It is hard for an ATM blog not to comment on the Spanish ATC situation. However, it is also hard to comment when you lack the details of the situation and when you are aware that a lot of what has been said is not true.
Having said the above, some things are nevertheless clear enough:
There is a conflict between the Spanish Government and AENA management on one side and the controllers, represented by their trade union on the other. This conflict has seriously grown in proportion [and out of it] in the recent months.
The conditions of the controllers have been severely degraded over the past year. The degradation has been drastic.
The financial situation of AENA [and of the Spanish state] seems very difficult.
The controllers walked out of their working positions on Friday the 3rd of December. This action was and could be interpreted as a ‘savage’ – but pre-meditated strike as it fell on the beginning of a long week end in Spain, but the situation seems to be more complex, but I fail to understand exactly what trigerred it on 3/12.
Without passing judgements into who is right or guilty, I think that in any conflict every side has its responsibilities to bear. However, my sympathy and worry goes with the individuals who are or could potentially be affected by this conflict:
My sympathies go to the many professional controllers out there, who are now working under very stressful conditions, being requisitioned under military rule. These people have seen their situation severely degrade [and overnight] in the past. They have been ordered to work very long hours [I read the figure of 1840 hours per year, which if true, even if it includes operational breaks during duties, and assuming that these breaks are of reasonable duration, is very long]. They have also seen their net income reduced drastically overnight, as what they previously they used to earn as over time, is now part of their decreed working hours. I sympathise because I used to be a controller and because I am a family man, and I can imagine how stressful it could be for a responsible person to deal with loss of income vis a vis commitments his family has [education, house loan, etc.] and at the same time seeing that their profession is being degraded in a severe way.
I sympathise mostly because as far as I know these people never stole anything from anyone. One could argue that they have used their strong position in the past to acquire certain conditions. Maybe it is true, but who would not try? And they were given their conditions, they did not steal them. So why are they now treated as robbers? I sympathise, because other less responsible industries [I am thinking of banks and their financial cousins] screwed up severely by acting irresponsibly [and to a certain extend by abusing the system] and yet governments went out to save them – with not many questions asked. With the result that one can still argue that they are still acting irresponsibly [I think of banks not lending money and to the quick redistribution of bonuses to the same clan who screwed up some months prior]. Yes I sympathise with the controllers.
I am also worried about my profession which is about delivering safe air traffic control. And which should be seen as a very satisfying profession. I have serious worries about how the levels of safety can be maintained when the persons providing them are working under severely degraded, stressful and demotivating conditions. I am worried about the air travelling public.
As I said in the beginning, the situation is not easy on both sides. There must be misunderstandings from both sides. Both sides are under severe pressure because the general situation [partly thanks to the banks!] is very tense. The situation needs to be resolved. I hope and wish that both parties show an exceptional sense of responsibility and maturity to find a sustainable solution for all those involved. And if a win-win situation is too optimistic to hope for, I hope that both will try to seek a situation which at least is one of dignity and where the scars are limited on both parties.
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