Air Traffic Control Issues

[Viridis]

An Australian-domiciled pilot said to me a couple of weeks ago 'there's an element of CFMEU-style tactics in what the Sydney air traffic controllers are doing'.

Sickies appear to peak on Fridays and Saturdays, and during school holidays. Amazing.

No one denies controlling aircraft must be a very stressful, fast paced job. I once worked with a male who was bright, but had applied and been rejected because he couldn't get his head around the multiple types of separation he needed to be able to process.

However many other jobs are arguably equally stressful: paramedics, surgeons, emergency department nurses, train controllers, firemen at times, police, dangling 140 metres above sea level from the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne to remove graffiti painted by Pam The Bird, crane operators on building sites, heavy vehicle and freight train drivers to name a few.

These people signed up for very well remunerated positions in Sydney yet their taking sickies (of which they have an unlimited number available each year) is hugely disadvantaging passengers, some of whom miss international connections as a result, and causing airlines to waste fuel. On occasion, restricted numbers of movements beyond hourly and quarter hour movement limitations may see airline crews having to spend an overnight away from where their roster says they should be.

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

There seems to be quite a few defamatory assumptions in these comments masquerading as fact

An Australian-domiciled pilot said to me a couple of weeks ago 'there's an element of CFMEU-style tactics in what the Sydney air traffic controllers are doing'.

Sickies appear to peak on Fridays and Saturdays, and during school holidays. Amazing.

An Australian domiciled pilot approaches this from a particular perspective, not least being that they are more frequently exposed to the consequences of ATC shortages than you or I.

No one denies controlling aircraft must be a very stressful, fast paced job. I once worked with a male who was bright, but had applied and been rejected because he couldn't get his head around the multiple types of separation he needed to be able to process.

However many other jobs are arguably equally stressful: paramedics, surgeons, emergency department nurses, train controllers, firemen at times, police, dangling 140 metres above sea level from the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne to remove graffiti painted by Pam The Bird, crane operators on building sites, heavy vehicle and freight train drivers to name a few.

Perhaps, but the potential consequences of one (!) misjudgement by ATC is 800 fatalities.

These people signed up for very well remunerated positions in Sydney yet their taking sickies (of which they have an unlimited number available each year) is hugely disadvantaging passengers, some of whom miss international connections as a result, and causing airlines to waste fuel. On occasion, restricted numbers of movements beyond hourly and quarter hour movement limitations may see airline crews having to spend an overnight away from where their roster says they should be.

I would argue, given the responsibility, that ATCs are, in fact, underpaid. The fact is, that like most employees, their role is viewed as a 'cost' to the business that must be minimised. This is different to the logic which is used to remunerate anyone from CEOs to bond traders who are considered to 'generate revenue' and so can be paid in the tens of millions. But without ATCs there would be no air navigation charge revenues and landing fees etc in the same way that there would be no passengers without pilots, train drivers and bus drivers. The whole system of valuing and rewarding work is completely broken .... but I digress.

How do you know they are taking 'sickies'? What evidence do you have? As far as i am concerned they are reporting sick/unfit for duty. And I would much rather that be the case if they are controlling a flight that I am on

As for crews getting disrupted? That is the safe outcome. Staff in safety critical roles (in this case ATC & Pilots) can have no regard for the consequences of their decisions, the people on aeroplanes etc - and how others will be impacted - they must choose the safest outcome; and if that means reporting unfit for duty, then ... tough.

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

What you have to ask is not, why ATCs have these provisions conferred upon them, but why others don't? Do you want your surgeon operating on you when s/he's sick or otherwise distracted or has worked 36hrs straight (it happened); or even your fund manager investing your Superannuation when they are unwell/exhausted? It's macho nonsense to power-on when you're knackered because your performance & decision making degrades - fact. Aviation is as safe as it is because it leads the world in this thinking. That knowledge is being sought by other industries and passed on. We will all be dead one day and our employers will get on just fine without us despite our pretentions otherwise.

 

[Viridis]

Unfortunately, sick leave provision is often abused. It's meant for genuine illness, not just because an employee wants to take a day off.

Evidence??

 

[AuSammy]

It certainly isn't a widespread practice by any means.

Unfortunately, sick leave provision is often abused. It's meant for genuine illness, not just because an employee wants to take a day off.

Some jobs requiring shift work see employees swapping hours or days of work with colleagues.

Try certain health funds, banks, insurance companies, tech companies, communication companies, mining companies.

These companies have found by experience that an annual cap makes people feel entitled to take sickies to the limit or “lose it”. Remove the cap and give the manager discretion and you built a trust level that if I am genuinely sick my manager will approve it. There is no longer a target to take off or lose it. It’s no longer an award entitlement but a health benefit.

In the years after introduction in one firm i worked for and got access to the stats, sickleave claims dropped quite dramatically.

 

[Forg]

NT police get unlimited sick leave

Expletivey Hell you’d want all sorts of mental-health time just living up there, let alone dealing with the … rule-applicability-believers up there!

 

[Melburnian1]

An Australian domiciled pilot approaches this from a particular perspective, not least being that they are more frequently exposed to the consequences of ATC shortages than you or I.

Australian-domiciled pilots are in a very good position to know what's actually going on, because they have access to a wide range of individuals who work in aviation.

 

[Melburnian1]

Evidence??

While I am not litigious and vastly prefer all matters to be resolved directly between employers and employees/contractors without the involvement of solicitors, unions or tribunals, it's sufficient of an issue in Australia for law firms to have issued bulletins.

One example:

Sick Leave Abuse: Employer Actions in Australia | Sprintlaw Australia

Sick leave abuse in Australia includes misuse or dishonesty; employers can request evidence and must follow fair, documented procedures to address concerns.

sprintlaw.com.au

 

[offshore171]

Question:

Has there been a statistically unusual/improbable amount of ATC sick leave in recent days?

Not sure if I’ve seen any details about this in news reporting so far.

 

[Viridis]

While I am not litigious and vastly prefer all matters to be resolved directly between employers and employees/contractors without the involvement of solicitors, unions or tribunals, it's sufficient of an issue in Australia for law firms to have issued bulletins.

One example:

Sick Leave Abuse: Employer Actions in Australia | Sprintlaw Australia

Sick leave abuse in Australia includes misuse or dishonesty; employers can request evidence and must follow fair, documented procedures to address concerns.

sprintlaw.com.au

That is guidance provided to employers from a law firm advertising their wares in the same way that Unions (on behalf of employees) receive guidance to mitigate the misbehaviour of employers

You are accusing ATCs of taking sick leave in circumstances which do not warrant it. What is the specific evidence that you are in possession of that allows you to denigrate the professionalism of ATCs who feel compelled to report unfit for duty?

 

[Viridis]

Australian-domiciled pilots are in a very good position to know what's actually going on, because they have access to a wide range of individuals who work in aviation.

I have ‘access’ to many people in the broader industry in which I work, with whom I interact professionally, but I don’t socialise with them.

Access doesn’t guarantee informed comment. I’d be curious to know how the “CFMEU tactics” assessment was arrived at.

 

[AuSammy]

While I am not litigious and vastly prefer all matters to be resolved directly between employers and employees/contractors without the involvement of solicitors, unions or tribunals, it's sufficient of an issue in Australia for law firms to have issued bulletins.

One example:

Sick Leave Abuse: Employer Actions in Australia | Sprintlaw Australia

Sick leave abuse in Australia includes misuse or dishonesty; employers can request evidence and must follow fair, documented procedures to address concerns.

sprintlaw.com.au

How is that specifically relevant to Airservices Australia and ATCs at Sydney?

 

[Melburnian1]

How is that specifically relevant to Airservices Australia and ATCs at Sydney?

It was in response to a question asking for 'evidence' about my general statement that sick leave (across industries) can be abused.

It's a good idea to go back a few posts to see to what a contributor was replying.

 

[Melburnian1]

Question:

Has there been a statistically unusual/improbable amount of ATC sick leave in recent days?

Not sure if I’ve seen any details about this in news reporting so far.

This extract below from Channel 7 news is unfortunately not dated, a problem with many Internet archives initiated by TV news stations (unlike print media that routinely dates its articles) but it is (IIRC) a recent previous occasion (not this weekend) when travellers at Sydney airport were disrupted:

Sydney Airport chaos as controllers call in sick

Air traffic controllers at Sydney Airport called in sick en masse, forcing flight delays and threatening complete departure cancellations between 3:30-4pm. The staff shortage caused chaos for weekend travellers, with departures initially delayed to f

7news.com.au

And here's what 7 news stated on its website:

Sydney Airport chaos as controllers call in sick​

Air traffic controllers at Sydney Airport called in sick en masse, forcing flight delays and threatening complete departure cancellations between 3:30-4pm. The staff shortage caused chaos for weekend travellers, with departures initially delayed to four minutes apart before additional controllers were brought in to fill the gap.

--------------------

So there we have it. At least one major media outlet has highlighted the issue.

 

[Melburnian1]

Access doesn’t guarantee informed comment.

There are no guarantees in life except for the two well known ones, but access means the chances of a resultant comment being well informed are increased.

 

[Melburnian1]

I have ‘access’ to many people in the broader industry in which I work, with whom I interact professionally, but I don’t socialise with them.

Great. In the course of chatting with them, they'd only be human if they told you of both achievements (and more relevantly to the current discussion) problems, and definite or likely causes of the latter.

Socialising with them should provide even more insights - a couple of wines or beers may help.

And how do you know that just because person A is like you and doesn't socialise with person B who works in a different subsector of the same field of employment, that person C doesn't socialise with person B (or D) across subsectors?

 

[Must...Fly!]

Air traffic controllers at Sydney Airport called in sick en masse

Cool, do they want to put any context behind that sensationalist statement, or are we simply all meant to fall for it hook, line and sinker?

Honestly, this isn't journalism and it does not prove anything.

 

[checkstate]

Hi all,.

I am an enroute air traffic controller located in Melbourne. I don't directly deal with the Sydney Tower & TCU (approach) guys, so I can't speak to the specifics of what's going on there staffing wise. I wanted to clear up a few misconceptions ITT, and answer any questions I can, as someone in the know.

As a result of voluntary redundancies issued in the COVID-era, our workforce has been critically short-staffed since 2021-ish, in pretty much every ATC "group", (or business unit, comprised of 15-50 controllers responsible for a specific area). Our rosters are created and published roughly 3 months in advance. These rosters are based on a master-roster, which caters to expected traffic levels on the day etc. As a result of not having enough staff, these rosters are being published with "blanks" or vacant shifts. These are shifts that need to be filled in order to meet the minimum levels of service provision required to safely run the airspace.

1 week out from a blank shift, the call will go out to controllers rostered-off on that day, to see if they can accept it as overtime. It varies widely based on the group, but it's not uncommon to have 1 or 2 blanks (8h shifts) per day. If no-one is able to take it, because doing so would put them in breach of our fairly pitiful fatigue regs, they have a doctors appointment, they need to sleep after a night-shift, want to see their kids that day etc, the shift manager for that shift is left to manage it tactically. i.e: Shorter breaks, longer stints on console, training for that day is rescheduled etc.

If a group is at ideal staffing, and there are no blanks, if someone calls in sick, it's not a major issue. People are called on their day off to see if they can come in short notice, and if no-one can, again they run shorter breaks, longer stints on console etc. The problem is, if we are already running short that day, and someone calls in sick, there's no extra fat in the daysheet to cover for them. That's when you start seeing service variations, TIBA, increased departure spacing etc. For every service variation, (like the ones at Sydney recently), there's 10 shifts being ran at the bare-minimum of safe staffing., but the company keeps this very hush-hush.

Fundamentally, we shouldn't work in a system where 2 people calling in sick because of fatigue, a cold going around a very small enclosed tower, or needing a mental health day, can topple air traffic in our nation's capital. The solution to this isn't to further unsustainably push the Sydney controllers into burnout by taking less sick leave, and taking more overtime, but for Air Services to pull their finger out and properly ramp up training.

 

[checkstate]

Absolutely not.
The Australian Government should immediately hire foreign air traffic controllers to resolve the ATC issues.
Simply reduce the capacity will only make Sydneysiders unable to go overseas and trapped in Sydney and become unhappy.

This is already happening. Due to impending security clearance requirements, there are a limited number of countries we can recruit from, (Europe, US, UK, NZ etc). Additionally, not all countries air traffic systems are created equal, the attrition rate for trainees from places like South Africa, where the standards for controllers can be a little lax, is over 66% for Enroute controllers. Even for US enroute controllers, the attrition rate is roughly 50%, (based on back of the napkin math). This is in comparison to an attrition rate of 50-66%, (pass rate of 33-50%), for off-the-street domestic hires. With our current training infrastructure, we are literally training at 100% capacity.

 

[AuSammy]

And it seems from AI that comparison with other industries simplistic approach of 10days of sickies is nothing like Airservices Australia

 

[checkstate]

An Australian-domiciled pilot said to me a couple of weeks ago 'there's an element of CFMEU-style tactics in what the Sydney air traffic controllers are doing'.

Sickies appear to peak on Fridays and Saturdays, and during school holidays. Amazing.

No one denies controlling aircraft must be a very stressful, fast paced job. I once worked with a male who was bright, but had applied and been rejected because he couldn't get his head around the multiple types of separation he needed to be able to process.

However many other jobs are arguably equally stressful: paramedics, surgeons, emergency department nurses, train controllers, firemen at times, police, dangling 140 metres above sea level from the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne to remove graffiti painted by Pam The Bird, crane operators on building sites, heavy vehicle and freight train drivers to name a few.

These people signed up for very well remunerated positions in Sydney yet their taking sickies (of which they have an unlimited number available each year) is hugely disadvantaging passengers, some of whom miss international connections as a result, and causing airlines to waste fuel. On occasion, restricted numbers of movements beyond hourly and quarter hour movement limitations may see airline crews having to spend an overnight away from where their roster says they should be.

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

Yes, while we do have unlimited sick leave, (what we call sick leave as required), it doesn't equate to being able to take 50 days off scot-free in a year. As a controller, we hold something called a Class 3 CASA Medical. It's incredibly similar to the medical commercial pilots hold. Two of the requirements to exercise the privileges of my ATC license, are that I need to have a valid medical, and I need to be fit for duty. (The details of this are available in the CASRs, and the Air Traffic Control Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027).

If I start a new medication, CASA may temporarily suspend my medical for X number of weeks, to ensure my fitness for duty under the provisions of my medical. This means I legally cannot work, until I get the thumbs up from CASA.

When I rock up for work, I need to be fit for duty, meaning I need to be well-rested, healthy, not sick, etc. This is again, a legal requirement. By rocking up to work sick, I am breaking the law, and more importantly, my impaired performance at work degrades the safety margins of the air traffic system we operate in. Airservices, and our union, has made it very clear, that if I have an incident, as a result of rocking up to work with a head cold, or fatigued, or stressed, I am wholly at fault for this. Sick leave as required allows Airservices to discharge this responsibility onto me. (It prevents me from saying "I was forced to come in sick, otherwise I'm not able to pay the mortgage").

For all effective purposes, we have 15 days of sick leave a year. Sick leave / absenteeism above 15 days, which does not have a very good reason for it, (I broke my arm, I'm in hospital), will land me in hot water, and I can be forced to take it unpaid. Despite what the media says, I can't take every Friday off scot-free.

 

[Saab34]

Check state thanks for joining up providing some more colour. Appreciate it.