeting. The company was represented by Richard Forson, CEO, Maxim Straus, CFO and Emese Bekessy, EVP HR, Legal Affairs and Compliance. During this meeting no negotiations took place, but management rather, as foreseen in Luxembourgish law, gave a broad overview of the present economic situation of Cargolux.

There will be an inter-syndical meeting between representatives of the LCGB and the OGBL with the aim to coordinate the strategy and to present a common claims list. Also, it was agreed that the claims catalogue will be handed over in the near future and a subsequent meeting was scheduled for 5 July.

Please click here to have a look at the LCGB negotiation team.

We will of course continue to inform you about the content and progress of the negotiations.

We still are receiving reports from our members about issues with crew hotels at certain stations. The problems encountered remain the same; the company unilaterally changes contracts with hotels while completely bypassing the Hotel Committee.

Several times members reported that they were camped out in airport hotels, unable to get a decent uninterrupted preflight rest due to high noise levels or inadequate services (i.e. no possibility of room-service during night time). In some instances, crews were even refused a room after a flight delay.

In the past we brought the subject to the attention of the CEO, who pledged to resolve these problems, but it seems that nothing has changed yet.

Be aware that flight safety must not be compromised at any stage by such grievances! Therefore, we would like to remind everybody that reporting for duty well rested is the obligation of each crewmember. Please refer to OM-A, Chapter 6, Section 1 for more detailed information. 

If a pilot is unable to obtain sufficient preflight rest it is his or her responsibility to put in place fatigue mitigating measures, that may include but are not limited to:

• Delaying the flight to a later departure time to obtain sufficient rest
• If necessary, in coordination with Crew Control, change accommodation to a quieter neighborhood that offers adequate facilities such as window blinds and late-night room service
• If the crewmember has to use the company credit card it is necessary to file a Voyage Report on top of the mandatory Fatigue Report.

Should you require some additional rest in order to be fit for your next duty or series of duties, please notify Crew Control, Dispatch and the local station about your decision. Also file a proactive Fatigue Report and Air Safety Report if needed! Click here for additional guidance on how to write a proactive Fatigue Report.

We also ask you to forward these reports to the Hotel Committee at cvhotels@alpl.lu. Remember, if you are unsure how to proceed, do not hesitate to contact your ALPL Board for assistance at cvboard@alpl.lu.  

In the meanwhile, we continue trying to resolve these issues. 

In 2017 we sent you numerous emails containing information to allow you to better understand your CWA. This “Know your CWA” series was first introduced and published in 2014, updated in 2017 and very well accepted by our members.

Based on the feedback we received, we compiled all the information into one single document. This PDF document provides quick access to all the information needed, should questions regarding the correct application of the CWA arise.

The CWA, being part of the individual work contract, is the document which outlines the employment relation between the employee – you – and the company. In other words; the CWA defines rights and obligations of both parties; the company on one side and the employee on the other side. The CWA is a legally binding document!

Please click here or on the image below to download your copy of the “Know your CWA” Quick Reference Guide for your perusal and future reference.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.

We have been informed by the Accountable Manager and EVP Maintenance and Engineering, that there will be an aircraft swap between Cargolux (CLX) and Cargolux Italia (ICV) in the near future. LX-OCV will be transferred from ICV back to CLX, whereas LX-SCV will be moved to ICV. We will continue to carefully monitor what is going on in Italy and keep you posted.