Air Pilot No. 1 2018

NO. 1 | 2018

AIR PILOT

FATIGUE RULES SUBMISSION, 73RD ANNUAL IFALPA CONFERENCE & AVERTING INDUSTRIAL ACTION

The Journal of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots

AIR PILOT CONTENTS// 4

THE PRESIDENT’S VIEW

FEATURES 5 STILL FLYING AT 94 The Journal of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots NO. 1 | 2018 EDITORIAL STAFF Editor: Emma Young Assistant Editor: Abbey Minogue Contributors: David Booth, Marcus Diamond, David Kelly, Cate Larkins, Patrick Larkins, James Lauchland, Simon Lutton, Simon Miller, Andrew Molnar, Julian Smibert, David Stephens, Joseph Wheeler, Emma Young

9

NEGOTIATION NEWS

20 FATIGUE RULES REVIEW 29 UNRULY PASSANGERS 32 NEW APPROACHES 39 THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER SUPPORT FOR PILOTS

14 THE WOMEN’S NETWORK

36 WELFARE 37 MBF

20

T +61 3 9928 5737 F +61 3 9699 8199 ADMIN@AFAP.ORG.AU WWW.AFAP.ORG.AU

COUNCIL REPORTS 6

All suggestions, ideas, articles and advertisements are welcome.

10 IFALPA

34 NEW WINGS

AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION OF AIR PILOTS 4/132-136 ALBERT RD SOUTH MELBOURNE VIC 3205

SEND TO AIR PILOT

REGULARS

20 TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

Designed by: Emma Young & Abbey Minogue

Email abbey@afap.org.au if you would like to contribute to Air Pilot.

10

9

EASTERN & SUNSTATE FEDERATION

8 JETSTAR FEDERATION 12 TIGER FEDERATION 16 VIRGIN FEDERATION 19 COBHAM FEDERATION 25 REX FEDERATION 26 NATIONAL FEDERATION 30 HELICOPTER FEDERATION

6

The views expressed in this magazine in any article, letter or advertisement are not necessarily those of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots.

AIR PILOT reserves the right to reject any advertisement it deems not to be in good taste or adverse to air pilots, the AFAP, its interests or policies.

The attention of advertisers is drawn to the section of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and the provisions in the Act which apply to advertising. It is not possible for the Federation or Publisher to ensure that advertisements that are published in this magazine comply in all respects with the Act and the responsibility must therefore be on the person, company or advertising agency submitting the advertisement for publication.

All original material produced in this magazine remains the property of the Publisher and cannot be reproduced without authority. No responsibility is accepted for incorrect information contained in advertisements or editorials.

AFAP PRINCIPAL OFFICERS// President, Capt David Booth (Virgin Australia)

VP Admin & Finance, Capt Louise Pole (Sunstate)

Senior Trustee, Capt George Brown (Sunstate)

VP Membership, Capt Ben Bollen (Jetstar)

Trustee, Capt Rob Nicholson (Rossair)

Technical Director, Capt Peter Gardiner (Jetstar)

Welfare Director, Capt Matthew O’Keeffe (RFDS)

Trustee, Capt Bryan Murray (Virgin Australia)

AFAP STAFF// Executive Director, Simon Lutton

Operations Manager, Joanne Janes

Senior Industrial/Legal Officer, Deanna Cain

Senior Industrial Officer, David Stephens

Senior Industrial/Legal Officer, Patrick Larkins

Senior Industrial Officer, James Mattner

Senior Industrial Officer, James Lauchland

Legal Counsel, Andrew Molnar

Aviation Legal Counsel, Joseph Wheeler

Industrial Officer/Welfare Coordinator, Cate Larkins

Industrial Advisor, David Kelly

Industrial Advisor, Simon Miller

Marketing & Comms Manager, Emma Young

Marketing & Comms Coordinator, Abbey Minogue

Safety & Technical Officer, Capt Marcus Diamond

Safety & Technical Officer, Capt Julian Smibert

Office Manager, Ray Aspinall

Membership Officer, Sophie Isaacs

Finance Officer, Lennie Kovac

Safety & Technical Officer Capt. Lachlan Gray

NO. 1 | 2018 3

the

PRESIDENT’S VIEW//

Captain David Booth Dear Members,

As President of the AFAP and a working commercial pilot I am acutely aware of the challenges being faced

by Australian pilots. Globally, we are not alone as pilots around the world face industry cost pressures, atypical employment models and 24/7 media scrutiny. This edition of Air Pilot highlights some of the recent challenges faced by all of us on the regulatory, political and industrial fronts.

On the regulatory front, on 24 April 2018 the AFAP provided a very detailed submission in response to CASA’s Independent Review of Australian Fatigue Rules for Operators and Pilots (2018). The AFAP supported 15 of the 24 recommendations made in the report, however we did express concern and/or cautioned that some of the recommendations are inappropriate to the Australian aviation industry. In broad terms, the areas of concern include: the review’s reliance on benchmarks against international averages rather than best practice (such as ignoring the ICAO SARPS); that scientific data has largely been overlooked, including a specific definition of ‘window of circadian low’; and a preference for commercial interests allowing adjustments to previously defined limits in CAO48.1 Appendicies 1 to 6. In addition to making comment on the review recommendations, we also made our own recommendations to CASA. I give my thanks to our AFAP Safety and Technical team for providing this comprehensive analysis.

There is no greater safety and regulatory issue for contemporary Australian pilots than appropriately regulating, managing and enforcing our fatigue levels and associated rules. There is a copy of our full submission on the AFAP website and I urge all members to read it.

On the political front, we recently received notice that various Qantas Group companies intend on making an application to the Department of Home Affairs for a labour agreement. A labour agreement is an arrangement to attract overseas workers beyond the two-year period provided for via temporary skill shortage visas (the old s457 visas). Needless to say we do not support this Band-Aid solution to attract overseas pilots to Australia using the lure of permanent residency.

The matter of the alleged ‘pilot shortage’ needs to be managed in a comprehensive and measured fashion. There are steps that can be made by operators on a variety of fronts that will ameliorate the current problems and lead to a sustained solution. The use of a labour agreement is not one of these steps. Our suggestion is for all the relevant stakeholders to sit down and discuss a sustained solution to this complex situation. The matter is further discussed in the Sunstate and Eastern Council Reports and a full copy of our detailed submission in response to the application is available to members upon request via simon@afap.org. au.

Finally, on the industrial front, I particularly want to note and commend the work of our pilot representatives and associated industrial staff at Tigerair. It has been a long and difficult negotiation involving protected industrial action – a step we never take lightly. At the time of print the matter was ongoing but I remain hopeful of a reasonable negotiated settlement. The AFAP is a party to around 50 pilot agreements. In most cases we manage to find a resolution.

As highlighted in this edition of Air Pilot the challenges being faced by each of you are constant and on multiple fronts. The best protection against these challenges is being part of and building a strong, unified and professional pilot federation.

Safe flying!

Yours sincerely

Captain David Booth

4

Air Pilot

STILL FLYING AT 94

AFAP’s 32nd President, David Booth, sits down to speak with AFAP’s 19th President, Bert Smithwell.

Albert (‘Bert’) Smithwell began flying during the Second World War when he enlisted in the Air Force as soon as he turned 18 years old. This was the beginning of a long and very successful career for Bert, as he completed training at Narrandera on Tiger Moths and Wirraways before spending a year at Sale towing targets. From there he qualified on Kitty Hawks and joined the 82 Squadron at Noemfoor, going through Morotai across to Labuan and Borneo just before the war ended.

At the conclusion of the war, Bert was employed by Qantas where he spent 30 years. He flew the DC3, DC4 and Lockheed Electra’s before Qantas brought in the B707. As Bert commented, “the 707 wasn’t an easy airplane to transition onto. It was demanding. A beautiful thing to fly, built like a tank, but it required really good training.” This was at a time when basic simulators were just coming into use.

DAWN OF THE JET AGES After flying the 707, Bert transitioned to the iconic 747 that had a developed simulator for training.

When asked about what being on an early 747 was like, Bert remarked, “it performs, it does exactly what it says it will do and it is just a beautiful airplane to fly.

The difference in the approach side is quite significant to the 707. Flight heights and what not are quite different.”

During this time Bert was an active member of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and became President in March 1968, a position he held for two terms.

LOOKING AFTER PILOTS IN AUSTRALIA When asked about his first term as P re s i d e n t o f A FA P , B e r t re f le c te d , “Our purpose was to look after pilots in Australia. All pilots. Even from the most humble blokes doing ag work, or instructing

or what not, to those that flew 747s. All were equal.”

With the mindset o f p r o te c t i n g a l l p i lo t s , Bert was also passionate about protecting pilots i n te r n a t i o n a l ly. S p e a k i n g on his achievements and proudest moments whilst President of the AFAP, Bert says “We went to IFALPA and instituted the procedures to get higher security on the airplanes when, in the 60’s, hijacking was becoming a great problem and nothing was being done by the world governments.”

It took the Australian representation at IFALPA to move a resolution that until gove r n m e n t s a c r o s s t h e world took action, all pilots would stop flying for 24 hours (except for emergency flying). This threat received the desired response from governments. So much so that Bert was asked to join the Australian Government delegation at ICAO, to help formulate ideas on security improvement.

1981 “ I t wa s a s a d d ay, ” B e r t remarks about the separation of the Qantas pilots from

the Federation. Retired by then, but still very engaged with the industry, Bert strongly believed that the removal of Qantas pilots from the Federation weakened both unions.

“United you stand, divided you fall,” he says. When asked about any final comments in regards to the AFAP, Bert urged, “I would just ask that you make every effort to get the Qantas blokes back in the fold.”

2018 Bert is now 94 years old, but that is hardly slowing him down or keeping him on the ground. After his wife of 66 years passed away a few years ago, he found “a real old man’s airplane,” and decided to fly around Australia.

Bert spent 100 hours flying across Australia. A few of the places he flew to were Cooktown and Mataranka because he has a keen interest in Captain Cooks’ navigation and because of the book We of the Never Never, which he read as a child.

The AFAP would like to say a special thanks to Bert Smithwell for his years of dedication to the AFAP and for taking the time to speak with us. You can find more information about Bert’s presidency i n t h e A FA P h i s to r y b o o k A Federation of Pilots: The Story of an Australian Air PIlots’ Union.

NO. 1 | 2018 5

EASTERN & The Eastern and Sunstate Pilot Federation committees are continuing to battle issues on multiple fronts.

EASTERN The Eastern Pilot group has undergone significant changes in recent years, with many young and eager pilots joining the group. This has seen the council go through a number of changes. There are several new faces on the council in either elected or ex-official roles, and their eagerness to assist the pilot group is appreciated.

Rostering issues continue to be a problem. The addition of several new faces to the rostering build team has bought new challenges. The lack of understanding from the Company around lifestyle and rostering provisions in the EA is an area rostering reps are keen to address. Some key areas of concern are: lack of paired days off, the number of simulator support duties, the rules around paxing after a sim and the following day’s operations.

SUNSTATE Certain issues such as meals, accommodation and rostering are perennials. The Sunstate Pilot Committee is working hard to ensure that standards across these areas are defended and maintained. This is a never-ending task.

This is a never-ending task. In recent months there have been many meetings with management over such things as rostering and meals in New Zealand. The Committee has also pressed the need for various hotel inspections.

ENTERPRISE NEGOTIATIONS In the lead-up to the next round of negotiations, the Sunstate and Eastern Pilot Councils have been communicating more effectively than ever.

Interestingly, for the first time, both enterprise agreements expire at the same time and a more coordinated approach to negotiations seems likely. More and more the Eastern and Sunstate operations have evolved into one QantasLink operation. Pilots operate under the same AOC, fly the same aircraft, and have the same management structure and the same operating procedures. They train together and cross-crew. The AFAP considers that any distinction between them is artificial.

ROSTERING The company is pushing to introduce the Jeppesen Rostering system into the QantasLink Group. It will be a fundamental shift away from current rostering practices, which are semi-automated, to a fully automated roster build. A few obstacles will need to be overcome before the councils are happy to approve this, with discussions ongoing.

On 8 May 2018 the ongoing rostering issues were discussed with Qantas management in a high level crisis meeting in Brisbane.

‘PILOT SHORTAGE’ Also affecting the QantasLink group is the alleged ‘pilot shortage’. It is beyond doubt that, like other regional airlines and large general aviation operators, the current recruitment of pilots into Qantas mainline, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and overseas jet airlines is putting significant pressure on the pilot training pipeline at operators such as QantasLink. Regional and GA companies simply cannot train pilots as quickly as they are losing them. The situation is further exacerbated when some of the pilots they lose are check and training pilots.

L-R: Captain Rod Millroy (Chairman, Sunstate Pilot Council), John Gissing (CEO, QantasLink), Captain Jarrod Blaker (Sunstate Pilot Rostering Rep), Charlie Lambie (Head of Workforce Planning), Captain Ben Davis (Sunstate Pilot Rostering Rep), Simon Lutton (Executive Director, AFAP), Ian Oldmeadow (Qantas IR), Captain Russell Thompson (Vice-Chair, Sunstate Pilot Council) and Captain Adrian Young (Chief Pilot, QantasLink).

6

This rapid turnover has led to discussions of measures to improve pilot retention at QantasLink. The pilot group was awaiting news of what this retention package may be when on 29 March 2018 (immediately before Good Friday) Qantas sprang a surprise on the group with the announcement of an application to the Department of Home Affairs for a labour agreement – a process whereby overseas pilots could be offered positions into Eastern, Sunstate and Network beyond the two-year horizon of the current temporary skills shortage visas (previously known as s457 visas). Following feedback from the pilot group, the AFAP made a detailed submission in response to the Qantas Group companies proposed labour agreement application.

Air Pilot

SUNSTATE Pilot Federation

AFAP RESPONSE TO QANTAS GROUP LABOUR AGREEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The current problems being faced by the Qantas Group companies, particularly Sunstate, Eastern and Network, need to be managed in a comprehensive and measured fashion. There are steps that can be taken by Qantas on a variety of fronts that will ameliorate the current problems and lead to a sustained solution. The use of a labour agreement is not one of these steps. The AFAP does not support the application for a labour agreement for the following reasons: 1.

The nature of Australian pilot recruitment is cyclical.

2.

The number of Australian ATPL holders, commercial pilot licence holders and pilots in training supports that there are sufficient Australian pilots to fill the current positions within Australian airlines and large general aviation/charter operators.

3.

The current situation was foreseeable by the Qantas Group companies and, in large part, contributed to by the Qantas Group companies.

4.

The Qantas Group companies need to focus on strategies that build and maintain their training capacity within the affected Qantas Group companies.

5.

The Qantas Group companies have not sufficiently explored measures to sustainably attract and retain Australian pilots. They have instead consciously chosen to pay pilots the least possible amount and only make retention measures short-lived and late notice.

6.

There are steps in regard to career progression that the Qantas Group companies should explore ahead of a labour agreement. Providing a structured career pathway (via ‘ghost numbers’ or a similar structure) into Qantas mainline and/or Jetstar will enable the Qantas Group companies to hold onto skilled pilot resources in the regional and charter airlines for a longer period of time and thereby manage the situation.

7.

With targeted improvements, particularly to the current pilot rostering system, there are many Australian pilots who will stay or be attracted to the regional and charter pilot lifestyle.

8.

Just as the Sunstate and Eastern operations have evolved to become one QantasLink operation, the restrictions and inequities inherent in two separate pilot lists should be evolved to become one QantasLink pilot list.

9.

A labour agreement will significantly increase pilot disenchantment within the Qantas Group companies.

10. There are recent regulatory changes, such as the changes to CASR Part 61, which have exacerbated the current restrictions in the pilot training pipeline.

Instead of pursuing a labour agreement, we would like to sit down with Qantas Group management and all the relevant stakeholders to discuss a sustained solution to this complex situation.

At the time of print, Qantas management had indicated its willingness to sit down together to discuss the issues in a holistic manner, however the meeting date had not yet been set. Similarly, announcements in relation to the pilot retention package had not yet been made.

Regardless of the outcome, the upcoming round of negotiations is shaping up to be a very interesting one.

The Eastern and Sunstate pilot agreements expire at the end of the year with undertakings to commence bargaining six months before then.

NO. 1 | 2018 7

JETSTAR Pilot Federation

Since the last edition of Air Pilot, there has been a great deal of activity at Jetstar. Captain Jeremy Schmidt has been appointed as the new permanent Chief Pilot, replacing Captain Georgina Sutton. Also of note is the internal restructure of Jetstar’s human resources and industrial relations areas. This means that your AFAP representatives have been dealing with a relatively new management group.

Several issues have arisen in relation to compliance with the Jetstar EBA. These continue to prove challenging to resolve. Of note are your AFAP representatives’ work on the provision of suitable meals on the wide body, and the rate at which annual leave is deducted in relation to ad hoc annual leave.

Also of importance is the status of Jetstar pilots who are on leave without pay while working for overseas Jetstar operators. Jetstar has sought to restrict the way these pilots are able to bid for positions when they return to Jetstar. Pilots within this group have been treated inconsistently, which has created confusion and ambiguity.

Although it is disappointing that Jetstar management continues to disagree on what should be relatively simple matters to resolve, your AFAP representatives continue to press for common sense in compliance with your Jetstar EBA. On a positive note, the AFAP has received confirmation that Jetstar has successfully set up a bulk billing facility for MBF Loss of Licence. It will commence from the MBF’s renewal period in May 2018. There will be some implementation steps that pilots will have to take and the AFAP will communicate with Jetstar members regarding the procedures that will need to be followed should

they wish to utilise the new bulk billing facility. The AFAP has been lobbying for a bulk billing facility at Jetstar for quite some time, so we are very pleased that at last a simpler system for Jetstar members is available.

You will have also seen a new initiative from your Jetstar Pilot Federation - the update to frequently asked questions (FAQ) about compliance with your EBA. Where we receive common questions about topics arising under the EBA, such updates will be an excellent and efficient way to communicate the AFAP’s answers to the broader pilot member group. Of course, if pilots have any questions arising from an FAQ, they should contact the AFAP. Finally, although it seems like only yesterday that the Fair Work Commission approved the current EBA, it is fast approaching the time to commence negotiations for a new EBA. With the nominal expiry date of the current EBA being 21 April 2019, the AFAP wants to be fully prepared well prior to this date.

Accordingly, plans are already underway to organise the best way to obtain the views of its Jetstar members and formulate what we want to see in the new EBA. We will keep our members posted on developments in this area.

8

Air Pilot

TAKING NEGOTIATION TRAINING TO AFAP MEMBERS The AFAP has long understood the importance of providing negotiation training to pilots who are embarking on bargaining with their employers.

To assist and prepare pilot rep members, the AFAP runs a biannual negotiation course for members interested in further developing their negotiation skills. The course is facilitated by AFAP Industrial Officers in different cities across Australia and is for members who want to represent their pilot group in enterprise bargaining with their employer.

The next Negotiation Training Course will be held in Cairns on 21 August 2018. Watch out for further information and registration details to be provided in the near future.

AFAP NEGOTIATION SKILLS ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

hour simulation/role-play session, where teams of ‘management reps’ and ‘pilot reps/unions’ were under a time constraint to finalise an agreement and to do so under very strict negotiation guidelines.

T h e s e m i n a r c a p t u re d t h e dichotomy of roles and experiences pilots must feel coming from the flight deck to the bargaining table.

The flight deck represents precision, certainty and clarity, whereas the bargaining table is laden with uncertainty, ambiguity and shades of grey. The objective is to bring that order to the table. It is only when we near the end of bargaining that we get to see it all come together and, when it does, it so often comes together quickly.

The course was run by IFALPA instructor stalwart Ken Cooper, a p r i n c i p le d eve lo p e r o f t h e training curriculum, Ana McAhron Schultz, Director of the ALPA Economic and Financial Analysis

Department, and Captain Chris Beebe, General Secretary of three of the unions representing the Cathay Pacific pilots and Hong Kong ALPA. Also attending as an observer was Captain Jack Nekstar, IFALPA Executive Vice President Professional and Government Affairs.

Pilot reps came mostly from Hong Kong, but also from Cathay Pacific Australia, as well as pilots from various operators/airlines throughout Singapore, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.

At the end of the seminar, David was asked to provide feedback on the seminar and to consider what ongoing role he could play as a volunteer instructor for the international course. This exposure internationally will undoubtedly benefit the AFAP’s ability to provide relevant and enhanced negotiation training to our members.

In a unique opportunity for the AFAP, Senior Industrial Officer David Stephens was invited by IFALPA to attend and observe the IFALPA Negotiation Seminar held over 17–19 April in Hong Kong, hosted by Hong Kong ALPA. With the support of the AFAP Executive and Executive Director Simon Lutton, David responded to a request from IFALPA for expressions of interest to act as a Volunteer Instructor/Trainer in the IFALPA negotiation skills training program. The program is aimed at providing pilot reps the basic skills and knowledge in negotiating enterprise/collective agreements.

The seminar covered a wide range of topics including strategic p l a n n i n g , e c o n o m i c a n a ly s i s , t h e n e go t i a t i o n p r o c e s s a n d dimensions of bargaining, decisionmaking, industrial action, and communication strategies. The seminar concluded with a five-

David Stephens with the IFALPA Negotiations Instructors, from L–R Jack Nekstar (observer), Ana McAhron Schultz, Ken Cooper, David, and Chris Beebe.

David Stephens has been a Senior Industrial Officer with the AFAP since 2006 and has had carriage of numerous enterprise agreement negotiations including Helicopter Council, Cobham Council, several National Council, including Network Aviation, Skippers Aviation, Airwork and others, as well as QantasLink and the inaugural Tiger Airways Agreement.

NO. 1 | 2018 9

73 ANNUAL IFALPA CONFERENCE RD

Captain David Booth, AFAP President

In March, the 73rd Annual IFALPA Conference was hosted by the Airline Pilots Association of Luxembourg (ALPA) in Luxembourg City. I was honoured to attend representing AusALPA and the AFAP. The highlight of the conference was undoubtedly the establishment of the Ryanair Pilot Group, an association of Ryanair pilots from various European bases.

This is the first time in its history that Ryanair has agreed to officially recognise a union body.

Following is a summary of the keynote presentations from the conference.

IFALPA PRESIDENT’S REPORT – CAPTAIN RON ABEL Captain Abel outlined three priority strategic goals: 1. Safety is top priority.

2. Ensure our workplace remains secure.

3. Transnational airline developments are a major challenge.

Captain Abel highlighted the healthy operating surplus currently generated to fund the Federation’s activities. He acknowledged the Ryanair Pilot Group and the work done by numerous member associations to finally achieve union recognition by Ryanair management.

GLOBAL AIRLINE ALLIANCES Speakers from McGill University discussed the history of protectionism to deregulation in the 1990s with airline alliances forming ‘metal neutral joint ventures’ and the introduction of ‘government-backed megacarriers’ such as Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Examples of ‘metal neutral joint ventures’ include the Air Canada/ Lufthansa/United venture and the Air France/KLM/Delta venture.

The goal is to expand networks, create operating efficiencies and deliver consumer benefits. In order to achieve this, companies need to have anti-trust immunity (ACCC approval in the Australian context).

Despite the global influence of joint ventures, they do not exist as legal entities – they have no CEO, no board of directors and no internal governance. The ‘metal neutral joint venture’ thus enjoys full traffic rights on all routes due to 3rd and 5th freedom rights under the Chicago Convention.

These entities do not care which c a r r i e r yo u a re o n a n d o f fe r huge choice for consumers by siphoning up hundreds of city pairs and connections through legacy domestic and regional carriers.

This market access is denied to the ‘government-backed megacarriers’.

Other features of joint ventures include revenue and occasionally profit sharing. Growth in China is the biggest market outside of the USA, however the Chinese government only allows one state carrier per route within the USA. With a $ 2 0 0 m i nve s t m e n t , A m e r i c a n Airlines have formed an alliance with China Southern.

THE SAGA OF ATYPICAL PILOT EMPLOYMENT First Officer Mark Keane was formerly an employee of several low-cost European carriers using at y p ic al e m p loy m e n t m o d el s .

Now working for a legacy carrier, Mark stressed that atypical pilot employment is growing and ‘coming to an airport near you’. This means 10

Air Pilot

IFALPA CONFERENCE younger pilots are being attacked on both a cost and social basis.

Pilot debt of up to 150,000 euros leads to pilots accepting contracts, despite unfavourable terms. The Ryanair pilots’ movement was not driven solely by the desire for higher pay, but rather by a fundamental desire for a just culture and fairer management practices.

The Ryanair Pilot Group was a grassroots movement. The European Cockpit Association and BALPA worked in the background while pilots built a social media movement to form the association. Over 4,000 pilots across 80 bases used Facebook, Whatsapp and Slack to connect, resulting in Ryanair declaring they would recognise pilot unions on 15 December 2017.

IFALPA Conference 2018 concluded with the following statement: The global pilot community supports the common and transnational efforts of the Ryanair Pilots in their quest for fair and equitable terms and conditions and secure, stable employment.

The 73rd IFALPA Conference calls on Ryanair management to respect this wish of its pilots and to enter into fair and meaningful negotiations.

The AFAP congratulates the Ryanair Pilots for their victory in their long fight for union recognition.

PILOT PUBLIC RELATIONS Mr Aedrian Bekker, Organisational Psychologist from ORConsulting, outlined what public relations value pilots can add for their employers and the profession.

Pilots are figures of authority and have a large psychological commitment to passengers.

Pilots have a huge impact in the customerfocused industry and are valuable brand assets.

Pilots score consistently well in customer satisfaction surveys. This is usually increased in times of disruption. Survey evidence shows pilots can have a huge mitigating influence during delays with the use of public announcements (PAs). There is no textbook on how to make effective PAs and no research exists, however they remain an important tool to interact with customers. On every sector, a pilot has the chance to interact with at least one passenger. This does not take a lot of effort but can add up to a sizeable positive influence over the course of time.

Pilots are figures of authority and have a large psychological commitment to passengers. Pilots have a huge impact in the customer-focused industry and are valuable brand assets.

Survey evidence also shows that ‘small stuff matters’; the smaller, discretionary efforts for passengers produce larger satisfaction scores. That is unprompted and unsolicited actions by airline staff, but without going overboard with spontaneity.

Pilots (and cabin crew) must recognise windows of opportunity, for example at times of disruption or customers in need.

OTHER CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS Alexander De Juniac, Director General and CEO of IATA, addressed the conference. IATA member airlines and companies achieved $38b in earnings in 2017, resulting in the fourth year where earnings have exceeded the cost of capital for the industry as a whole. Historically this is the exception, not the rule.

On behalf of IATA, Mr Juniac thanked delegates for the efforts of pilots to keep the industry safe. He discussed the emergence of new technology and that innovation is key.

Commercial aviation has always placed us at the leading edge compared with other industries, however there are signs that other industries are now more advanced. He discussed that drones/RPAS are a good example of an opportunity for innovation.

EAMONN BRENNAN – DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EUROCONTROL Forty-one member states comprise Eurocontrol, the coordinating body for state Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs).

European ATC is extremely complicated with this mix of ANSPs. Eamonn Brennan discussed the main issues driving safety and the capacity in European ATC. Mr Brennan highlighted the following factors as standouts in the European ATC framework: 1. Airfares 65% lower over the last 20 years.

2. More city pairs now or point to point, instead of hubs.

3. Low fuel price has unleashed significant profitability.

4. Air traffic dominated by the A320 and B737.

Recently there have been shifts in passenger demands. While Europe has reached a mature stage, growth in Asia has and will continue to be substantial due to the growing middle class.

European ATC is heading for saturation with approximately 35,000 flights per day, which will grow to 56,000 per day in 2035. At that point the system will be overloaded. To cope, concepts such as ‘Light Air Taxi’ passenger drones are under development. The challenge with large RPAS is determining whether ATC controls them or whether they should operate on a ‘sense and avoid system’.

NO. 1 | 2018 11

TIGERAIR Pilot Federation Negotiations for the next Tigerair EBA commenced in December 2016 and progressed reasonably well for the first six months or so.

Unfortunately, bargaining stalled in the second half of last year due to a number of factors, including the Company insisting that any salary increases must be funded by efficiencies/savings from the pilot group, the continued rejection of key AFAP claims, and the failure to table a remuneration offer despite repeated requests.

The lack of progress reached a tipping point in February this year when it became clear that nothing significant could be achieved without escalating to Protected Industrial Action (PIA).

PIA BALLOT The AFAP lodged the necessary paperwork with the Fair Work Commission in early March, which was followed by an online ballot conducted by Elections Australia.

Of the 190 Tigerair pilots under the EBA, 75% are AFAP members. Pleasingly, over 90% of those members voted in favour of all actions.

In consultation with the AFAP, the other unions initiated an identical ballot application which was also successful, meaning that over 90% of the pilot group were covered for PIA. Incidentally, following the start of the PIA ballot (and after over year of meetings) Tigerair finally made a remuneration offer.

COMPANY RESPONSE TO PIA BALLOT Immediately following our PIA ballot being declared, the AFAP was contacted by Tigerair management with an offer to meet with Executive management, including the incoming CEO Merren McArthur, in an attempt to progress the outstanding critical issues. Importantly, this occurred in the week before Easter, which may have been a factor in the subsequent movement from the Company.

Specifically, the Company made an improved offer in return for our agreement to defer any PIA until after Easter.

NOTIFICATION OF PIA

The disappointing response from the Company left the AFAP with little choice but to formally notify Tigerair that PIA would commence on Friday 4 May and run through until Sunday 6 May. Pleasingly, with only two days until this PIA was due to start, the parties were able to reach in-principle agreement on the key outstanding remuneration claims, and the PIA was called off.

At the time of writing, parties were still working through the details of the agreement, and are hopeful it will be put to the pilot group for a vote soon. We expect to provide a more comprehensive summary in the next edition of Air Pilot, however some of the key features include: •

an increase in the overtime trigger from 55 to 60 hours per month, with commensurate increase in base salary to compensate for lost overtime;

•

a retention bonus being built into base salary (approx. $11,000 for Captains and approx. $7500 for First Officers)

•

4 x salary increases of 2.5% over 3.5 years (instead of 4 years), leading to a base salary for Captains of $209,000 on commencement and $225,070 at the end of the agreement.

•

staggered annual increases in the hourly overtime rate, reaching $205 at the end of the agreement (currently $150.75).

•

a uniform credit of $600 per year, a transport/ parking allowance of $1000 per year, and access to full Virgin staff travel.

The negotiating team are very pleased with the support we received from the pilot group, however it is disappointing that management took such a hard line in these negotiations. Especially when it took a much more reasonable position in other recent Virgin Group pilot negotiations.

While this may have been a good early sign that Ms McArthur was keen to work with the pilot group, there were still a number of outstanding issues.

With the Company’s proposal designed to prevent PIA over Easter, and not necessarily to finalise negotiations, the AFAP then tabled a revised bargaining position in an attempt to achieve agreement. While there was some movement from Tigerair in response, it failed to bridge the gap in certain key areas.

12

Air Pilot

The 73rd Annual IFALPA Conference in Luxembourg has publicly called for Ryanair management to respect the wishes of its pilots and enter into fair and meaningful negotiations.

A statement by IFALPA released on 19 March 2018 came as a result of months of negotiation breakdowns as pilots seek better working conditions and arrangements mainly surrounding contracts. Ryanair took an unprecedented step, surprising many, when it announced in December 2017 that the company would recognise unions.

ESTABLISHING A UNION AT RYANAIR The urge for change within Ryanair began in 2017 when the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) approached Ryanair pilots as talk of their unhappiness with the company began to spread.

On beginning the process to represent Ryanair Pilots, BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said, “At their request, BALPA has now issued a survey to all Ryanair pilots to gauge whether they would be prepared to take industrial action to support their aims and objectives”.

Following strong survey results, further action and plans to unite in the fight for better conditions and recognition began to take place.

history that unions have been recognised. The Ryanair Pilot Group is comprised of Ryanair pilots from all European bases.

Speaking on the development Strutton said, “I am hopeful that this is the beginning of a very strong and mutually beneficial relationship between BALPA and the Ryanair Company, and I urge Ryanair to agree to deals with pilot unions in other countries.”

To date there has been progress in the negotiations with management, however it will take time until a deal is reached.

On 22 December 2017, Ryanair pilots based in Frankfurt walked off the job for four hours between 5am and 9am. Pilots elsewhere were prepared to participate in further strikes over the Christmas period, with Ireland set to follow in Germany’s footsteps. However, Ryanair management avoided this by signing the trade union agreement.

As a result of the Ryanair pilots’ ongoing push for their rights, it is the first time in the airline’s 32-year

NO. 1 | 2018 13

THE WOMEN’S NETWORK//

WOMEN’S NETWORK

CONNECTING WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Australian Federation of Air Pilots Women’s Network and Civil Air Australia co-hosted the first ever panel discussion on fatigue and work-life blend on Tuesday 6 March 2018.

With a topic that affects both pilots and air traffic controllers, the panel discussion focussed on relevant fatigue and gender equity research, the industrial and legal impacts of fatigue, and the lived experiences of pilots and air traffic controllers.

Panel members included: Dr Sarah Oxenbridge, Research Fellow, University of Sydney Business School Dr Claire Marrison, Air Navigation Service Provider, Airservices Australia Captain Bronwyn Wruck, B737 Pilot, Virgin Australia Bridget Hosking, Enroute Environment Air Traffic Controller, Airservices Australia Cate Larkins, Industrial Officer & Welfare Coordinator, Australian Federation of Air Pilots T h e re s o u n d i n g p e r s p e c t i ve i s t h a t fa t i g u e

14

management must be a collaborative effort between management and staff. However, often employees must negotiate their flexible work arrangements individually, where it should happen collectively.

In order to maintain the balance between her work and life, Captain Bronwyn Wruck has implemented a number of systems, “understanding key channels with your support network is so important at home and at work.” She added the key to balancing her career and family has been communication and negotiation.

Panellists provided some key tips, including: •

Be part of a company or team that has a great culture.

•

Support people the way you want to be supported.

•

Recognise that communication and negotiation in your personal and professional life is key (review every six months).

•

Find supporters and champions of change.

•

Understand that looking after your mental health is just like going to the gym. Ensure you have strong lifestyle protections in agreements.

Special thanks to Air Services for hosting the AFAP and Civil Air at their Brisbane Centre.

Air Pilot

THE WOMEN’S NETWORK 2018 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING On 7 June, the AFAP Women’s Network will host the 2018 Annual General Meeting at the AFAP office in Brisbane.

The AGM keynote discussion and workshop will be led by guest speaker Dr Deanne Gibbon. Dr Gibbon is a leader in diversity, gender and organisational transformation. In this session Deanne will present her research addressing barriers and challenges to women pilots in all forms of aviation, and how the Air Force directly addressed some of those challenges to dramatically increase women's representation in military flying roles.

LEARNING ASSERTIVE MANAGEMENT The AFAP Women’s Network Assertive Management Training is the most popular event of the year for the network. The full-day course focuses on three key components based around maximising assertive management techniques.

The program aims to develop: •

the power of communication

•

the ability to translate vision into action with winwin results

•

consistent performance

•

the ability to handle conflicts and crises with confidence

•

emotional momentum and balance of behaviour.

UPCOMING EVENTS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING // 7 June 2018 AFAP Brisbane Office

ASSERTIVE MANAGEMENT TRAINING // 15 August 2018 Sydney

Facilitated by leadership and communication specialist Karen Phillips, this specialised workshop is rich in relevant industry research. It is also interactive, providing the opportunity to work with colleagues and to share learning with the group.

NO. 1 | 2018 15

VIRGIN VIRGIN WIDE BODY The AFAP Wide Body pilot representatives and industrial staff have been overseeing implementations of the Wide Body agreement, which was approved and came into operation on 23 November 2017.

WORK RULES IMPLEMENTATION The main issue has been ensuring t h e C o m p a ny m e e t t h e wo r k r u le s implementation deadline of 23 May 2018.

For the A330, RP-6 rosters will be built utilising new work rules, which is ahead of the deadline. There is a significant level of change for the A330 as the work rules facilitate the move to predominantly international flying. Changes include: •

mixed flying and reserve rosters (previously pilots could not be rostered reserve in a flying roster);

•

open days – pilots rostered in their domicile must be contactable for a defined 4-hour period and available to commence a duty in their home base 12 hours later.

Where this is on the same day the pilot will sign-on in their domicile and have a positioning sector provided;

•

h o te l s ta n d by – 6 h o u r s a t international outport only.

In contrast there is limited change for the B777 pilots. The main change is the Company cannot roster positioning following an international FDP. Instead, the default will be that pilots are provided travel to their home base following the required rest period in a hotel. This provides important fatigue mitigation and further drives the Company to roster a pilot to and from their home base for long international sectors.

I M P L E M E N TAT I O N O F T H E C R E D I T SYSTEM The updated credit system represented a significant change for the A330 pilots, whereas for B777 pilots it represented an improvement on the previous credit system. Impacts of the updated credit system will be better assessed following the introduction of mixed flying and reserve rosters for A330 pilots from next

16

Pilot Federation roster, where the system is designed to ensure the Company does not roster unnecessary reserve through applying a credit to each reserve day.

FLIGHT CREW OPERATIONAL SUPPORT DESK (‘FCOS DESK’) The FCOS Desk was designed to provide assistance for commuting pilots getting to and from work, provided they comply with the FRMS. The EBA provides all Wide Body pilots the option to book standby staff travel and have this converted to a firm ticket getting to and from work. The FCOS Desk is a dedicated resource to ensure this is provided and to rebook flights where required.

Overall feedback indicates that the FCOS Desk has been functioning as planned and pilots are finding that it is removing stress getting to work.

AVIATION MEDICALS BOTANY See the professionals who see the professionals...

By appointment, the DAMEs at Virgin Australia Medical Systems can provide your CASA medical examination • • • • •

Convenient location near Sydney Airport Parking on-site Facilities on site including ECG, audiogram (hearing test) Affordable flat fee of $300 (Eftpos available) NZCAA medicals also available by arrangement For appointments phone 02 8985 7400 or email aviationmedicine@virginaustralia.com

Air Pilot

VIRGIN PILOT FEDERATION

VIRGIN NARROW BODY After a protracted negotiation process spanning two years, the Narrow Body pilot group voted in favour of a new EBA endorsed by both unions.

Once again Virgin pilots showed remarkable levels of interest in their working conditions with approximately 96% of the pilot group voting, and 73% voting yes.

•

improved acclimatisation (jet lag) provisions from CAO 48.1 to assist pilots operating across time zones of 2 hours or more;

•

enhanced protections following back of the clock (late night operation) that require pilots to be rostered:

The Agreement delivered on the main priorities identified by members and contains significant improvements to working conditions and lifestyle, including:

•

at least 30 hours rest following a BOC duty at home base;

•

at least 30 hours rest or less than 18 hours rest following BOC duty into a layover port, and where the rest is less than 18 hours, any subsequent duty will be restricted to a single sector.

•

a 7.5% increase on annual base salaries over three years with effectively no productivity offsets;

•

•

an enhanced overtime and credit system including:

rostered sign-off on the day prior to a commencing balloted annual leave can be no later than 1800 hours;

•

business class meals provided to pilots rostered to operate or position over the dinner meal window on domestic sectors or who are rostered to operate or position on any international sector over any meal window;

•

an obligation to provide a number of leave slots in each week over peak holiday periods that is equivalent to no less than 10% of the resource group, unless the AIC agree otherwise (i.e if 100 pilots in resource group at least 10 leave slots must be made available).

•

reduction in the overtime threshold from 71 to 69 hours per roster period;

•

the divisor for the purposes of determining the overtime hourly rate adjusted accordingly (793.5 hours), resulting in an increase to hourly rate and draft payments of 11% over the life of the Agreement for all line pilots and a 29% increase for Check Captains;

•

50% positioning credits for any positioning sector where a pilot is not seated in an Economy X window or aisle seat;

•

0.75 credit for V-learn every roster period;

•

credits for Check Captains performing simulator instruction increased to 5 hours in July 2018 and 5.5 hours in July 2019.

•

increased protections around designated days off (36 hours for a single DDO + 24 hours for each additional DDO);

•

a more beneficial definition of Early Start Duty (any duty signing on between 0000 and 0800);

•

changes to consecutive early morning provisions which limit any duty that is rostered after three consecutive early morning duties to a duty that must be signed off by 1500 on the fourth (4th) and/or fifth (5th) consecutive day, thereby preventing the Company from ‘flipping’ pilots from a pattern of consecutive earlys to a late duty;

We are also pleased to report that in conjunction with the new Narrow Body EBA a Staff Retirement Travel Policy will be introduced for employees who retire from the Virgin Group after a minimum of 15 years’ service.

The AFAP’s focus now shifts to implementation of the new provisions. The Agreement Implementation Committee, comprising union and company representatives, will meet monthly from t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t o f t h e E BA e n s u r i n g t h e implementation timeframe is met.

Congratulations to the AFAP Narrow Body Negotiating Team (Captain Rod Aldridge, Captain George Kailis, First Officer Vaughan Bradshaw, Captain Dave Booth, Captain Wal Gowans and Captain Rowly Hipwell) for the enormous amount of work and personal sacrifice made in achieving such a terrific result.

NO. 1 | 2018 17

VIRGIN PILOT FEDERATION ATR pilots will be given plenty of opportunity to provide feedback and to become involved. With strong support and feedback, it is expected significant outcomes can be achieved.

ATR FLEET In significant news for the ATR pilot group, negotiations for a new enterprise agreement commenced recently.

This development has been long awaited, with many pilots keen to see significant improvements made to the new agreement.

Leading up to meetings in early May, there were preliminary discussions between all parties regarding the scope of any new agreement. When the existing agreement was approved by the Fair Work Commission, the ATR fleet was part of the VARA operation.

The situation has substantially altered, with Virgin management claiming it wants to see the ATR operation integrated to a far greater extent into the VAA operation.

The AFAP’s ATR Pilot Committee was supportive of the concept of altering the scope of the new agreement in preliminary discussions. The prospect of an agreement that covered only the ATR fleet, rather than the full VARA operation, was seen quite favourably. The Committee considered this was likely to present a significant opportunity to negotiate an agreement specifically aligned to suit ATR pilots alone, rather than the larger VARA pilot group.

The advent of bargaining was considered crucial.

Over the past 12 to 18 months a number of major issues have arisen for ATR pilots. The Pilot Committee is keen to achieve positive outcomes in the current negotiations.

The matters to be resolved are as follows: •

Concerns regarding restricted career progression opportunities

•

Current low salary rates

•

Ineffective rostering practices

•

Permanent home base allocation issues.

The formal negotiation process commenced in the second week of May. Early on, Virgin management stressed that it was aware of the numerous issues affecting the ATR pilot group. The company indicated that it wanted to resolve the key concerns, in addition to ensuring that the ATR operation was seen more clearly as part of the wider VAA business.

As negotiations progress, there will be significant hurdles to overcome. For example, whilst Virgin management is keen to see the ATR pilots adopt a new agreement that closely replicates the existing Narrow Body and Wide Body agreements, the ATR pilot group currently has the benefit of a number of key provisions not contained in either of the other agreements. Similarly, there is the likelihood of protracted negotiations before the final position on what ‘work rules’ should apply can be determined.

18

CAPTAIN JOHN ABSOLON The AFAP would like to wish former AFAP Trustee and long-serving Virgin Council representative Captain John Absolon all the very best in his retirement from flying.

John first joined the Federation in 1981. He had a short stint at Ansett Airlines prior to the ‘89 dispute and commenced flying for Virgin Blue Airlines in 2001.

During his time at Virgin, John made an enormous contribution to the working conditions of Virgin pilots through his various representative roles on the 2007 and 2013 AFAP EBA Committee, the PWC, FDAP Governance Committee, and as Chair, Vice-Chair and Committee member on the Virgin Pilot Council and former Queensland Branch.

John had a strong grasp of the industrial landscape at Virgin. As a pilot rep/advocate he was considered and pragmatic. It was these qualities that made him a very trusted and respected confidant of the late Terry O’Connell.

Over the last decade in particular, John has been a very steady hand as a Trustee for the AFAP. He is a man of great integrity and has been a conscientious member of the Executive, always measured in his views and with the interests of the Federation and its members foremost in his mind.

The staff and elected officials at the AFAP sincerely thank John for all of his hard work, loyalty and friendship over the years. We wish him and his wife Lyn a long, happy and healthy retirement together. We trust his grandchildren will grow up to enjoy his quick wit and dry sense of humour as much as we have!

Air Pilot

COBHAM Pilot Federation

RUNS ON THE BOARD AMID MASSIVE RESTRUCTURE AT THE TOP

The Cobham Council continues to be highly active and engaged in all four business units. However, inter-business unit transfers remain the ongoing issue across all four units.

Cobham Council Chair Rohan Smith says, “the Council is collectively seeking to address this issue with the company across each business unit, with the immediate priority to address the inequity between NJS and NJE. Each business unit has responded favourably to approaches from the AFAP and Cobham Council, whose initiative is to address the issues of pilot shortages and transfers, with arrangements made to schedule future discussions.”

In the meantime the Council and AFAP are working proactively towards membership growth as their work becomes increasingly evident.

NEW MANAGEMENT RESTRUCTURE Cobham Council CEO David Lockwood stated that after a year of stabilisation the Company is progressing towards the next phase of its transformation. As a result, the aviation arm of Cobham (CAvS) has transitioned from the current structure to two separate business units, one covering the UK the other covering Australia.

NJE REPS DELIVER AGAIN

EBA negotiations at NJE progressed into phase two after pilots narrowly voted down an initial proposed agreement.

Upon the ‘no’ vote, pilot representatives Rowan Ward, Mike London and Len Nowack immediately sought feedback from pilots as to the areas deficient in the ‘rejected’ agreement. By identifying necessary changes, a revised agreement was released. A 57% majority voted in favour of the agreement. After 20 months of negotiations, this agreement will replace the agreement that expired in July 2016.

The new agreement provides wage increases backdated to July 2016 and increases over the life of the agreement.

Other significant outcomes include a new allowance for full-day waits at mines, protection around late night operations, increased base salary, annual rises of CPI underpinned with a set percentage, and the introduction of loss of licence reimbursement for pilots to top up the company scheme.

The agreement and relevant documentation will be finalised and filed with the Fair Work Commission for approval.

In Australia, the process of recruiting to fill the top structure will shortly conclude. An announcement of successful external candidates to the roles of Senior Vice President and General Manager of CAvS will be announced in May.

Cobham Council Vice Chair Rowan Ward said, “The AFAP representation at the table has been an integral part of negotiations. David Stephens has assisted pilot negotiators and cemented a solid relationship with senior management.”

NJS CLOSE THE GAP

ISSUES EMERGING FOR SAR

EBA negotiations have concluded with an 81.25% vote in favour of the agreement.

After less than distinguished conduct by Cobham management to sideline the AFAP and instead agree a start-up Greenfields Agreement with the TWU, the AFAP is now cleaning up the mess. Three new issues dominate work within the SAR Business unit:

Re m u n e r a t i o n a n d l i fe s t y le i s s u e s we r e t h e centrepieces of pilots’ bargaining claims, with all outcomes highlighted in the new agreement. The new agreement was forced to re-negotiation after pilots voted down a first proposed agreement in January.

Key features include an increase in base salary by approximately 8%, with ongoing increases over the life of the agreement; inclusion of a loss of licence reimbursement; reduced overtime threshold; and flying hours for non-flying duties. Welfare initiatives also feature with a leading edge ‘pool of days’ made available for pilots on long-term personal leave.

Implementation will begin once the Fair Work Commission approves the agreement. This includes the introduction of Qantas staff travel, new rostering arrangements and a shift to 28-day rosters.

•

Negotiations for a new FDAP Deed

•

Questions over the agreement definition of ‘ordinary hours of work’, with some pilots believing they have worked over and above the prescribed maximum

•

Privacy concerns that have emerged with the fleet Mission Management System recording all aircraft transmissions, including internal conversations.

The Council is pursuing these issues, in particular

by SAR Council member Ben Kirkwood.

NO. 1 | 2018 19

SUBMISSION IN RESPONSE TO

CASA’S FATIGUE RULES INDEPENDENT REVIEW 2018

AN OVERVIEW The AFAP drew on its Safety & Technical representatives, staff and IFALPA contacts to collaboratively develop a substantial response to the recently published Independent Review of Australian Fatigue Rules for Operators and Pilots (2018). The AFAP agrees with many of the review report’s points and recommendations. In all, we supported 15 of the 24 recommendations with some caveats and additional commentary in relation to some of these supported recommendations.

CASA’s own paper, which is very analytical and science based (A review of the case for change: Scientific support for CAO 48.1 Instrument 2013).

While we consider that this report is ultimately a positive step towards finalising fatigue regulation reform in Australian aviation, and we applaud the fact the review report considers CAO 48.1 to be a necessary reform, we have a number of concerns and objections related to some report perspectives and the associated recommendations.

The ICAO fatigue guidance material has taken many years to develop with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from all stakeholder groups, including the tripartite drafting team from ICAO, IATA and IFALPA. It is disappointing to see this review team give lesser weight to these ICAO SARPs compared to the outcomes of other State regulators, which have their own unique struggles with implementing best practice fatigue rules. Examples are included for Canada, NZ, UK and EASA.

A common theme throughout the report is the apparent need to introduce substantially more flexibility for operators. There is already sufficient flexibility provided by the inclusion of Appendix 7 and, indeed, 7 appendices. We do, however, agree that this flexibility could be enhanced through a two-tier approach to FRMS, as suggested in Recommendation 4. Notwithstanding this, the AFAP is concerned that the Review Team strongly advocate for the introduction of greater flexibility, but fail to provide similar support in their recommendations for a commensurate increase in operator responsibility toward fatigue risk management to accompany any potential increase in flexibility.

It seems bizarre that the TOR would overlook such a wealth of scientific information as described in CASAs own research summary and instead rely so heavily on the ‘desktop’ comparison to other jurisdictions, omitting ICAO almost entirely.

The AFAP considers that the TOR have more broadly restricted the review team, with the result that commercial interests have been given precedence over conclusive scientific evidence on the subject of fatigue.

The AFAP considers there is a need to provide some further recommendations.

The AFAP notes that C A S A s e t t h e te r m s o f re fe re n c e ( TO R ) fo r t h e Independent Review and we believe that some of these TORs have unduly restricted the review. An example of this is the requirement to compare with ‘international peer regulations’. This is a restrictive TOR because it has led to the ICAO SARPs being largely ignored in lieu of benchmarking against international ‘averages’. The tone of the review appears to dismiss scientific evidence and instead relies on averaging international data – antithetical to the tone of

20

Air Pilot

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

AFAP RECOMMENDATIONS // 1. DEFINE THE WOCL (0200-0600) There is scientific consensus regarding the importance of protecting the WOCL (0200–0600) to maximise recuperative rest and prevent cumulative fatigue, but there are no WOCL protections in CAO 48.1 with how Late Night Operations (LNO) and early starts are defined.

Early starts result in sleep restriction for short haul pilots leading to cumulative fatigue, yet CAO 48.1 does not define an early start. EASA define an early start as sign on before 0700, which will still act to truncate or restrict the sleep opportunity. Night duty is associated with work during the circadian trough and extended time awake and studies show that night hours are especially vulnerable to severe fatigue. A LNO is defined in CAAP 48.1(1) as greater than 30 minutes FDP between 2300– 0500. IFALPA define a LNO as any FDP between the hours 0100–0700, i.e. a one-hour buffer around the WOCL, whereas CASA’s definition appears much more akin to that period outside the normal domestic airline schedule.

This following information is relevant and comes from one of the ICAO SARPs drafting committees: http://www. icao.int/safety/fatiguemanagement/Pages/Resources. aspx#FMGM The glossary (ICAO Doc 9966) at page xv defines the WOCL, and also indicates there is individual variability in the exact timing of the WOCL: …on page 28 where it says “sleepiness is greatest when people are awake during the WOCL, which occurs around 3–5am for most people on a normal routine with sleep at night”. This should not be confused with the definition in the glossary, and it is incorrect for CASA to say that ICAO differs in their interpretation of the WOCL from other regulators; refer to the glossary. We believe that CASA may have been using an earlier version of what was drafted, which was corrected by IFALPA. All regulators I am aware of still use 0200–0600 to define the period of the WOCL and this is also referred to in NASA TM 110404 (see page 10 of PDF) http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa. gov/19990063635.pdf

2. TIGHTEN THE LIMITATIONS ON EXTENDED DUTIES

Limiting extended wakefulness past 16 hours helps prevent fatigue, however the FDP and provision for extensions in CAO 48.1 are not restrictive enough to achieve this. While CASA have tightened the FDP from the SIE by an average of 2 hours, a 14-hour FDP is still allowed. There is scientific consensus that 13 hours FDP should be the hard limit (duties starting 0800–1100 with one sector and no extensions), and the maximum FDP for overnight operations (encompassing the WOCL) should not exceed 10 hours.

From the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) Position on Flight Time Limitations 2013: The consensus of scientific evidence, however, is clear.

“FDPs for minimum crew should not exceed 10 hours overnight” since any overnight period would impinge upon the Window of Circadian Low (WOCL).

CAAP 48.1 also stated that the maximum FDP limits in all appendices are not designed with the expectation that there would be extensions, and the scientific literature supports no extensions for any FDP starting outside 0800–1200 hours.

CAO 48.1 spilt duty and standby rules allow for extended wakefulness over 16 hours due to the difficulty of achieving restorative rest outside the WOCL and/ or with very limited sleep opportunities. The science recommends the FDP of a split duty should not cover the hours between 2200–0600; split duty should only be applied to day operations, with a 14-hour maximum FDP. For standby, scientific research has shown that day sleep taken on standby is shorter and of poorer quality than other sleep due to both physiological and environmental factors; crews are unlikely to achieve 8 hours total sleep even in a daytime rest of 16 hours.

We also note that CASA has already provided clear guidance material (CAAP 48.1) on duty extensions and the intent that underpins why and what is an allowable FDP extension. We believe there is a need to recommend that FDP extensions be tightened in many regards and not relaxed as recommended by the Review Team.

The IFALPA guidance material for the development of prescriptive fatigue management regulation defines the WOCL as the period between 0200 hours and 0559 hours in reference to a crewmember’s acclimated location.

This definition is replicated in the EU and EASA guidance materials at the EASA FTL Regulations Combined Document and CAA Guidance to Developing an FTL Scheme.

Given that the Review Team has proposed many recommendations to align the Australian aviation fatigue rules with those of other jurisdictions and/or to use international averages, it is quite inappropriate to not also have an equally sufficient consideration and definition of the WOCL as one of the report recommendations.

NO. 1 | 2018 21

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

3. ENSURE THAT SLEEP

OPPORTUNITY IS REALISTIC

Sleep opportunity is a critical factor in mitigating fatigue.

CAO 48.1 allows for a sleep opportunity of 8 hours in a 12-hour ODP (home), and 8 hours in a 10-hour ODP (away). The Allied Pilots Association determined that non-sleep related tasks included getting ready for bed (15 minutes), getting ready for the next duty period (45 minutes), and eating (30-60 minutes). This adds up to a minimum of 1.5 hours for non-sleep activities. To protect an 8-hour sleep opportunity, a FCM would need a minimum of 9.5 hours of rest time, in addition to travel time. However people do not fall asleep the minute they go to bed, thus the science supports 30 minutes prior to sleep to account for sleep latency. Therefore, the scientific literature supports a sleep opportunity of 8 hours in a 13-hour ODP (home), and 8 hours in an 11-hour ODP (away). Therefore the ODP prescribed in CAO 48.1 is 1 hour less than the scientific consensus.

The UNSW survey results show that nearly 30% of pilots commute more than an hour and approximately 30% have a commute time of 30–60 minutes. Add in the possibility of other factors such as staff bus times, security screening, home based aspects (shower and eating etc.), then pilots most likely require more than an hour and a half prior to their sign on, from the alarm clock time.

4. REGULARLY

5. INCLUDE PILOT REPRESENTATION IN ORGANISATION’S FATIGUE WORKING GROUPS

The AFAP strongly recommends that CASA include pilot member associations in the make-up of Fatigue Safety Action Groups (FSAG) when companies operate to Appendix 7. The AFAP has confirmed with the ICAO drafters of Doc 9966 that ICAO’s clearly established intention was that pilot representatives meant pilot associations where they exist, rather than individual pilots.

It can be seen in the UNSW survey 2017 that Australian pilots have reservations trusting our operators SMS. Following is a summary of the Australian industry pilot fatigue reporting culture: •

42% have never reported fatigue

•

40% can see no benefit in reporting

•

30% say there would be an adverse response from the company

•

45% report sick instead of fatigued

Including pilots representatives in fatigue action or working groups, and for that matter industry consultative groups, would go a long way to affecting a positive reporting culture.

SURVEY FOR PILOT FATIGUE

The AFAP recommends that CASA and or the ATSB run a regular (suggest biannual) survey of commercial pilots in Australia to determine improvements in the fatigue experience of these pilots. This survey would also capture the SMS and reporting culture of Australian aviation operational certificate holders.

Under an FRMS, operators are required to conduct surveys and it is equally, if not more, important to gather the whole of industry perspective on fatigue matters.

Evidence based regulations require the collection of evidence. The UNSW survey of over 10% of Australia’s commercial pilots is a good benchmark to collect some relevant evidence.

The AFAP’s Safety and Technical department offers to assist with the collection of this survey data. The UNSW survey of pilot fatigue for Australian Commercial pilots is available as a template

22

6. INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL PILOT

REPRESENTATION ON THE CASA AVIATION SAFETY ADVISORY PANEL (ASAP) The AFAP and AusALPA strongly recommend CASA include professional pilot Safety and Technical representation on the ASAP. This will assist in a balanced consultation and review process and help develop the general pilot communities trust in CASA’s consultation process.

Air Pilot

Interview support is already available to member pilots, however we’d like to inform members that we are looking to improve this existing service when related to p o s t s a fe t y - re la te d eve n t interviews. Regardless of whether an interview is with the employer, CASA or the ATSB, pilots can be accompanied by their chosen support person. It may be your preference that your support person be an AFAP Industrial Officer or representative. Alternatively, you may prefer to have the interview support provided to you by an AFAP Safety & Technical staff member. Your choice may be based on personal preference or from an understanding of how well a safety culture is applied by your organisation. To better provide support options to members for safety-related events, AFAP is endeavouring to bolster the service of support through the provision of trained Safety & Technical pilot representatives to attend and assist you through this process.

This initiative will also increase the number of support person options to you without compromising the support you should receive.

From our experience, pilots are much better prepared and relaxed when attending such an interview when they’ve had the opportunity to speak with someone prior, especially when that person has specific expertise and awareness in these matters.

AFAP SAFETY INTERVIEW SUPPORT

THERE WITH YOU ‘IN THE EVENT’

In the unlikely event that you encounter a safety-related event during your workday, stay calm, follow your procedures and call the AFAP for assistance. This is of course easier said than done and it would be great if life were guaranteed to be that simple and stress free. The reality can often be different to the ideal but thankfully the AFAP has experienced staff and representatives ready to support

pilot members during these difficult times.

Currently the AFAP provides support and services for many areas such as industrial and HR matters, safety and technical matters, and for pilot welfare where members can access the help of specifically trained pilot welfare representatives or trained professional counsellors.

We h a ve s t r o n g fe e d b a c k from pilot members that having a support person attend an interview with them was a real benefit that they were grateful for and that they’d recommend to others. Often companies won’t provide a pilot much notice prior to the attendance of an interview. For this reason, we encourage our member pilots to contact AFAP at the earliest opportunity to arrange support following a safety-related event.

Whilst we are confident of these benefits, we continue to review this area so that improvements can be made to best benefit members in their time of need. If you are interested to learn more or to get involved in your Safety & Technical Team, email technical@afap.org.au.

NO. 1 | 2018 23

THE BENEFITS OF STARTING YOUR FINANCIAL PLANNING VOYAGE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE! My father-in-law, Jerry, was a pilot for over 40 years.

My wife recalls a happy childhood growing up all over the world. Her family spent time in the UK and Europe before settling in Brisbane when her dad got a job with Virgin. He worked there for another 10 years before landing at his final destination of retirement. You know, that place where everything is perfect, comfortable and you get to enjoy the spoils of what you worked so hard to achieve.

Unfortunately, when he got there, it wasn’t as good as he’d hoped. Not because he’d landed in the wrong place but because he hadn’t properly packed his luggage for the trip …

Before I go on, please excuse my corny language; I’m not trying to be funny. Rather I want to share some important insights about the value of good financial planning in a way that will makes sense without using financial jargon.

So, going back to my story, Jerry had reached his destination but didn’t have what he needed to enjoy his stay. Not because he is unintelligent or reckless with money, he is just as smart as many other professionals and pilots like you. What happened to him was unfortunate but also something I’ve seen happen to hundreds of people in my life as a Financial Adviser since 2010. The reason he didn’t have enough financial resources to enjoy retirement is because during his working life, he only did one of the two jobs required to achieve financial success. Let me explain …

The first job is obvious. It’s what 99% of people do and spend most of their time focused on, which is earning an income. During Jerry’s working life he earned a good income (high in comparison to most others).

And he used it to provide a comfortable life for his family. My wife had a wonderful upbringing due to the emotional and financial support her parents provided.

They travelled, lived in beautiful homes, attended private school and lived a good life. However, this didn’t come easy. Jerry spent a lot of time away, which was a sacrifice he made to provide that life while doing something he loved. He also became accustomed to his comfortable lifestyle and naively assumed the good times would continue long term.

Unfortunately, the good times stopped when Jerry’s income stopped. That’s because just earning money is not enough. Once you earn it, you must put it to work.

And that’s the second job – putting some of your money on a flight path for growth so you have enough after you stop flying. That will ensure you don’t end up with too much debt and not enough savings once your income stops. If you’re anything like my clients, you’ll want to 24

use your income to have some fun now but at the same time be paying off your debts, protecting your family and building your wealth over the long term.

If job 1 is all about making money, then job 2 is all about making the most of your money. Or to put that into pilot speak, if job 1 is the take-off, then job 2 is the landing. Both are important, and you can’t have one without the other, but I’d argue that a good take off (job 1) is for nothing if you do a bad job of the landing (job 2).

Unfortunately, Jerry learnt this lesson the hard way.

With the benefit of hindsight, he now knows that job 2 should be something you focus on and do well in conjunction with job 1 – not after.

Once he came to this realisation, his words to me were “every pilot needs to know about this, I wish I had known it and done something about it when I was a young pilot in my 30’s, 40’s and even 50’s!”

And as much as it pains me to agree with my fatherin-law for once, I have to say, he’s right. The sooner you start, the better. That’s because you’ll give yourself more runway to improve your financial life! The shorter the runway, the less chance you have of success and the higher chance you have of failure.

So, to give yourself more runway to improve your financial flight path, I’d suggest finding a good Independent Financial Adviser to work with who can help you put together a plan that will take you in the direction you want to go while also ensuring you have as smooth a ride as possible without too much turbulence.

Cheers, Blake Fitzgerald | Independent Financial Adviser

Email | blake@coachedfp.com Website | www.coachedfp.com Air Pilot

REX

Pilot Federation

W i t h c o n s i d e r a b le m ove m e n t o f p i lo t s w i t h i n the industry over the last 18 months, it has been an interesting time at Rex. There has been a steady flow of pilots leaving the airline to pursue career opportunities both in Australia and abroad. We wish the best to each of these pilots and hope their time at Rex serves them well in their futures.

We expect the pilot shortage to loom large over these negotiations and hope the Company takes a proactive approach in retaining its pilots. A key focus of our claims is to encourage pilots who may be considering leaving Rex to only do so once they have been granted their ideal career opportunity, as opposed to taking the first available job

It has been a busy time for the remaining pilots, with a considerable amount of paid overtime being worked, and the Company relaxing its usually strict approach of requiring pilots to take any accrued annual leave.

ADVERSE ACTION COURT CASE

While pilot shortages affect all parts of the industry, they tend to have a more serious impact on operators like Rex, who are seen by many as a stepping-stone towards a jet airline position.

ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS With less than two years having passed since the last negotiations concluded, we’re back at the bargaining table. We are hopeful of a far more collaborative approach than the last negotiations, which resulted in periods of protected industrial action.

Following the AFAP’s success in the High Court late last year, we are now in the Federal Circuit Court for the substantive case. Specifically, the AFAP alleges that Rex took adverse action, as described in the Fair Work Act, against certain groups when it wrote a particularly concerning letter to prospective cadets in September 2014.

With both sides having filed their updated positions, we are now preparing for the Court-ordered mediation, which will take place in late August.

If no settlement can be achieved through mediation, the matter will proceed to a hearing later this year. We will continue to keep members informed as the matter progresses.

NO. 1 | 2018 25

NATIONAL AIRNORTH

Pilot Federation

After months of negotiations, the AFAP and Airnorth agreed to engage the assistance of the Fair Work Commission under the New Approaches Program.

This program is designed to promote cooperative and productive workplace relations and prevent disputes at a workplace level and will be used to assist parties in an attempt to reach an agreement.

The AFAP, pilots and the Company participated in a two-day training session with Deputy President Booth and Vice President Catanzariti of the Fair Work Commission to understand New Approaches methodology in reaching agreement.

The AFAP looks forward to utilising the new approach to bargaining. We will keep members updated as to the progress of these negotiations.

RFDS (LAUNCESTON)

26

Unfortunately, progress in the negotiations slowed at the time of changeover from earlier bargaining representatives to the current representatives. However, with new personnel at the table, there have been improvements.

Admittedly, the provisions under discussion have been less critical matters, but this hasn’t stopped bargaining representatives from discussing a wide range of ideas and drafting a number of clauses for RFDS management to consider.

It was considered essential to ensure this steady rate of progress for the new bargaining representatives. The experience gained in the bargaining process has been invaluable, as processes will become more difficult when discussions turn to more critical items – specifically the classification and salary scales, and the hours of work provisions. Despite the current alarming rate of pilot attrition, RFDS management claims it has little to offer the pilot group in these negotiations.

The primary theme of these negotiations is to address the discrepancy in pay between Launceston and NSW-based pilots. Negotiations are coming to a close with work now commencing on reviewing the proposed agreement to be put to pilots for voting. The AFAP will communicate the offer from the RFDS pilots once it is released for viewing.

Ultimately, the pilot group needs to decide whether it accepts the RFDS’ position in that regard. Many pilots are well aware of the large disparity in conditions offered to different employee groups within the RFDS’s Queensland operation. This is causing increased frustration within the pilot group.

RFDS (QUEENSLAND SECTION)

RFDS (NEW SOUTH WALES)

Bargaining for a new enterprise agreement continues.

Unfortunately, all the original pilot representatives who started the negotiations over 18 months ago have left the bargaining table. Their places have been filled by four new pilots from various RFDS bases in Queensland.

AFAP’s Senior Industrial Officer James Mattner supports these pilots in negotiations.

Negotiations have commenced between the AFAP and RFDS for a new agreement for Mascot, Broken Hill and Dubbo bases. To date, the AFAP has submitted and discussed points via a log of claims, and the Company have returned with their own log of claims.

Pilot representatives from each base have put in a considerable amount of time and effort to enhance protections and entitlements for members.

Air Pilot

NATIONAL PILOT FEDERATION RFDS (CENTRAL OPERATIONS) RFDS Central Operations is poised to put its third enterprise a g re e m e n t o u t to vo te a f te r previous agreements were comprehensively voted down. The proposed agreement contains new benefits for the pilot group, though certainly not everything the AFAP and members initially put forward in its log of claims. More importantly, the AFAP has preserved the hardwon conditions and wages fought for and won by the pilot group in the last agreement process.

The RFDS initially wanted many of the entitlements contained in the current agreement removed.

T h e A FA P a n d R F D S p i l o t representatives have succeeded in preserving those entitlements.

If the pilot group rejects the third offer, the AFAP will do everything possible to get a better deal. The rest of the RFDS, and the Av Med sector, should watch the results of the vote with interest.

CHARTAIR Chartair is a charter and RPT company with a large stronghold of AFAP members in Darwin and Alice Springs. The Company, amidst a record pilot shortage in the region, has been amenable to setting down its first enterprise agreement, which will set them apart as an employer of choice in the area and finally see pilots paid above the baseline minimum set by the Award.

Negotiations have commenced and we hope this is a strong signal to the GA community that attitudes are changing, and a sign that more and better agreements can be secured in the industry in the future.

NETWORK AVIATION The worst kept secret in recent aviation histroy is out - Network is picking up at least two A320’s from the Jetstar fleet. The matter is now before the Fair Work Commission due to the company’s refusal to consult over the decision.

The decision was first announced in December 2017. The AFAP had been seeking to meet with the Company to discuss the decision and the issues associated with it – training, scheduling, routes, work practices, related allowances and remuneration. When a meeting was finally scheduled and the respective positions displayed, the

Company closed the shutters after announcing its position as final.

The AFAP and AIPA notified disputes to the Commission, with a first conference held before Deputy President Beaumont in late March and another conference held in May. The Deputy President is seeking to be assured that the dispute resolution under the n e t wo r k a g re e m e n t h a s b e e n satisfied.

TOLL AVIATION It seems that, at least to Toll Aviation management, bargaining with the pilot group for a new enterprise agreement is over.

Or perhaps they just wish it was.

After three separate ballots you might expect it would be so. However, after withdrawing their application to the Fair Work Commission to have an agreement approved after the first ballot, they have now had their pilot group reject two subsequent proposed agreements.

T h e A FA P h a s s p o ke n t o members on the way forward from here. In particular, the AFAP highlighted the need to get Toll management back to the bargaining t a b le s o t h a t a n a c c e p t a b le a g re e m e n t c a n f i n a l ly b e negotiated. However, the Company has remained silent. They have certainly given no indication that they have finally realised they need to make clear improvements to any proposed agreement if they want to get a majority of pilots to support the deal in any ballot.

ALLIANCE AIRLINES (QUEENSLAND) A f te r a l m o s t t h r e e y e a r s o f p r o t r a c te d n e go t i a t i o n s w i t h Al l i a n c e A i r l i n e s , a p ro p o s e d enterprise agreement for their Queensland-based pilots received a majority vote from the pilot group early this year.

Details of the package were settled over the Christmas/New Year period. This came about as a result of a strong ‘no’ vote on an earlier company proposal in November and the subsequent decision, taken by majority of the pilot group, to pursue protected industrial action.

The Company’s concern about protected industrial

action was highlighted by their decision to engage a barrister to argue their case at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) hearing about the proposed industrial action.

Alliance wanted an order from the FWC that the AFAP would need to provide an increased period of notice before commencing any industrial action, specifically seven working days up from the normal default of three working days.

Ultimately, their argument at the FWC had limited success. The FWC ruled that the notice period for the majority of actions should remain at three working days, and even those actions the Commission thought warranted a greater notice period were determined to require only five days’ notice (due primarily to the remoteness of the some of the locations involved).

T h e s u b s e q u e n t p ro te c te d industrial action ballot achieved overwhelming support from the pilot group, with immediate impact on negotiations. That same day, in a planned negotiation meeting, Alliance made considerable improvements on what they had previously declared a ‘final position’.

Those changes included: •

a substantial increase in salaries ($154,000 for captains);

•

the introduction of a new bonus for crew undertaking RPT operations ($9000 per year, paid monthly);

•

a reduction in the previous productivity threshold (from 57 to 55 hours in 28 days); and,

•

the payment of a ‘sign on’ bonus of $1000.

U n f o r t u n a t e ly, d u r i n g t h e process of finalising the draft of the proposed agreement, several issues arose. Of most concern, and despite the AFAP’s opposition, Alliance insisted the maximum

NO. 1 | 2018 27

NATIONAL PILOT FEDERATION cap on initial training bonds be removed (previously $30,000) leaving this an open-ended amount. They also introduced a bond on command upgrades.

Despite those concerns, Alliance’s proposed agreement was voted ‘up’ by a slim majority of the pilot group. The agreement is currently awaiting approval from the FWC, which has already taken a close look at the bargaining process Alliance undertook with this agreement. In addition to that, the FWC has not yet flagged whether it has considered the nature and operation of the training bonds proposed by the company.

ALLIANCE AIRLINES (ADELAIDE) Alliance’s Adelaide-based pilots are preparing to start negotiations for their new agreement, which will replace the current agreement that expired in 2016. Meetings have been held with the AFAP in Adelaide as part of the process of formulating a log of claims. Three pilot representatives were elected and are working hard to consolidate the position of the pilot body to take into negotiations.

When the Adelaide agreement is finalised, it will bring an end to all negotiations for Alliance agreements in this current round of bargaining.

AIR PILOTS

AWARD REVIEW

Since our last update in the December edition of Air Pilot, the AFAP has continued its active involvement in the Four Yearly Award Review of the Air Pilots’ Award by the Fair Work Commission.

In the most recent phase of the review, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission made a decision regarding the outstanding technical and drafting issues arising from the review.

These issues were unable to be fully resolved by discussions between your AFAP and employer representatives.

In particular, as part of that decision, having considered our submissions seeking specific reference to casual rates of pay (inclusive of allowances) within the Award, the Full Bench has provided further clarity regarding the application of hourly rates of pay for casual pilots.

Your AFAP representatives have subsequently made a further submission to the Full Bench on matters arising

28

from the decision, including rates of pay for casual pilots. We now await the Full Bench’s consideration of that submission.

In addition, we also await the Full Bench’s consideration of the substantive changes proposed by the AFAP to the Award to (i) insert a rate of pay for pilots flying Embraer 135 and 145 aircraft and (ii) expand the regional airlines schedule to ensure that pilots operating larger aircraft in regional areas are Awardcovered.

We anticipate a formal Commission hearing being scheduled at some stage this year to determine these substantive matters, which will finalise the review process.

Should you have any queries about the Four Yearly Award Review of the Air Pilots’ Award, or wish to discuss it further, please contact Industrial Advisor Simon Miller by email smiller@afap.org.au or call the AFAP Office on (03) 9928 5737.

Air Pilot

UNRULY PASSENGERS Joseph Wheeler, AFAP Aviation Legal Counsel Unruly passenger behaviour continues to pose practical and legal challenges to both safety and security in international civil aviation. From 2007 to 2016 alone, IATA figures show over 58,000 unruly passenger incidents were reported on aircraft in flight, including violence against crew and other passengers, harassment and failure to follow safety instructions. Recent graphic examples that members will be aware of in Australia indicate the significance of the problem.

The present legal regime set up under the Tokyo Convention 1963 provides a system for criminalising certain acts on board international flights that jeopardise safety and security. It works by setting out the powers of the aircraft commander to restore order and discipline.

In recent years, as the number of dangerous incidents has increased, one emerging source of concern is the lack of prosecution by various local authorities, even when crews properly identified and delivered alleged offenders to authorities in various countries.

Not all States uniformly criminalise and prosecute serious unruly passenger conduct, with definitions of ‘serious’ depending on local laws, cultures and diverse understandings of acceptable passenger behaviour.

To i m p rove t h e c u r re n t s i t u a t i o n t h e le ga l environment needs to empower and encourage States, on whose territory an unruly passenger has been disembarked, to deal appropriately with any potential breaches of criminal law. This strengthens and supports the power of the aircraft commander to respond and deal with unruly passenger incidents under the Tokyo Convention 1963.

ICAO, through the Montréal Protocol 2014 that updates the Tokyo Convention 1963, seeks to cure the jurisdictional void that presently prevents authorities in all States from taking action to criminalise and deal with unruly passenger conduct. The Montréal Protocol provides some comfort through a new international legal framework giving States the necessary jurisdiction to punish events that have transpired in international airspace, by non-citizens, and on carriers not connected to the State a passenger is delivered/disembarked. The Protocol is not yet in force, and requires 22 ratifications

by States.

Guidance Material being considered by ICAO seeks to introduce further deterrents including on-the-spot penalties for certain conduct. A Task Force, to which IFALPA substantially contributed including my own input in 2017–2018, seeks to introduce a new manual encouraging States to capture, criminalise or regulate identified forms of unsafe/threatening passenger behaviour. Under the revised material, any assault on crews is recommended to be punishable by all States under criminal law systems.

In addition, IFALPA worked with IATA to develop an ‘aviation infringement notice’ regime designed to provide immediate responses for States with slow or uncertain criminal processes. Penalising unruly passenger conduct as it’s identified so appropriate fines and deterrents can be issued on the ground.

While this is non-legally binding guidance material, influence of the new manual will be published later this year and cannot be understated. Some States will take the ‘list of offences’ and legislate them with minimal amendment. The fine scheme, based on a hybrid of common-law processes in New Zealand and Australia, will likely be of broad appeal and instructive for many States, even with civil law regimes.

The AFAP believes pilots and crews are best protected from serious unruly passenger conduct through a systematic and cooperative effort between all States, airlines and employees. One way of encouraging this effort is through ratification of the Montréal Protocol 2014. Therefore, advice from the IFALPA Legal Committee, of which I am a member, led to further attention on this largely legal issue through IFALPA’s Security Committee and their own position paper; with a subsequent European Cockpit Association (ECA) Position Papger on the matter published earlier this year.

The draft Manual will be subject to discussions with expected approval by representative ICAO States at the next meeting of the ICAO Legal Committee, scheduled for September 2018 in Montréal. I will represent IFALPA and pursue urgently needed developments to safeguard crews and passengers on international flights.

NO. 1 | 2018 29

HELICOPTER Pilot Federation The AFAP continues to support the interests of helicopter pilots via representation at IFALPA and ICAO Helicopter Subgroup and addressing issues around FRMS, ergonomics, RPAS, offshore alternates and emergency equipment.

The AFAP industrial and welfare teams have been actively supporting members in the wake of recent incidents. Incidents like these emphasise the importance of membership. We encourage everyone to remind members how important the ‘insurance’ of membership is at any time, but especially during the challenges associated with managing the fallout of serious accidents and incidents.

TREADING WATER … JUST! Despite positive resource prices in an unpredictable geopolitical environment, oil and gas activity seems to be in a constant state of ‘sideways’ drift. Every time the industry ramps up and talks of ‘green shoots’, new challenges arrive and promptly quash them.

There is no doubt oil and gas operators have not wasted the opportunity to aggressively lower their cost bases in the face of these challenges.

Hopefully this will close a dark period between the Company and its pilots, and the commercial team can deliver on promises of chasing new opportunities in a complex and challenging environment.

CHC CHC pilot reps are to be congratulated on reaching a new agreement to cover offshore pilots after previously concluding a separate agreement for on-shore operations.

These negotiations have been tense and difficult given the recent history of the Company and its emergence from US Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.

The maintenance of current terms and conditions and the protection of enterprise agreements are important in the current climate. CHC reps have delivered this, and more.

Recent announcements regarding significant contract extensions for the Australian Defence Force (RAAF SAR) and the prospect of more work is a great testimony to the service delivery made possible by financial restructuring. This stability is of enormous value to our members at this time. CHC remains the incumbent operator for Woodside Energy out of

The best news in the resources space indicates that the pie is no longer shrinking. The Bristow/CHC duopoly has been broken by the arrival of Babcock, HNZ/PHI, and potentially Toll, who have already stepped into the EMS (NSW) space. This disruption presents challenges and opportunities for all.

BRISTOW A pilot body of over 140 has been reduced by more than half and, in recent times, announcements that work supporting 20 or more pilots will end soon is hugely worrying for those that remain.

The new CEO has sought salary reductions in the first instance of 15% and then 5% amid claims that the future of the company and its ability to win new work rested on these concessions. When rejected, Bristow withdrew its bid for a major oil and gas contract.

During discussions with Bristow the pilot reps reluctantly agreed to a variation of the agreement, conditional on the Company maintaining its current level of establishment and/or winning new work. In return, the Enterprise Agreement will be extended by 12 months with significant protections for redundancy, leave provisions and other conditions to be ‘insured’ through to mid-2020.

The third vote received majority support from the pilot group. The proposed variation will be referred to the Fair Work Commission for approval.

30

Air Pilot

HELICOPTER PILOT FEDERATION

Karratha and Shell out of Broome for the enormous Prelude project.

From July 2019, Karratha operations will be consolidated into a single operator via a sharing arrangement amongst several oil companies including Woodside. With Bristow out of the mix, presumably only CHC and Toll Helicopters remain. The prospect of long term, secure employment for Australian helicopter pilots is something we should all support.

HNZ/PHI The Helicopters New Zealand (HNZ) group has a long history of Australian and regional operations. In October last year Petroleum Helicopters International (PHI), a Louisiana (USA) based company, announced its acquisition of HNZ. The companies share history having previously run a joint venture out of Broome in support of the Icthys project for INPEX, a Japanese oil and gas company.

The acquisition will extend PHI’s global reach with a significant number of yellow and black livery in Broome.

While the relationship between the HNZ senior management team and the AFAP has previously been tense, there is an improved collaborative and productive approach to managing points of friction.

A new agreement has been negotiated for Karratha based pilots on the A109 MPT contract. That agreement is currently with the Fair Work Commission, while negotiations are continuing for pilots currently engaged in Victoria on the HNZ ESSO contract.

BABCOCK Babcock is establishing itself as a major operator in Australia and continues the legacy of Australian Helicopter and Bond Helicopters.

Babcock made an impressive arrival by sweeping into major oil and gas and EMS/SAR contracts. The pedigree of its parent company and its resources will see it remain a force in the Australian industry for years to come.

Babcock recently put two brand new H175 aircraft into service for operations out of East Timor in what will be the first of its type in Australia and the region. The aircraft are the latest and greatest in the super-medium category and come with an impressive price tag. We can anticipate hearing how they actually go when they’re put to work around the Timor Sea.

NO. 1 | 2018 31

NEW APPROACHES

A NEW WAY TO PROMOTE COOPERATIVE AND PRODUCTIVE WORKPLACES

Andrew Molnar, AFAP Legal Counsel Late last year, the AFAP and Airnorth jointly made an application to the Fair Work Commission (FW Commission) in relation to the enterprise agreement that is currently being negotiated for Airnorth pilots. The application is part of a new program developed by the FW Commission called New Approaches.

employer, the employer then replies to that log of claims, followed by a series of adversarial meetings in which each party’s claims are whittled down until an agreement is reached which, while not perfect, is sufficient. Needless to say, this often results in neither party being particularly satisfied with the result.

New Approaches is an idea that was first introduced in 2013 and arose from an amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), which provided the FW Commission with a new function – to promote cooperative and productive workplace relations and prevent disputes. Its development involved input from the FW Commission, and both employer and employee organisations.

Along the way, the traditional tools of protected i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n , c o n fe r e n c e s b e fo r e t h e F W Commission and, in extreme cases, arbitration, have the ability to damage the ongoing relationship in the workplace. Not only is an enterprise agreement in place that was the result of giving concessions, the implementation of that enterprise agreement is made so much more difficult due to the negotiation styles used to reach it.

Since 2013, New Approaches has been fully implemented and has been used in many diverse workplaces. It is now confirmed as an established part of the FW Commission’s functions.

NEW APPROACHES – A NEW WAY TO RESOLVE DISPUTES Under the FW Act (and its predecessors), methods of dispute resolution and the negotiation of enterprise agreements have tended to be based on an adversarial system. In the case of enterprise agreements, the usual pattern is that a union serves a log of claims on the

32

New Approaches introduces a very different approach to the negotiation of enterprise agreements, and dispute resolution generally. It recognises that it is the ongoing relationship between the parties that benefits a workplace.

New Approaches introduces a very different approach to the negotiation of enterprise agreements, and dispute resolution generally. It recognises that it is the ongoing relationship between the parties that benefits a workplace.

Air Pilot

It involves each party examining the interests of the other parties, rather than just stating its own interest, and jointly creating various solutions to meeting that interest. Once a list of options is generated, the parties can then jointly work through that list to see if there is an option that meets the needs of everyone. This often results in radically different solutions that neither party originally contemplated.

THE NEW APPROACHES PROCESS In keeping with the co-operative approach fostered

by New Approaches, applications are made jointly.

All bargaining parties must agree to undergo the process. All applications are then assessed by the FW Commission and, if accepted, are then assigned to a particular member of the FW Commission. In the case of Airnorth, Vice President Catanzariti has been assigned to us, and will oversee bargaining over the next few months.

The first two days in the Airnorth matter involved both Vice President Catanzariti and Deputy President Booth travelling to Darwin to meet with Airnorth, the AFAP and several pilots. That time was used to train the participants in how to bargain under New Approaches. It involved identifying why the parties were using New Approaches and what they hoped to achieve, looking at different styles of negotiation and setting ground rules on how the mechanics of the future negotiation meetings would operate.

The first two days in the Airnorth matter involved both Vice President Catanzariti and Deputy President Booth travelling to Darwin to meet with Airnorth, the AFAP and several pilots. That time was used to train the participants in how to bargain under New Approaches.

It involved identifying why the parties were using New Approaches and what they hoped to achieve, looking at different styles of negotiation and setting ground rules on how the mechanics of the future negotiation meetings would operate. At the conclusion of those two days, Vice President Catanzariti and the parties locked in a further 15 days (spread over five meetings) that will take place over the next couple of months.

Importantly, concrete outcomes were agreed to for the future conduct of the negotiations.

INTERACTION OF NEW APPROACHES AND TRADITIONAL METHODS UNDER THE FW ACT

It is aimed at facilitating a new method by which a more successful agreement can be reached. It is not an easy task; it is hard work. It can also be a lengthy process. It involves commitment, both ideologically and practically, from employers, employees, the union and the FW Commission.

Howeve r , be c au se o f t h e radic al ly dif ferent relationship between the parties that is encouraged

by New Approaches, resorting to the traditional avenues under the FW Act prematurely would weaken the effectiveness of New Approaches. The use of, say, protected industrial action should only be used once the potential benefits of New Approaches have been exhausted.

HOW HAS IT BEEN RECEIVED SO FAR? Across the wider Australian industrial relations sphere, the general consensus is that the program has so far been successful. This is in no small part thanks to the FW Commission devoting considerable resources to the implementation of New Approaches. Various case studies have been published by the FW Commission, which can be accessed here https://www.fwc.gov.au/ disputes-at-work/new-approaches/new-approachescase-studies. Of note is the variety of industries that have benefitted from participation in the program.

BENEFITS OF NEW APPROACHES The AFAP is very interested to see how New Approaches might transform the negotiations of an enterprise agreement at Airnorth, and what sort of enterprise agreement might be made. The AFAP is also hopeful that New Approaches will result in a different way of approaching disputes once a new enterprise agreement is made. We are particularly happy that the matter has been assigned to Vice President Catanzariti, one of most senior members of the FW Commission. Devoting considerable resources to New Approaches clearly demonstrates that the FW Commission is committed to fostering a new way for workplace relations.

We urge other pilot groups to consider whether New Approaches might assist their workplaces, either when negotiating enterprise agreements or approaching disputes. If any pilot group is interested in learning more about New Approaches, please contact Andrew Molnar or visit the FW Commission website at www.fwc.gov.au.

Of course, New Approaches cannot force an agreement.

It is aimed at facilitating a new method by which a more successful agreement can be reached. It is not an easy task; it is hard work. It can also be a lengthy process. It involves commitment, both ideologically and practically, from employers, employees, the union and the FW Commission. If it does not work in a complete agreement, it may still have the beneficial effect of better styles of communication in the workplace going forward New Approaches runs adjacent to the more traditional methods provided for by the FW Act. The parties are not precluded from using protected industrial action, or other access points to the FW Commission.

NO. 1 | 2018 33

NEW WINGS’ MENTOR PROGRAM: LEADING EDGE The AFAP’s New Wings program seeks to promote and advance the interests of Australia’s next generation of pilots in the early stages of their careers.

The Leading Edge Mentor Program provides new and aspiring pilots’ one-on-one assistance and support from a pilot with long-standing experience in the industry.

Prior to matching mentors with mentees we seek to understand where mentees want to go in their career, why they would like a mentor and where they are based. This is to ensure mentees are matched with a mentor who is best suited to their area of interest, ensuring they get the most out of the program.

The program runs over a 12-month period with matched individuals deciding between themselves how they would like the relationship to work – whether they want to meet weekly or find a phone call sufficient. Once the program is officially concluded, the mentor and mentee are more than welcome to continue their relationship further.

LEADING EDGE MENTOR PROGRAM ROLLOUT SCHEDULE The program matches mentors and mentees based on which Australian State or Territory they reside in. Leading Edge will match the mentors and mentees based on the following schedule:

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

OCT 2018

NORTHERN TERRITORY

2019

NEW SOUTH WALES

2019

VICTORIA

2019

QUEENSLAND

2020

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS Once the program has begun it is very flexible and matched participants agree on a timeline together. The AFAP continues to touch base with particpants every couple of months to ensure everything is going smoothly and there are no issues.

The outline of the entire program from start to finish is as follows: SELECTION AND MATCHING Selection and matching are based on variables such as participant preference and geographical location. The AFAP tries to match mentors and mentees close to one another and with similar career goals and experiences.

PRELIMINARY: ORIENTATION WEBINAR FOR MENTORS Once participants have been selected and matched, the AFAP conducts an information session with mentors. This ensures mentors are aware of their role and this session provides an opportunity for them to reflect on what would be beneficial to a mentee.

PROGRAM START: MEET AND GREET The AFAP organises a face-to-face meet and greet. This is where mentors and mentees meet each other for the first time, are given an overview of the program and provided the opportunity to tailor the program to best fit in with their goals and objectives.

MID-PROGRAM: CHECK-IN Mid-way through the program the AFAP calls each mentor and mentee pairing to check that everything is going smoothly.

This is another opportunity for any concerns or issues to be raised or to ask for any additional assistance if need be.

PROGRAM END: FEEDBACK In ensuring the program continues to develop and give both mentors and mentees the best experience, we seek feedback at the conclusion of the program. Here participants can raise any ideas or suggestions to further enhance the program for the next rollout.

REGISTER FOR LEADING EDGE // EMAIL MEMBERSHIP@AFAP.ORG.AU If you are interested in participating in the program but a rollout will not be in your state soon, please still register as we will send further information closer to the date.

34

Air Pilot

FIRST OFFICER BRAD WILD

TIM WREFORD

Mentor

Mentee

Experience: 17 years Employer: Cathay Pacific, B747 Mentee: Tim Wreford

University: Swinburne University, CAE Oxford Flying aspiration: Airlines Mentor: First Officer Brad Wild

First Officer Brad Wild has over 17 years’ flying experience. Previously flying for Virgin Australia on the B737, he is now a First Officer on the B747 at Cathay Pacific. In March 2017, he was matched with mentee Tim Wreford in the launch of the Leading Edge Mentor Program.

Tim was one of the first mentees to sign up for the Leading Edge Mentor Program and was matched with First Officer Brad Wild in March 2017.

WHY DID YOU BECOME A MENTOR?

Tim began at CAE Oxford, gaining a PPL/CPL and MECIR, followed by an Instructor Rating at Royal Victorian Aero Club.

He is now in the process of completing a double degree in Aviation and Finance at Swinburne University.

I was lucky enough to have an unofficial mentor while I was learning to fly. It was such a valuable asset to have at that point in my career and the guidance I received helped me make the right career decisions. I wanted to be able to offer this to someone who is in the same position I was in not that long ago.

Speaking to Tim about the mentor program, he had decided on a number of career avenues and goals that he was previously unsure about.

WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF THE LEADING EDGE MENTOR PROGRAM?

Brad was the main reason I completed my instructor rating, as I was deciding between multiple different pathways for myself, including domestic and international. Through Brad’s advice I did my rating and was fortunate to gain employment on completion. Without Brad this is something I may have missed out on.

I found the mentor program to be very grounding. It reminded me of what I have been through and the sacrifices we all make to become professional pilots. It is very satisfying to assist someone who is following the same path I have travelled.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR PILOTS ENTERING THE INDUSTRY? Treat everyone you come across as you would like to be treated. The aviation community is very small and the person you mistreat could very well be sitting across the table at your next interview. I got my first big break by being polite to the local airport refueller. A good word from him to the chief pilot of the local twin operator saw me obtain my first twin job.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF PILOTS? The industry has changed immensely in the 17 years since I have been flying and I am sure the next 17 will see just as much change. I think anyone starting his or her career is in for a very exciting journey. Flying is an extremely rewarding and personally satisfying career. It can be harsh and unforgiving at times but the good times and successes definitely outweigh the challenges.

WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST VALUABLE IN HAVING A MENTOR?

WHAT TYPES OF ADVICE DID YOUR MENTOR PROVIDE? Brad helped me understand that the questions and issues I was having with my own progress weren’t unique to my own situation. He helped me set goals and new benchmarks using his experience, which I found most useful. Speaking with a mentor in a position that I was setting my sights on enabled me to really see the possibilities for my own future.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO FELLOW PILOTS ENTERING THE INDUSTRY? I would say to focus on your theory subjects to give yourself the best chance to move forward, make the most of the current state of the industry and keep your options open.

NO. 1 | 2018 35

WELFARE Since the last edition of Air Pilot, the Welfare portfolio has continued to see the welfare of pilots prioritised across the Australian aviation industry. We have been involved in supporting and providing advice to individual pilot members, training Welfare Representatives, developing programs such as HIMS, and working with aviation companies as they implement their own welfare programs.

AFAP WELFARE TEAM We have a dedicated group of over 30 Welfare Representatives across various aviation sectors and their details are listed on the AFAP ‘Welfare page’. These Welfare Reps are key to our peer-support approach.

The strength of this approach is due to the fact pilots are much more likely to approach another pilot to discuss personal situations or ask for advice and support. Welfare Reps are not responsible for fixing problems or taking on the burden of issues faced by individual pilots, rather to listen and provide advice and recommendations about our services and support.

Welfare Reps are supported by Welfare Coordinator (Cate Larkins) and Welfare Director (Matt O’Keeffe), who oversee the guidance and advice available for individual pilots and their families. We also have a new Welfare Portfolio email: welfare@afap.org.au.

Issues that pilots can discuss with the Welfare team include questions around accidents and incidents, drug and alcohol testing, company’s DAMP program, your rights and mental health and how to deal with CASA. These can be discussed in a completely confidential manner and the Welfare team can direct pilots to further professional support and legal advice. If you have any welfare concerns, do not hesitate to contact Cate or Matt anytime.

WELFARE SUMMIT 2018 We have a Welfare Training summit coming up on 6-7 June in Melbourne. This summit focuses on training new and existing welfare reps in listening techniques, how to refer onto services (e.g. MAP, HIMS), followingup pilots in need of on-going support, balancing confidentiality with duty of care, how not to burn-out/ be over-burdened, along with information sessions from MAP and CASA medical, and an extensive HIMS training session.

We appreciate Dr David Powell and Dr Russell Brown for agreeing to speak, providing helpful information from their extensive aviation medical experience. They have continued to be great supporters of AFAP Welfare. We encourage any pilot who is interested in getting involved in pilot welfare to contact Cate Larkins to organise to attend the summit. The AFAP will provide flights, meals and accommodation to/in Melbourne for attendance as per their financial policy.

MEMBER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM The Member Assistance Program (MAP) continues to be well used. To date over 100 pilots have used the service, sometimes multiple times or for intensive periods. However the program is still under-utilised so we strongly encourage all members to make use of the program if they need, and to recommend the program onto colleagues. Remember, the program is also available for immediate family members of all members.

The AFAP Welfare leadership team has also been working alongside individual aviation companies implementing gold-standard approaches to welfare, including a peer-support program and a dedicated HIMS pathway. We continue to seek opportunities to work with companies in this way, to the benefit of our members’ welfare, while keeping AFAP Welfare independent at all times.

The AFAP are incredibly proud of our everburgeoning and singular welfare service – we believe it is the best for pilots in Australia. If you would like to know more, please get in touch.

WELFARE CONTACT DETAILS // EMAIL: WELFARE@AFAP.ORG.AU PHONE: 03 9928 5737 MAP: 1300 307 912 EMERGENCY HOTLINE: +61 (0) 459 747 757 36

Air Pilot

Joining MBF

Your MBF health declaration When you join the MBF, or when you increase your cover, we ask you to complete a general health questionnaire.

Why do I need to fill this out?

If you have a pre-existing condition and you do not disclose it, MBF will not pay benefits for it.

If you do disclose a pre-existing condition, MBF may put a Limitation on your cover (an Exclusion or Denial).

This means a reduced benefit, or no benefit, will be paid if the condition recurs.

Understanding your health makes it easier for you and the MBF to administer your benefits, should you ever need to claim.

In the case of your annual renewal, if you apply for increased cover, we will ask you to complete an updated health declaration. If you have experienced an injury or illness since you joined or last increased your cover, we may apply a reduced benefit to the increased portion of your cover.

This information is of general nature only. It does not take into account your personal circumstances and is not intended to be relied upon as specific general advice. Please read the Product Disclosure Statement (available at www.aapmbf. com.au) before deciding if this product is right for you. No responsibility for loss by any person acting, or not acting, as a result of this advertisement will be accepted. Trustee: Austair Pilots Pty Ltd. AFSL: 344259. All information in this document is subject to the Rules of the MBF, effective 1 May 2017.

NO. 1 | 2018 37

REMOTE PILOTS Joseph Wheeler,

AFAP Aviation Legal Counsel

Are remote pilots even pilots? This question is currently treated with some seriousness in global professional piloting circles. But the discussion didn’t start there.

Within the AFAP, leadership views emerged in 2016 that professional and responsible commercial remote pilots, typically characterised by a suitable standard of certification, training and experience, are a category of airspace users whose views and concerns in many respects mirror those of our own members.

Safety of operation is of paramount concern for all responsible airspace users.

This is why the AFAP sought collaborations with professional remote pilots through its MOU with the Australian Certified UAV Operator’s Association – increasing respective members’ appreciation of this fact and seeking opportunities to work together where government relations might necessitate.

However in previous years pilot associations the world over grappled with issues of professional, safety and technical representation needs common to remotely piloted aircraft and manned aviation. In November 2017 the IFALPA Professional and Government Affairs Committee established a working group to investigate how such issues should be treated by the peak organisation for airline pilots associations. Volunteer members came to be called the Remote Pilot Working Group (RPWG), comprising experts from eight member associations including Australia’s AusALPA. I was elected Chairman of the RPWG. The Group prepared a preliminary written report and recommendations for the Board of IFALPA, with respect to key questions around the theme ‘Should and/or how will IFALPA and its member associations engage with professional remote pilots in the future?’

38

Key findings from RPWG were based on representative samples of survey results from 13 member associations in respect to their engagement with remote pilots in their country, and the level of sophistication of RPAS regulation. The work of the RPWG coincided with promulgation by ICAO of the first personnel licensing amendments to Annex 1 of the Chicago Convention, which served in creating new international base standards for ‘remote pilot licenses’.

In brief, RPWG’s review of the survey results, and observation of a greater appetite for engagement by pilot associations with remote pilots in jurisdictions where RPAS regulation was more sophisticated, combined with realising it’s not ideal for IFALPA dictating rules for engagement with remote pilots in very diverse member associations with non-uniform needs, resulted in recommendations for an RPAS portfolio committee with IFALPA. The committee was recommended to include representatives of each IFALPA portfolio committee, to best deal with the preparation of future guidance for member associations on best practice engagement and representational needs of remote pilots.

I was honoured to speak about the RPWG and present results and recommendations to the annual conference of IFALPA in Luxembourg on 18 March. The prudent approach taken by the RPWG seemed to attract positive receptions. Certainly there is much interest from many diverse pilot groups in how remote pilots can gain from industrial, safety and technical expertise of manned aviation/airline pilots, and vice versa.

While there is always interest in how better engagement between the two groups (remote pilots and traditional pilots) leads to better safety outcomes, not least of which being the avoidance of aerial conflict, what is less well appreciated is how the two groups can work together managing future potential industrial needs of remote pilots thus helping them immediately, while simultaneously future proofing airline pilots’ own interests as their profession changes. Likewise, maximising the strength of a unified lobbying power between the two groups can only be pursued through joint engagement and agreement.

The IFALPA Executive Board meets in the last week of April to discuss proposals by the RPWG, among other things. Hopefully in this meeting the joint efforts as presented in Luxembourg will go some way to preparing pilots in all countries for future professional and technical challenges that will emerge through the rise of RPAS and their applications in civil life.

Air Pilot

THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER SUPPORT FOR PILOTS

Laura Fildes, Clinical Psychologist Manager Psychological Services NSW/ACT Various industries utilise peer s u p p o r t p r o g r a m s a s a ke y component of their wellbeing services. The emergency services have long recognised the benefits of peer support, as have industries with FIFO communities. IFALPA has recently identified peer support as being integral to any mental health support service for airline pilots.

The AFAP has an invaluable peer support program that works across industry and across the country. The AFAP trains its Welfare Representatives to be a listening ear, look out for their colleagues, advocate for safer work spaces and refer to professional services.

S o m e o f t h e i s s u e s We l fa r e Representatives are trained to assist with include substance issues, performance and work-stress, personal, grief and family problems and the challenges unique to being a pilot that can impact on your own and your families’ wellbeing.

One of the largest issues faced in the field of mental health is not the available treatments, but perceived stigma and other barriers that people face to access these services. A peer support program can overcome physical barriers by ensuring there is a local member of the community whom staff, volunteers and families can talk to. Importantly this program also overcomes psychological barriers to accessing support by engaging a peer, who others may feel more comfortable talking to than a professional whom they do not know.

a closed space where close human interaction is unavoidable. The fact that the work is very proceduralised, with checklists, call outs and structured decision making, can allow for the recognition of issues.

Pilot relationships with peers are easily formed and this often permits an understanding and insight that others in the organisation do not have access to.

If there are less barriers for pilots to self-disclose, and if peer supporters are onsite to identify s y m p t o m s e a r ly , t h e n e a r ly intervention and a positive culture of speaking about mental health is possible. Where mental health concerns are identified early and treatment can commence swiftly, the outcomes are considerably better.

A physically and mentally healthy workforce benefits both the pilots and the airlines. Airlines may save significant amounts of money through lower sick rates and absenteeism, while keeping a motivated staff who are engaged in their jobs. A peer support program also encourages pilots to deal with problems rather than hiding them out of fear of losing their license, job and livelihood.

There are some key requirements of a peer supporter role, and it important that this support is provided by a pilot who is knowledgeable about the limits of confidentiality such as the Welfare Rep s fo r A FAP. T his inc ludes identifying individuals who meet a broad range of competencies, not restricted to the following: •

high emotional literacy;

•

high interpersonal skill;

•

personal resilience;

•

non-judgemental stance; and

•

respected within their team.

We all have a role to play in overcoming stigma and being a support to our peers. It is important to use skills of active listening when providing support to a colleague who may be struggling.

Prevention is always the best option. If you have experienced a critical event, either work related or personal, the peer supporter can pass on some basic tools to help mitigate and manage the normal reactions that can be expected.

The key to a quick recovery is early recognition that a problem exists.

Stress is defined as the body’s response to any demand made of it and it is both normal and necessary.

Stress overload, however, is neither normal nor necessary. If you or your family recognise a change in your normal behaviour then perhaps it is time to seek help.

A peer supporter is also trained in the available services such as the Member Assistance Program (MAP) and other programs offered

by AFAP. They can assist a pilot to make appointments with these services that we know many pilots are apprehensive about reaching out to. If you would like to know more about your Welfare Reps please contact Welfare Coordinator Cate Larkins on (03) 8299 5787. If you are interested in becoming a Welfare Rep put your hand up!

Pilots work as part of a crew where they interact with other pilots as part of their daily duties.

Most of this time is spent in the cockpit of an aircraft, by definition

NO. 1 | 2018 39

austraLian air PiLots Mbf

Loss of Licence Protection run by PiLots, for PiLots for over 50 years

We understand the life you live, the risks you take and the protection and support you deserve.

Ring us today on 03 9928 4500 or visit www.aapmbf.com.au