Michael Kaiser No Comments

Hotel Committee Update – April 2024

We would like to share some updates on:

Catering
We are happy to announce that Cargolux Senior Management has approved the purchase of a Catering App! This App will allow us to individually order meals and set preferences before flights. Once implemented we will start to use it ex LUX.

We were also able to change the catering provider in CGO to increase food quality. Catering was tested and reviewed in LUX resulting in bigger hot meals with different variety. The lids on the hot meals can be used in our ovens and are heat certified. They are made of a biodegradable material and not plastic. We hope that you perceive those changes as an improvement and if you feel to send us your feedback, please include the meal no. in the Voyage Report.

The current onboard catering expiry time of 18 hours triggered some unnecessary catering uplifts on stations with poor food quality. We therefore try to extend the limit to 24 hours after certain conditions are met.

We were also able to convince the company to replace the unpopular bamboo cutlery sets. They will be replaced as soon as the items are out of stock.

Last but not least, we are negotiating with TPE, NRT and GYD station to improve catering quality with more to come. 

In general, we are very happy to have improved the dialogue with our colleagues in the Travel Services Department.  

Hotels
LAX 
Unfortunately, we are facing a change to our well-liked Hotel in Redondo Beach. The new corporate management of the Sonesta has significantly increased the rate for a contract extension/continuation proposal. An attempt for a dialogue and a compromise with the Sonesta hotel management remained unsuccessful.  We were therefore forced to start a new tender process for new hotels starting from of 1st Jan 2025. 

We surveyed more than 30 hotels, did 5 on-side inspections and recommended to move to the Courtyard Marriott in Marina Del Rey, which we find a very suitable alternative.

Beginning 01MAY 2024, the Courtyard Marina Del Rey confirmed to host us as our new crew hotel including the following benefits exclusively for Cargolux:

  • 20% off outlets (excluding bottles of wine)
  • Complimentary bike rentals
  • 50% discount on Kayaks & SUPs.
  • A „water-taxi-shuttle-service“ in the vicinity for 2 USD p.p.,
  • A shuttle bus in the vicinity, available via an app and complimentary.

Considering these extensive benefits plus the location we are optimistic that you will appreciate the new hotel and its location in walking distance to Venice Beach.

TPE 
With a similar situation as in LAX, the Hotel Committee had to perform a tender process in TPE, also resulting in a move: As of the 01JUN2024 the Shangri La Hotel is planned to accommodate us. While the direct area around is not as lively as what we are used to in the Grand Hyatt, it is only 20 minutes walking distance away from the familiar area around the Taipei 101. 

CGK 
It is planned to recommence layovers in Jakarta and the Hotel Committee is in a dialogue with Travel Services Department about the hotel selection. The previous Mercure crew hotel was not received very well and therefore we will inform you as soon we have additional info.

In the meantime, we continue to ask you to provide us with feedback and copies of your reports to cvcatering@alpl.lu and cvhotels@alpl.lu.

Dirk Becker No Comments

Result Delegation Election

We are pleased to inform you that pilots will hold 9 out of 16 seats in the Delegation. 
 
The results communicated by the electoral office are as follows:

LCGB   50,5%     9 seats
OGB-L 32,8%  5 seats
SEA 16,8%  2 seats                                      

Your elected representatives are (9 effective Delegates and 9 substitute Delegates):
On behalf of the ALPL Board I would like to take the opportunity and thank all of you participating in the election! It is however worrying to see that only 62,6 % of the pilots casted their votes this time compared to 87,3% in 2019, assuming that every pilot casted his/her 32 votes. Despite this, it is encouraging for us to see how many of you went the extra mile to make sure that your ballot will be returned in time to be counted! 
 
I would also like to thank those colleagues who stepped forward and made themselves available as candidates and at the same time a big thank you for those who have served for many years on the Delegation representing our interests, who were not reelected. They have contributed a lot to what we have achieved as a group, which was not visible to everyone, and we should be grateful for that.
 
The results of the election are not final yet, as they can be contested until April 1st, 2024.
Michael Kaiser No Comments

How to mark and return your ballot for the Delegation Election

In the coming days you should either receive your ballot for the Delegation Election by mail or you may pick up your ballot at Human Resources. It will be important, that you do whatever will be needed to make sure that you mark your ballot in time and moreover make sure that it will get back to Human Resources before the electoral office will close on March 12th. The result of the election in 2019 shows, that achieving a good result is possible, but this will require you going the extra mile.

In order to make sure, that your ballot will be received by March 12th, 16.30 LT, we ask you to strictly follow the recommendations and guidelines you have already received and the additional tailored recommendations we will provide via different channels, e.g. by postal mail sent to your home address. It will be important, that you mail back your ballot immediately after you have received it.

Important:
Regardless, if you did request to have your ballot sent to your home address or any other address, you may consider the following as of February 27th:

If you return from or leave on a rotation between 08.00 and 17.00 local time, Monday to Friday, you may go to Human Resources (map) to cast your votes there. This is possible, even if your ballot has already been sent, as your roster may have changed or could be changed in a way, which would prevent you from returning your ballot before the electoral office will close on March 12th. By doing so you can guarantee that your votes will be counted. Additionally, the ALPL Office staff is available to assist you in mailing back your ballot.

The ALPL office is available 24/7 between February 28th and March 12th, to assist you in returning your ballot. Please call the hotline at +352 42 23 30 to make sure that we can serve you, especially if you consider passing by the ALPL office outside of business hours, which are Monday to Friday 08.00 to 17.00.

Should you experience any problems please get in touch with us immediately at +352 42 23 30.

Click here for a high-resolution flyer, showing how to cast your votes correctly and how to handle your ballot. A short video clip showing the same will be published soon.

Dirk Becker No Comments

Delegation Election 2024 – Postal Voting

As required by the applicable regulations Cargolux published the official announcement of the Delegation Election on the company’s intranet on Friday, February 9th. Additionally, an email will be sent to all employees today, Monday, February 12th, announcing the election.

Even though we as pilots are automatically foreseen for postal voting we strongly recommend that you register for postal voting in any case. We therefore ask you to WAIT until the March roster period has been published on 16 February 2024 before requesting postal voting. Waiting with your request will allow your ALPL Board to provide you with important and up-to-date information, including detailed recommendations how to request postal voting, how to receive your ballot papers and how to cast your votes considering your roster. This information will be published by your ALPL Board on 16 February.

There will be plenty of time to request and receive your ballot as Human Resources will not be able to send out or make ballot papers available for postal voting before February 27th, due to the very strict timelines mandated by the applicable regulations.

In the meantime we recommend that you have a look at the updated FAQs for the Delegation Election and Postal Voting. More information will follow.

In case you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at elections@alpl.lu. 

Dirk Becker No Comments

Delegation Election 2024 – Your Candidates

Like for the last elections, we are pleased to announce that we will be able to present a list of 32 pilots as candidates on the LCGB list. This list consists of experienced delegates and many new colleagues who are willing to represent your interest in the next five years.
 
Your ALPL Board strongly recommends that you cast all your 32 votes for the LCGB list as this is the most effective way to make use of your votes. Simply place a ‘X’ in the circle within the black square above List 1 on the ballot, as shown in this picture.

Each vote will count and will make a difference. The message is clear: VOTE!

Your ALPL Board

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Delegation Election 2024

This is the third in a series of emails providing you with information about the election of the staff delegation.

These elections will be important for you, as the outcome will directly impact your future working conditions, as the result of the delegation election will have a direct impact on future CWA negotiations! 

The Delegation Election
Like the current delegation, the next delegation at Cargolux will consist of 16 delegates and 16 substitute delegates, giving you a total of 32 votes to be casted in the upcoming delegation election.

We are pleased to announce that we will be able to present a list of 32 pilots as candidates on the LCGB list. This list will consist of experienced delegates and many new colleagues who are willing to represent your interest in the next five years. It is encouraging to see some new faces. The list will be published in the near future.

Who should you vote?
Your ALPL Board strongly recommends that you cast all your 32 votes for the LCGB list as this is the most effective way to cast all your votes. This will also avoid that important votes are lost by not making use of all your 32 and helps to avoid errors when marking the ballot. Please follow this link to learn how to mark the ballot to avoid errors and that your votes will be void.

History has shown that each vote counts! The result of 2019, with more than 46% for the LCGB list, was excellent and made only possible by our members going the extra mile to cast their votes. Only this result made it possible to sign a CWA in August 2019, which abolished the B-Scale and introduced improved working conditions for all pilots, and implement further improvements for all pilots in the CWA signed in late 2023.

The outcome of the election will have a direct impact on future CWA negotiations. Only if we as pilots show unity and vote this will send a strong signal that having adequate working conditions is essential. As we have shown in the CWA negotiations in 2019 and most recently in 2023, as Pilot Representatives we will certainly not act against any other employee group. However, the best option is to take our future in our own hands and not being dependent on anyone, who is not aware about the very specific needs of our profession.

How do I vote?
The delegation election will take place on March 12th, 2024. Due to the fact that changing schedules make it impossible for you to know if you will be able to vote in the electoral office in Luxembourg, as pilot you are entitled to cast your votes by postal voting. You can use postal voting regardless if you would be on off, vacation, rest days or away on a rotation, on standby or on reserve on election day. You are also entitled to cast your votes by postal voting if you would be on additional off- time due to your part-time contract. Simply put, as pilot you are permitted to vote by postal voting in any case!

You ALPL Board highly recommends that you register for postal voting. Details on how to register for postal voting, the different options how you may receive and return your ballot before the electoral office closes on March 12th, will be published soon. We kindly ask you to wait until this information and the additional information your ALPL Board will provide, has been published to register for postal voting.

The message is clear: VOTE and each vote will count and will make a difference!

Please also take note of the Knowtam “Social Elections 2024”, the FAQ regarding the Delegation Election (no login needed), the additional information available on www.alpl.lu in the section VOTE, the information previously published and all future publications.

More information about how to request postal voting, how to receive and return your ballot, how to cast your votes by postal voting and your candidates will be published soon. Please stay tuned and remember: Vote!