RP3 Open letter to EU member States
Following the adoption of the new performance and charging regulation, the Commission is currently in the process of setting the targets for RP3. We have joined with the other PSOs in expressing our concern at the proposed targets. The targets are broadly more of the same that we saw in RP2 and will do nothing to ease the current capacity problems. The level of cost reduction required is worrying and we are having great difficulty in seeing just how capacity can be improved whilst making savings.
At the next Single Sky Committee meeting at the end of March, it is expected that the Member State representatives will vote on the proposed targets. We have, with the other PSOs, written to those state representatives expressing our concern and asking them to push for a modest rise in costs to help resolve the ongoing capacity problems.
Fair Transport Europe – Our Rights, Your Safety
Do you think that right to strike is a fundamental right for all workers?
The EU Commission is trying to blame air traffic management staff for flight delays and encourage countries to limit their right to strike. That’s not #FairTransport!
Strikes in air traffic management are not a major cause of delays, and workers strike to defend safety for all passengers. Anyway, this is an area where the EU has no power, so why are they interfering?
Today air traffic management staff are under attack, but tomorrow could be your turn. The right to strike must be protected. If you agree with us, sign this petition from ETF and ATCEUC here:
Change Management in the ATM Industry
In the framework of their joint social dialogue project entitled ‘Reinforcement of Social Dialogue in the field of Air Traffic Management’, the ATM Social Partners (ATCEUC, CANSO and ETF) jointly identified change management, the social impact of the introduction of new technologies and automation as key priorities for their future work.
The purpose of this paper is to define principles for the management of significant changes which will impact the company, management and staff and to outline guidelines for both managers and unions to enable the change management process to operate smoothly. It is recognised that any significant transformation programme will create people issues, involving changes to jobs, development of new skills and capabilities which will cause uncertainty and possible resistance.
Open letter to EU member states
The Professional Staff Organisations would like to take the opportunity to give our views on the ongoing process of the updating of the Single European Sky Performance and Charging Regulations.
The current PRB proposals for target setting and the last European Commission proposal on RP3 legislation leaves PSOs exasperated. We seriously question how these PRB recommendations and EC proposals can contribute to solve the current problems and to allow the safe and efficient flow of traffic in the European ATM system.
An urgent action plan is needed, with 2 fundamental pillars: providing sufficient safe capacity for summers 2019-2021 and recruiting sufficient Air Traffic Controllers, ATSEPs, needed for the implementation of SESAR technologies while maintaining legacy (existing) systems, and other expert ATM staff. This has to be properly supported by an appropriate performance framework that allows this to happen.
The PSOs turn to EU members states and call for them to be the guarantor of the integrity of the EU aviation sector by pushing for a swift and comprehensive recovery plan for the ATM industry and properly preparing for the medium-term future, involving all stakeholders.
We would urge member states to reject the current proposals.
Just Culture Toolbox
Following decades of innovation in systems, technologies, procedures and safety management systems, the improvement of safety in operations in modern day industries relies to a significant extent on a good safety culture. The role of the human is deservedly getting more and more attention to take advantage of the opportunities for safety improvements.
The single most important part of a good safety culture has been recognised as Just Culture. This is an atmosphere of trust where employees feel naturally inspired to call to attention safety risks, even when they themselves may be implicated in the discovery of that safety risk. However it is also clear that unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated.
It is this balance that results in the use of the word “Just”.
This document contains a set of guiding principles for implementing a Just Culture.
While many documents have been written about Just Culture, very few have actually addressed ‘how’ to achieve one. Achieving a Just Culture in any organisation is complex; it will generally take many years. The six air traffic management (ATM) partners for Just Culture (ATCEUC, CANSO, ETF, IFAIMA, IFATCA and IFATSEA) have developed a toolbox as a set of guiding principles that are universal and not limited to the aviation domain. Representing different actors of the organisational domain (employers, workers, professional staff organisations), it is believed that this guidance could be very valuable.
download Just Culture Toolbox Final
PSOs summary position paper on EC RP3 proposals on performance and charging regulation
The Commission has recently published a draft text for a new combined performance and charging regulation that will govern the SES Performance Scheme. It is anticipated that this regulation will be in place for RP3, that commences at the beginning of 2020. ETF together with the other staff associations, ATCEUC, IFATCA, IFASEA and IFAIMA have for the last year been inputting into various consultation forums as well as holding bilateral meetings with the European Commission to present the staff view and influence the drafting of the regulation.
On 29th May the Commission held a consultation workshop with Canso, Airspace users and Staff Associations together with members of the Single Sky Committee to gain initial feedback. This was supported with a presentation from the three stakeholder groups. The letter below summarises our main issues with the draft text, and these have been sent to the Commission and member state representatives.
The Commission took away much feedback from the meeting, and we will await the outcome of the Single Sky Committee meeting, and it is likely that a revised draft text will be produced in due course.EGHD Position Paper Proposed Changes to RP3 Performance and Charging Schemes
The Expert Group on the Human Dimension (EGHD) has been asked by the European Commission for a position paper on the future of the Performance and Charging scheme regulations. These regulations govern the performance scheme which regulates ATM providers on Safety, Cost, Capacity, and the Environment. The regulations are currently being revised and amended by the European Commission in advance of RP3 which starts on 1st Jan 2020. Over the last months and as briefed at our last meeting in Madrid this paper has been the topic of some discussion, but we have reached consensus and the final paper is published below. The EGHD is made up of the ATM Social Partners (ETF, ATCEUC and CANSO) and the staff professional organisations (IFATCA, IFATSEA and IFAIMA).
EGHD - RP3 Performance and Charging Schemes Position Paper
ATM Unions determined to defend the right to strike
Our Rights, Your Safety
The Air Traffic Controllers European Unions Coordination (ATCEUC) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) have launched today a campaign to oppose the European Commission will to shape and limit the Air Traffic Controllers(ATCOs)’ right to strike. Indeed, Commission encroaches the national sovereignty of Member States as the right to strike falls outside the scope of the Treaties.
The recommendations of the European Commission that are inside the Communication ‘Aviation: Open and Connected Europe (COM 2017) 286 final’ dated on 8 June 2017 significantly encroach the national sovereignty of Member States and contradict the Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which clearly states that the right to strike is excluded from EU competencies.
ETF and ATCEUC joint press conference
ETF and ATCEUC joint press conference to launch our new campaign:
On 20th November at the International Press Center in Brussels
Slideshow
