French ATC on strike on average once every 2 months in the last 7 years.

737max · 27-04-2016 09:33AM #1

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas/travel/german-and-french-strikes-jeopardise-european-airline-passengers-a7001881.html

How can pilots remain civil over the airwaves when speaking to French ATC.
Do the pilots and staff still get paid or suffer knock-on financial loss. Do the pilots get stranded away from their home base?
Are the French ATC even remotely apologetic for their behaviour?

With 44 days strikes it seems obvious that to strike is their first option every time, not the option of last resort.

Pat Dunne · 27-04-2016 11:22AM

737max wrote: »

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas/travel/german-and-french-strikes-jeopardise-european-airline-passengers-a7001881.html

How can pilots remain civil over the airwaves when speaking to French ATC.
Do the pilots and staff still get paid or suffer knock-on financial loss. Do the pilots get stranded away from their home base?
Are the French ATC even remotely apologetic for their behaviour?

With 44 days strikes it seems obvious that to strike is their first option every time, not the option of last resort.

Striking is part of French culture.

I see nothing wrong in Workers defending their terms and conditions of employment, provided they are fair, just and reasonable.

In my opinion the general trend of a race to the bottom in pay and conditions for employees is not a pleasant vista. Whereas in the corporate world Boards of Directors and Shareholders are threated like Demi-Gods and Workers are merely used as a commodity to increase share bonus dividends to institutional investors.

So what should be the general expectation, zero hours style contracts, or reasonable terms and conditions of employment?

the_syco · 27-04-2016 11:34AM

The controllers are unhappy about staffing and retirement arrangements, as well as the prospect of job losses with moves towards a “Single European Sky”.

Sounds like the "Single European Sky" will mean less of a reliance on French controllers. Thus they're striking over something that looks like it was put in place because of their striking?

737max · 27-04-2016 12:15PM

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Striking is part of French culture.

I see nothing wrong in Workers defending their terms and conditions of employment, provided they are fair, just and reasonable.

In my opinion the general trend of a race to the bottom in pay and conditions for employees is not a pleasant vista. Whereas in the corporate world Boards of Directors and Shareholders are threated like Demi-Gods and Workers are merely used as a commodity to increase share bonus dividends to institutional investors.

So what should be the general expectation, zero hours style contracts, or reasonable terms and conditions of employment?

Without using this as a pulpit for the sacred bovine that is the Union movement and with regard for the professional posters to this forum what is the effect of these actions on them in their daily working lives.
For passengers the effects are obvious; cancelled holidays or business trips and sometimes being stranded away from home.

Locker10a · 27-04-2016 08:37PM

Pat Dunne wrote: »

737max wrote: »

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas/travel/german-and-french-strikes-jeopardise-european-airline-passengers-a7001881.html

How can pilots remain civil over the airwaves when speaking to French ATC.
Do the pilots and staff still get paid or suffer knock-on financial loss. Do the pilots get stranded away from their home base?
Are the French ATC even remotely apologetic for their behaviour?

With 44 days strikes it seems obvious that to strike is their first option every time, not the option of last resort.

Striking is part of French culture.

I see nothing wrong in Workers defending their terms and conditions of employment, provided they are fair, just and reasonable.

In my opinion the general trend of a race to the bottom in pay and conditions for employees is not a pleasant vista. Whereas in the corporate world Boards of Directors and Shareholders are threated like Demi-Gods and Workers are merely used as a commodity to increase share bonus dividends to institutional investors.

So what should be the general expectation, zero hours style contracts, or reasonable terms and conditions of employment?

While your point is valid, and I tend to agree, striking almost every month kind of removes the Impact of action at all! If it was for a genuine concern and there was a valid strike fine....when it's every few weeks/months the cause is lost

27-04-2016 08:55PM

Locker10a wrote: »

While your point is valid, and I tend to agree, striking almost every month kind of removes the Impact of action at all! If it was for a genuine concern and there was a valid strike fine....when it's every few weeks/months the cause is lost

Except in the French workers cases it generally works. Hence why French workers have generally good conditions. Fair wax to the French for not rolling over and being tickled by the fat cats in their boardrooms. French economy also works very well even with all these strikes.

Stovepipe · 28-04-2016 06:21PM

I agree with Locker10a's point; too much striking reduces the impact of the act and essentially, the French economy is hamstrung by the "greve" attitude. The average French punter is stuck with it too, when the transport network goes into it's annual spasm.....Anecdotes I have heard about the sheer grief that strike-prone employees can cause to a company means that employers are stuck with **** employees and they are essentially unsackable, short of committing murder. It's not unknown for a company to effectively pay a recalcitrant employee to stay away, yet be on the books....I once landed at a small French airfield, very near Paris and there were five ATC employees in the Tower. It must have been lunchtime or smoke break or something because they refused to answer the radio after we had landed and we had to sort ourselves out. The local Flying Club looked after us and even they were fed up with local ATC's behaviour......European ATC has contingencies to deal with this by rerouting aircraft but it is an over all, pain in the arse.

Lemming · 28-04-2016 06:30PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Except in the French workers cases it generally works. Hence why French workers have generally good conditions. Fair wax to the French for not rolling over and being tickled by the fat cats in their boardrooms. French economy also works very well even with all these strikes.

Only it doesn't really work for French workers as a larger group, nor does it do the French economy any favours. Due to the strength of labour laws in France that are heavily in favour of the worker, a lot of employers are slow to hire people, so a lot of young French people end up on ****ty short term contracts, or unemployed. The French economy has also been stagnant for a very long time; at best sluggish. So yes, those union workers have done very well for themselves, but when you step back and look at the wider picture that is the French economy, they've f*cked over a great deal many other "workers" by pulling the ladder up after themselves.

Blut2 · 28-04-2016 06:33PM

On the one hand I completely respect the French work/life balance, and understand how important a role the ability (and willingness) to strike has played in achieving this. But jeese, a strike every 2 months seems excessive. If it was once every 2 years it might be more understandable. Especially when you consider how many innocent people's lives are thrown into chaos whenever French ATC strikes. At least in most private sector businesses the big loser from strikes only tends to be the company, or at most a few customers, not the wider public.

One more reason to be in favour of unified EU-wide ATC I guess.

French ATC on strike on average once every 2 months in the last 7 years.

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