2 minute read
By Patrick Arpino
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ECA Professional Affairs Director
By Patrick Arpino
Why do we need an industrial manual?
When I started my career, aviation was booming. It was a few years after the 9/11 crisis and the effects of the liberalisation of air transport in Europe were becoming evident. At that time, flying was the only thing that mattered to me, and if I could do it within a reasonable distance from my home, that was a plus.
That's how I signed my first contract, from a French base, with an English contract. I had to open a bank account, in British Pounds of course, to receive my salary. I had to declare my income in the United Kingdom, and in case of illness there were forms to use in order to be reimbursed for health expenses... by the United Kingdom. “It's Europe”, I was told at the time. And in the end, not knowing much about labour law, social law, and even less about European law, I ended up telling myself that maybe this was indeed the European way and how it should be.
Today, 17 years later, it seems simply inconceivable to me. Numerous union battles, led by volunteer pilot experts, devoted to the values of our profession and assisted by equally devoted legal and industrial experts, have made it possible to change mentalities.
Have the abuses stopped?
Clearly no. Certainly some clarifications, notably in social law, have improved the situation today, but abuses are still too common. The European giants have continued to expand in a transnational way, making career management even more complex.
Young pilots, often financially dependent, have in most cases no other choice than to accept the first job offer, whatever the conditions. The right to unionise is still too often undermined.
The social problems arising from the European dimension of air transport are numerous. The different regulations coming from the EASA are unfortunately still limited to technical considerations. The FTL reform still leaves a bitter taste and the little progress made by the Agency on the links between socio-economic factors and safety (Art. 89 of the EASA Basic Regulation) is a perfect example of the work we still have to do.
The fight for fair and equitable working conditions for pilots in Europe is still long. Often pilots are confronted with problems relating to social law, labour law, and European law. These subjects are often difficult to understand, especially since the 27 Member States sometimes have different readings of these very technical subjects. The saga of the A1 forms related to the posted workers directive is a perfect example.
This complexity often turns to the advantage of companies with lower social costs, which in return do not hesitate to practice social dumping.
