Cargolux

On 12 October 2022, Cargolux officially announced the order of 10 Boeing 777-8F aircraft to replace its fleet of Boeing 747-400Fs.

Since it is in the interest of all employees that these aircraft will be flown, maintained and administratively supported by Cargolux staff in Luxembourg within the framework of the existing CWA, LCGB and OGBL took the opportunity to publish a press release in this context.

Please click on below links to read the associated publications.

Communication from the Unions

Luxemburger Wort [DE]
Tageblatt [DE]
RTL [LU]
RTL Today [EN]
RTL 5 minutes [FR]
Le Quotidien [FR]

Please find below an update concerning

• HKG layovers and COVID restrictions
• A Farewell to Captain Alain Rodenbour 

HKG layovers and COVID restrictions
On 14 September 2022 Pilot Representatives met again with the CEO and VP Flight Operations to discuss the HKG layovers.

In this meeting we outlined again the necessity to better manage the distribution of HGK layovers within the pilot community and to make those more bearable by ensuring that the layover time is kept at a bare minimum. Additionally, we also asked Management to reconsider their attitude towards implementing an incentive for in-room confinement like some other carriers already did on a voluntary basis, but so far without any positive outcome. 

Since unsustainable layover conditions such as in-room confinement cannot be tolerated as part of our job as pilots, “operational hardships” with enforceable limitations and adequate compensation are part of the Union´s claims list in the current CWA negotiations.

Furthermore, we discussed the possibility to recommence normal layovers for vaccinated crews in GYD. In the latest CPO update, published on 02 October 2022, the requirements and implementation in this context have been communicated to the pilots and we welcome this move. We would also like to ask you to communicate your vaccination status to OHS to make sure you can benefit from it.

Besides, knowledge of the vaccination status of the vast majority of Cargolux pilots would enable the company to reintroduce normal layovers again at other destinations like SIN, to the benefit of us all and without any significant risks.

A Farewell to Captain Alain Rodenbour
On 12 September 2022 Alain Rodenbour returned from his last flight before retiring after a long airline career. Alain joined Cargolux in 1990 and became a member of our Association in the same year. In 2001 he was elected as a member of the Cargolux Divisional Board and served as the Board’s President from 2001 to 2004.

The Cargolux Divisional Board and the ALPL Executive Board presented Alain on this occasion with a certificate of appreciation expressing their sincere appreciation for his dedicated services as President of the Cargolux Divisional Board and his enduring support and commitment to the Association. We wish Alain all the best for his retirement!

On 29 September 2022 the third CWA negotiation meeting took place.

The morning of this day was used to discuss pilot related claims, focusing on one of the most important claim for our members, the Preferential Bidding System (PBS). The afternoon was then used to discuss ground staff related claims.

Following this meeting the Unions decided that it would be in the best interest of our members to repudiate the present CWA.

Please click on the image below below to watch the latest Debrief video providing some interesting insights into what has been discussed in this meeting and some brief information regarding the repudiation and what this means for our members.

On 13 September 2022 the second CWA negotiation meeting took place. Present on the table were both Unions together with their negotiation team and Management.

A common list of claims was presented to Management and discussed in detail whilst unfortunately Management deferred their claims to a later date.

The next meeting is scheduled on 29 September 2022 and two more days are envisaged and to be agreed upon for October 2022.

Please click on the link below to watch the latest Debrief video explaining the claims list of the pilots that was presented to Management by the Unions.

As some time passed by since the first meeting to negotiate a new Collective Work Agreement (CWA) on 15 July 2022, we invite you to watch the latest edition of Debrief.

In this edition we provide an update on what happened since the first meeting and some general information regarding CWA negotiations in Luxembourg.

We encourage you to watch this Debrief edition.

On 19^th August 2022, the two-step vacation bidding process for the year 2023 has started.

Due to better screen display and to avoid scaling problems, we recommend doing the bidding on a computer rather than on a tablet or smartphone.

To get the best possible result, it is important to keep a few basic things in mind:

• When placing your bids, be aware of your relative seniority and avoid putting your hopes on just a few preferential bids. Always have a plan B in mind and place additional alternative bids.
• Naturally, the demand for vacation days is highest during popular holiday periods, which may even affect pilots with a relatively high seniority. 
• Our experience has shown that separate blocks of vacation and off days have been regularly used to cover rest requirements.
• Do not rely on getting your A or B days attached to your vacation block at a later stage during the monthly off day bidding. There is no guarantee to get this request awarded and it depends furthermore on slot availability and planning restrictions.

For a better understanding of the system, we would like to mention the following:

• Vacation planning is an automatic process, whose result is heavily influenced by the way the individual pilot enters the bids.
• The system does neither know nor understand the motivation behind your request, it simply attempts to allocate your requested vacation days to open slots.
• Requesting vacation blocks starting only on a specific day bears the risk that your request gets discarded. Only one day without an open slot is enough that the system cancels your request completely and moves on to the next one. The system will not trim and shift the days automatically by itself, it requires your correct input when placing the bid.
• Using the new “minimum of x days” option enables you to give the system the required flexibility down to your lowest (minimum) day limit within a specific period.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via cvboard@alpl.lu.

Please find below an update regarding:

• Salary increase in August 2022
• Sickness on a Rotation
• Hotel issues in ANC

Salary increase in August 2022
We would like to inform you that as per the CWA 2020-2022 Art. 38.1., the salaries for all pilots will be increased by 1% as of 1 August 2022. The new salary should be displayed on your monthly pay slip for August 2022 and can be crosschecked with the tables in the CWA.

Sickness on a Rotation
In previous updates we already mentioned that colleagues who became sick or have been put into quarantine during a rotation did not receive a compensation as per CWA 36.16.2. and 36.16.3. respectively for arriving home late into their off days. In the absence of a clear and transparent procedure for sickness on a rotation, management unilaterally decided at the beginning of the year not to compensate these lost off days anymore.

We have escalated the issue with the Unions with the aim to secure and recover the affected off days if a pilot cannot spend these days at home and are glad to inform you that an Amendment to the CWA was signed on 21 July 2022.

For the first time at Cargolux there is now a procedure in place that adds clarity and transparency in case of sickness on a rotation and ensures that no off days are lost. 

Please click here to read the Amendment. 

Hotel Issues in ANC
Thanks to your continued reports the procedure of where to accommodate crews in case of the contracted hotel being overbooked has been reconsidered and changed as follows:

If the demand for accommodation exceeds the number of contracted rooms at the Sheraton, Travel Office Area 1 will book additional rooms at a higher rate or must book a different hotel based on availability for the whole duration of the planned layover.

Alternate suitable accommodations in order of preference with “walk in rate/rack rate” are: 

Marriott Hotel
Captain Cook
Hilton Hotel (refurbished Tower only)
Alyeska Resort Girdwood
Aloft Hotel as last recourse (6 rooms per night contracted)

To ensure that the new procedure is followed please check that if you are booked at the Aloft hotel as a last recourse, no vacancies are available for the whole duration of your planned layover at the other alternative suitable hotels. If so, please ask Crew Control about coordination for a rebooking and send a copy of the report to cvhotels@alpl.lu to enable us to readdress the issue with the relevant departments.

On 06 June 2022, the LCGB asked our members to be 100% compliant with the CWA and to withdraw the good will and flexibility until today, 26 July 2022.

We would like to thank all of you for your tremendous participation, support and loyalty, which is a strong sign of unity amongst the Cargolux pilot community. We are confident that with your help the message to management – THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER – was well delivered and received. We also had the opportunity to talk to management and to explain in detail the reasons why the campaign was launched.

Contrary to the original assumption that it was only about the HKG layovers, it was rather the negative developments in the work-life balance that developed in the last two years. The resumption of the layovers with in-room confinement in HKG was just the final straw.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic the pilot community carried an over proportional burden and risk. While the Unions tried to maintain a constructive dialogue to support management in its effort for business continuation, this cooperation however was never acknowledged nor rewarded. On the contrary, the shown flexibility and dedication by the pilots to go the so-called extra mile was taken for granted.

In addition, to maximize profits, we were unilaterally confronted with the introduction of a new rostering tool that was supposed to improve efficiency and productivity with the consequence of now being unable to plan our private lives anymore. Furthermore, we have seen violations of the CWA regarding crew hotels, compensation of late arrival at home base before a vacation period and the elimination of off days in case of late arrival after being sick or quarantined on a rotation.

“Business continuation” and “sustainability” are terms that are not only applicable to money, but also to the pilots as human beings.

In summary we would like to mention that we are proud and thankful to be backed up and supported by you, our members, when representing your interests! We will see, whether management really listened to us or if they continue to ignore the concerns of the pilot community.

Although the campaign turned out to be very effective and clearly showed to which extend management relies on the pilots´ flexibility and good will, not everything ran smoothly and not every member followed our guidelines and withdrew flexibility.

Having said this, we would like to mention that we are prepared to repeat the campaign anytime again, should it become necessary, e.g. during the negotiations. If so, we sincerely hope that all our members will support it.

Stay united and be ready for the negotiations!

On 15 July 2022 the negotiations for a new Collective Work Agreement (CWA) commenced.

Like in past negotiations we will use a combination of Debrief videos and emails to keep our members informed about the negotiations.

The first meeting is generally a more formal one in which management provided some financial and HR related information the Unions will need during the negotiations. Additionally it was discussed between management and the Unions how the negotiations will be organised, e.g., scheduling of meetings. No negotiations took place in this meeting.

We encourage you to watch this Debrief edition.

Please find below an update concerning  

• PBS
• Sickness on a rotation
• Late arrival at home base before a vacation period
• Hotel accommodation

PBS
On Friday, 08 July 2022, another working group meeting took place. The numbers presented to us show a slight increase of granted bids in July compared to previous months, which we also see in our data. Please continue to complete our monthly surveys as the data is now becoming more accurate and important for us when we compare it with the data provided by crew planning. However, the major concerns that have been identified remain. Those are: 

• Bidding for off days attached to vacation
• Bidding for one block of 12 off days
• Highlighting a bid of special importance as the “remarks” are not processed by the system 

Already in 04 April 2022 we sent a letter to Management to make them aware of these areas and that additional investments to tailor the software to include the required bidding options would be necessary. So far, we haven’t received a reply to this letter.  It was very disappointing and frustrating to hear in the last meeting, that apparently AIMS has no capacity for additional changes until at least December 2022. 

The question now is whether it still makes sense to use two different systems – AIMS for placing the bids and Jeppesen to process these bids and build the rosters – if implementations of tailored solutions for Cargolux depend on one or another provider and are not possible in a timely manner. We have pointed out our concerns and urged Senior Management to treat rostering and bidding as a priority topic.

Sickness on a rotation
As mentioned in our update on 28 March 2022, colleagues who became sick or have been put into quarantine during a rotation did not receive a compensation as per CWA 36.16.2. and 36.16.3. respectively for arriving home late into their off days. There have been very rare cases of pilots in the past who tried to benefit from the current rule over proportionally due to the absence of a clear and transparent procedure for sickness on a rotation. However, unfortunately this now triggered a change in how the company treats such cases. 

We have escalated the issue with the Unions and according to the described procedure in the CWA with the aim to secure and recover the affected off days if a pilot cannot spend these days at home and are currently working on an Amendment to the CWA, which adds clarity and transparency in case of sickness on a rotation and ensures that no off days are lost. 

Late arrival at home base before a vacation period
Also mentioned in our update on 28 March 2022 is a different application of CWA article 36.17.1.a)
This article specifically defines the compensation a pilot is entitled to in case of a late arrival at home base before a vacation period.

When this article was discussed in the negotiations, it was agreed that the supplement for overtime is to be applied for the purpose of calculating the compensation to be paid to the pilot as a “fine” for the company.

With Management´s decision to interpret this article in a different way than its original purpose, Management created a scenario where any pilot who already is working for more than 173 duty hours in a roster period and arrives late at home base before a vacation period is de facto not receiving any financial compensation as per article 36.17.1.a) Or, in other words, the pilot is paying this compensation out of his own pocket.

We have addressed this with Management and the Unions and were able to emphasize the original intention of this article. It was agreed to amend the text accordingly and add clarity in this context. Please click here to read the Amendment to the CWA, which was signed on 14July 2022.

Hotels
In the Hotel Committee Update sent on 05 July 2022, you received some information regarding booked hotels, which have not been inspected and suggested by the Hotel Committee as per the Cargolux Hotel Policy. Please read the latest letter that was sent to Management on 06 July 2022.

In this context we would like to remind you that in case 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 should consider:

• First, carefully evaluate your fitness to conduct your next flight. It is 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 and in the CWA 2020-2022, please also file a VR and send a copy to cvhotels@alpl.lu
• Without a copy of the reports you submit, the Hotel Committee has nothing in their hands to either find a solution in a dialogue with the relevant hotel or 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 sometimes is being ignored and that the well-functioning of this collaboration is undermined by lack of transparency and poor communication.

To summarize we would like to end on a positive note. Two important topics are about to be solved via agreed Amendments to the CWA, which makes us cautiously optimistic to be able to return to a cooperative dialogue with Management.

Other topics like the PBS, however, remain unsolved for the time being. Meanwhile, we want to thank you for your continued support and are confident that your unity and solidarity has sent the required message to Management. Please continue to show this unity and follow our guidelines until 26 July 2022.