At the end of 2017 we might be faced again with negotiations for a new Collective Work Agreement (CWA). Whilst we already have a list of things that need to be improved, we would like to ask every one of you to tell us what you think our goals should be during these negotiations.

The purpose of the survey is to highlight the most pressing issues you as a pilot would like to see changed with the future of Cargolux in mind.

Please take the time to write us a short text or some bullet points with items you would like to see changed or improved, bearing in mind that the ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board is working on different issues at the same time and that some of these working subjects might be resolved by the time new negotiations will start.

As we obtain all the feedback of all the members we can then proceed and identify the core subjects of the information we received from you. Please complete the survey until latest 31 July 2017.

When answering the survey, we kindly ask you to be concise and to list the points in order of priority. We also ask you to think about what you personally are willing to contribute to achieve these goals – Don´t take things for granted!

This is the next part of our series “Know your CWA” in regards to “Positioning”, which covers “Positioning immediately before or following an operating sector”. 

B1-36.6 Positioning

When a Pilot is required to Position immediately following an operating sector the total time spent on Duty shall count toward the Duty Time, with a maximum combined Flight and Positioning time of:

1. a) Standard Flight Crew: 16:00 hours.
2. b) Augmented Flight Crew: 18:00 hours.

When a Pilot performs a Duty consisting solely of Positioning, the time from Block Off of the first positioning sector to Block On of the last positioning sector shall not exceed 20 hours.

Transportation to and from Hotel accommodation at the behest of the Company is not considered positioning. 

Positioning applies to all modes of transportation. Certain airport pairs, as listed in the OM Part A, are considered the same airport for the purpose of determining if positioning time is required.

The beginning and end of “Positioning before or after operating sector” times are specified in CWA Art. B1-36.2.2-4 and distinguished by the means of traveling.

Also in this case, all times spent positioning count as Duty Time and CWA Art. B1-36.2.2-4 must be consulted in order to:

• calculate the actual Duty Time, which is added up towards the Duty Period Limitations as defined in CWA Art. B1-36.1.2
• determine the required Rest Period after positioning a pilot is entitled to
• calculate the overtime payment according to CWA B1-39.5.1 if more than 160 Duty hours in one consecutive Roster Period of 28 days are worked.

In addition, it is important to know that a positioning before an operating sector must be considered when determining the maximum allowable FDP!

B1-36.2.2 Positioning on board of an aircraft before operating sector(s)

Positioning sectors shall not count as sectors when determining the maximum FDP.

* The time can be increased for operational reasons by the Company only.

B1-36.2.3 Positioning by other means than aircraft before operating sector(s)

Positioning sectors shall not count as sectors when determining the maximum FDP.

B1-36.2.4 Positioning after operating sector(s)

Positioning sectors shall not count as sectors when determining the maximum FDP.

* The time can be increased for operational reasons by the Company only.

**If an aircraft is not used for positioning, Block On shall be replaced by the actual arrival time of the vehicle used for transportation.

Example A (Positioning immediately before an operating sector):
A pilot is scheduled to position from MEX to JFK and then to operate a flight to ORD. STD of the commercial flight in MEX is at 14:00 UTC. Arrival time in JFK is 19:05 UTC and the STD of flight CLX xyz from JFK to ORD is 21:25 UTC. CLX xyz is scheduled to arrive in ORD at 23:05 UTC.

In this case the FDP already starts in MEX 1h (Reporting Time) before STD of the commercial flight and ends on actual block on in ORD at 23:05 UTC. Total FDP is 10:05h. The total duty time (combined Flight and Positioning time) is 10:35h.

Example B (Positioning immediately following an operating sector):
A pilot is scheduled to operate flight CLX xyz from BQN to AMS as Standard Crew, stay on board and position from AMS to LUX. The allowed combined Flight and Positioning Time is 16 hours. Reporting Time in BQN is 22.45 UTC and the flight arrives in AMS at 09.35 UTC. There another crew takes over and the pilot positions now from AMS to LUX on the same aircraft. Block On in LUX is at 11.35 UTC. Total FDP is 10:50h. The total duty time (combined Flight and Positioning time) is 12:50h.

But what if the combined Flight and Positioning time of 16 or 18 hours would be exceeded?

In this case it is the obligation of the company to change the roster accordingly and to e.g. plan a rest period immediately after the Flight Duty Period.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

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

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

In the third part of our series “Know your CWA” we will expand on “Positioning”. To keep this issue short, we would like to look initially at Positioning in general and in more detail at “a Duty consisting solely of Positioning”.

B1-36.6 Positioning

When a Pilot is required to Position immediately following an operating sector the total time spent on Duty shall count toward the Duty Time, with a maximum combined Flight and Positioning time of:

1. a) Standard Flight Crew: 16:00 hours.
2. b) Augmented Flight Crew: 18:00 hours.

When a Pilot performs a Duty consisting solely of Positioning, the time from Block Off of the first positioning sector to Block On of the last positioning sector shall not exceed 20 hours.

Transportation to and from Hotel accommodation at the behest of the Company is not considered positioning.

Positioning applies to all modes of transportation. Certain airport pairs, as listed in the OM Part A, are considered the same airport for the purpose of determining if positioning time is required.

Positioning is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Means the transferring of a non-operating Pilot from one place to another, at the behest of the operator, excluding the time of travel from a private place of rest to the designated reporting place at home base and vice versa, and the time for local transfer from a place of rest to the commencement of duty and vice versa.”

This article is hence only valid for the above-mentioned purpose and is also referring to a list of city airports in the OM-A Chapter 7, Section 4. In this list, you can find airports that are considered as equal for transportation between the crew hotel and an airport due to their relative proximity. If you for instance arrive at Dubai International Airport (OMDB) and depart again from Dubai World Central (OMDW), the transportation from the hotel in DXB to the other airport is not considered as positioning.

The beginning and end of “Positioning duty only” times are specified in CWA Art. B1-36.2.5 and distinguished by the means of traveling.

B1-36.2.5 Positioning duty only

a) First positioning sector is on board of an aircraft 

* The time can be increased for operational reasons by the Company only.

**If an aircraft is not used on the last sector of a positioning duty, Block On shall be replaced by the actual arrival time of the    vehicle used for transportation.

b) First positioning sector is by any other means than by air

*If an aircraft is not used on the last sector of a positioning duty, Block On shall be replaced by the actual arrival time of the vehicle used for transportation.

Important to know is also the following additional restriction: If a pilot performs a duty solely of positioning the maximum allowable positioning time of 20 hours starts at the scheduled block off of the first positioning sector and ends at the actual block on of the last sector. If it is expected that this limit would be exceeded, the pilot may insist that the positioning duty and his roster is changed to observe this limitation.

All times spent positioning count as Duty Time and CWA Art. B1-35.2.5 above must be consulted in order to:

• calculate the actual Duty Time, which is added up towards the Duty Period Limitations as defined in CWA Art. B1-36.1.2
• determine the required Rest Period after positioning a pilot is entitled to
• calculate the overtime payment according to CWA B1-39.5.1 if more than 160 Duty hours in one consecutive Roster Period of 28 days are worked.

Example A:
A pilot is scheduled to position on a commercial flight EK xyz from HKG to DXB with a STD of 08.15 UTC and a STA of 16.45 UTC. Because of delayed boarding flight EK xyz departs at 09.00 UTC and arrives in DXB at 17.50 UTC. The total duty time is 10:35 h, from 07.15 UTC (Reporting Time) until 17.50 UTC (ATA).

Example B:
A pilot is scheduled to position on a CLX flight from LUX via DXB to HKG. STD is 20.00 UTC. The flight departs LUX at 20.25 UTC and arrives in DXB at 02.30 UTC. In DXB the aircraft stays on the ground for a few hours and departs again at 07.10 UTC. ATA in HKG is 15.45 UTC. The positioning time is 19:45 h (STD until ATA) and the total duty time 20:55 h, from 18.50 UTC (Reporting Time) until 15.45 UTC (ATA).

But what if the maximum positioning time of 20 hours would be exceeded?

In that case it is the obligation of the company to change the roster accordingly.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

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

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

Finally, on Monday, 12 June 2017 the constituent meeting of the Delegation took place. The agenda was to elect the different positions and functions amongst the delegates.

Here are the results:

President:                                    George Karambilas (LCGB)
Vice – President:                         Dirk Winne (LCGB – SEA)
Secretary:                                     Michael Kaiser (LCGB)
Equality Delegate:                      Markus Neuber (LCGB)
Health and Safety Delegate:     Yves Hendel (LCGB – SEA)

In addition to the above, Bernhard Novak (LCGB) was nominated to fill one position in the Office and Andreas Herbold (LCGB) to be the OHS expert for Flight Ops. For personal reasons Einar Kristjansson (LCGB) decided to resign as elected delegate and to no longer be part of the Delegation. We want to thank Einar for his great work and dedication during all these years and wish him well. 
 
Together with the remaining effective and substitute delegates we will make sure that the interests of all Cargolux employees will be represented during our mandate.

In this part of our series “Know your CWA” we would like to expand on “Crew Positioning Travel” and more specifically on Art. B1-38.3.1.

B1-38.3 Crew Positioning Travel

B1-38.3.1 All crew commercial positioning flights, shall be booked “Business Class“ except on Luxair intra-European point-to-point flights or unless agreed differently between the company and the pilot representatives for specific routes. Should business class seats not be available, the next lower available class with maximum comfort options, when available, shall be booked only in order to avoid operational disruption.

All positioning flights on other airlines, except those operated by Luxair, shall be booked in “Business Class“. This means that it is the obligation of the company to provide “Business Class“ tickets if you are required to travel on behest of the company.

The article allows only for the following two exceptions:

1. “Unless agreed differently between the Company and the Pilot Representatives for specific routes.”

Presently the Pilot Representatives accept that only on routes operated by Luxair under LG flight numbers between Luxembourg (LUX) and any airport served by Luxair directly and vice versa that crew positioning travel may be booked in Economy Class. On all other routes it is the obligation of the company to book all positioning travel in “Business Class“.

Art. 5.3 of the CWA defines the Pilot Representatives. These comprise of your ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board, whose members mostly also are Delegates in the Cargolux Delegation.

2. “Should business class seats not be available, the next lower available class with maximum comfort options, when available, shall be booked only in order to avoid operational disruption.”

As long as one airline provides “Business Class“ on a route a pilot should position on,  the pilot is entitled to position in “Business Class“. Only if no “Business Class“ seats are available at all, the company can book a lower class to avoid an operational delay of the next flight a crew members is scheduled to operate.

Tip: In this regards it is always a good idea to also check the flights on the internet and where applicable take a screen shot and advise Crew Control of the “Business Class” seats available.

Example:
A pilot is scheduled to position from A to B. This route is served by several airlines, of which at least one offers “Business Class“. The pilot is entitled to and can insist that his positioning is in “Business Class“ and that his travel arrangements are changed accordingly, by e.g. booking him on a different flight or a different airline.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

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

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

Today we are launching the second edition of our series “Know your CWA”, which was first introduced and published in 2014. We will provide information on a regular basis to allow you to better understand “your CWA”. A document, which is of extreme importance when it comes to our working conditions, now and in the future!

Our Collective Work Agreement (CWA) has an immense impact on our private lives. As per its Article 1.1, the objective of the CWA is “… to regulate the labour relations and the general working conditions at Cargolux Airlines International S.A.  … in order to promote a favourable social climate within the Company.“

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!

It needs to be understood by both parties, that any deviation from the CWA requires the mutual consent of both the company, represented by e.g. a colleague from crew control, and the individual pilot concerned. Only by mutual consent it is possible to deviate from the CWA.

When a deviation from the CWA is agreed to, always make sure that other applicable rules, e.g. the company’s OM-A, are strictly respected. Especially in the current environment with frequent roster changes and disruptions it is very important to ensure that limitations in OM-A Chapter 7 “Flight and Duty Time Limitations” are always adhered to!

In short; when it comes to your rights you may always insist that the CWA is followed.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

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

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

This is an update on the Delegation Elections 2013 and Part Time contracts.

Delegation
As already communicated to you earlier this month, we were able to obtain the court victory regarding the ongoing issue of the delegation election contestation by one member of the OGB-L in 2013. We were successful in obtaining an injunction against David Massaro ordering him to convene the “newly” elected delegation within 15 working days.

In the same context we also received an answer from the ITM (Inspection du Travail et des Mines). On Tuesday, 25 April 1017 a meeting with the ITM was held to hear arguments pertaining to a “recours” that was filed, once again with the aim of delaying the delegation members that were elected in 2013. In short; This “recours” was rejected by the ITM.

Hence, with no more options left, David Massaro did invite the newly elected delegates to a meeting on 12 June 2017 in order to constitute the new staff delegation.

In conclusion it is fair to say that this entire affair is a good example to show that persistence and patience does pay off in the end.

Part Time
It was brought to our attention that management has tried to use the implementation of Part-Time to introduce a certain clause into the Part-Time contract, which is not in line with the current CWA and contradictory to binding EU legislation. Furthermore, these changes have been added at a later stage and were not discussed with Pilot Representatives when the contracts were initially discussed last year.

In Article 4 Varia of the “AMENDMENT TO CREW EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT” it states now:

“The Employee hereby agrees to hold a license with privileges needed to operate as a pilot for Cargolux issued by the Direction de l’aviation civile (DACL), or another competent authority if specifically requested by Cargolux. The Employee is responsible for ensuring that his license and the qualifications therein are revalidated in a timely fashion so as to not disrupt his availability for flying duties.”

In fact this clause forces a pilot to either obtain a license issued in Luxembourg or any other license they deem necessary.

We strongly believe that this practice is not only unethical and not in line with negotiating in good faith but we also think that these clauses potentially severely disadvantage the pilot willing to opt for a Part-Time contract.

We therefore advise our members for the time being not to accept any alterations of their contracts and not to sign these modified conditions.

Please remember that the company also denies pilots a return clause from Part-Time, which means that a pilot signing a new contract will be effectively stuck with this further deterioration of his or her working conditions.

We would also like to emphasize that any flight crew license issued in accordance with EASA Part FCL by any competent authority qualifies to operate Cargolux aircraft. The license is the sole property of the individual pilot and management has no right to force somebody to transfer his or her license to the DAC-L as issuing authority, to any other authority nor into a non-EASA license. Should you feel more comfortable to hold an EASA Part FCL license issued by another competent authority than the DAC-L, it is your right to keep it or to transfer your license to any other competent authority of an “EASA member state”.

We are closely monitoring the situation and will advise you as soon as management reconsiders this new practice.

Back in 2009 a project was started to collect a pool of days in order to cover exceptional difficult situations some of us may be faced with during our career with Cargolux. The project was called Pilot Solidarity Days (PSD) and has been set up in agreement with Flight Operations Management and the ALPL. The intention of this project is solely to help colleagues in need and show solidarity within the pilot group.
 
This is the case today for our fellow colleague Sigrid Schulz.
 
                                                                

Sigrid has long been suffering and only in recent months her doctors confirmed and began treatment for cancer. Unfortunately, Sigrid had used much of her sick leave during the time that it took for the doctors to diagnose the problem.
 
Today, after permanently losing her Medical Certificate, Sigrid has been reclassified as ground staff and is in danger of losing her contract as she runs out of sick leave.
 
We all hope that she will be able to continue her fight and endure the treatment so that she will be able to regain her strength.
 
In the spirit of solidarity, we ask you to donate any vacation or off days, which would enable her to continue to focus on her treatments without being burdened with the worry of her contract expiring.
 
If you would like to support Sigrid, please click here and indicate how many days you would like to donate.
 
On behalf of Sigrid we thank you for your solidarity and your participation!