39TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Marrakech, Morocco, 6-10 March 2000WP No. 157Monitoring Privatisation/commercialisation in ATC |
Introduction
This subject continues to be part of SC4’s working programme.
IFATCA policy on page 4124 of the IFATCA manual, paragraph 2.6.3 reads:
| “IFATCA should monitor the effects of Privatisation / Commercialisation on ATCOs working conditions in co-operation with the ILO”. |
The response to an earlier questionnaire circulated by the EVPP has shown a continuing need to investigate the subject of Privatisation/Commercialisation in ATC. In order to provide MAs with assistance and information, it was decided to create a databank.
Discussion
The response to EVPP’s questionnaire indicated a significant difference between what ATCOs expected from privatisation to what actually happened. As only 6 MAs responded to the earlier questionnaire, SC4 does not consider that this is necessarily a representative sample.
An additional questionnaire from EVPP that was presented to Conference at Santiago de Chile covered most aspects. However it was not very structured in regard to aspects such as staffing, training, remuneration, working conditions, working environment and management. By creating a structured questionnaire it will be easier to keep a database that will be available to each MA.
In order to get a better impression of the effects of it will be useful to have figures that can be compared. To achieve this, an initial questionnaire has to contain a number of “before/after”-questions, e.g. staffing numbers. The evaluation of these figures will enable trends to be identified and comparisons made. An example of the Initial Questionnaire is shown in Annex 1 to this WP.
In order to continuously monitor the privatisation process as it proceeds, there should be follow up questionnaires.
When negotiating with the employer of a privatised organisation it will be useful for MAs to be aware of the experiences that other MAs have faced.
The creation of a database will assist in identifying the effects of commercialisation. It will then be easier to determine whether generally privatised ATC organisations seek profit at the expense of safety, as well as considering the impact of changes upon management structures.
Conclusions
Monitoring commercialisation continuously by means of questionnaires and the creation of a database will help MAs face commercialisation. It will be useful to have two different questionnaires. One, named initial questionnaire from now on, will be distributed to MAs that have just been privatised. A second questionnaire, named follow up questionnaire, will be distributed to MAs that are post commercialisation (second year or later) to enable the continuous monitoring of the development of privatised / commercialised ATC organisations. However, in order to get a database to start with, it will be necessary to send the initial questionnaire to appropriate MAs after this conference. MAs where ATS is already commercialised will additionally get the follow up questionnaire.
Information in the database will enable MAs to consider the negative aspects of commercialisation. Additionally, this information could be a basis for MAs and/or the ILO when negotiating with ATC companies and/or organisations. The follow up questionnaire should be distributed on a regular basis to those MAs facing their second year of commercialisation or later to be able to actually monitor the ongoing commercialisation process and to keep an updated database.
The subject “Monitoring Privatisation / Commercialisation in ATC” should remain part of the SC4 working programme.
Recommendation
It is recommended to conference that:
IFATCA creates and maintains a secure database from responses to the questionnaires.
A new paragraph 2.6.4. be inserted on page 4 1 2 4 of the IFATCA Manual to read:
“IFATCA creates and maintains a secure database of MA’s experiences with commercialisation and privatisation”.
Annex 1 to WP157 – IFATCA Initial Questionnaire on Privatisation / Commercialisation in ATC
Country:
When did your privatisation take place?
1. Staffing
1) How many ATC providers do you have in your country?
Privatised:
Other:
2) State the number of ATCOs within your country.
Privatised:
Other:
3) State the number of technical personnel within your country.
Privatised:
Other:
4) State the number of administrative personnel within your country.
Privatised:
Other:
5) Did the total number of ATCOs per provider in your country change after privatisation?*
Yes, it increased:
Yes, it decreased:
No:
6) When there have been any changes (according answer to 1g)*?
The change :
Is a result of privatisation:
Was not induced by privatisation:
7) Is there any shortage of ATCOs in your country?*
Yes, we would need approximately ATCOs more:
No, staffing is exactly what it should be:
2. Training
1) Has there been an increase/decrease in training new controllers?*
Increase:
Decrease:
No change:
2) Have basic training courses been reduced in length or content?*
Yes:
No:
3) Did and/or do you have regular refresher or emergency training courses?*
Prior to privatisation
Yes:
No:
After privatisation
Yes:
No:
4) Have there been any changes to professional qualifications or ATC requirements?*
Yes:
No:
If the answer was YES, please give a short explanation:
3. Remuneration
1) Has pay increased or decreased or did it remain unchanged?*
Increased:
Decreased:
No change:
2) Have bonus/premium payments been introduced instead of normal yearly pay increase?*
Yes:
No:
3) Do controllers receive different salaries for working at different ATC units (same task)?*
Yes:
No:
4) Are wages linked to Performance Indicators?*
Yes:
No:
If the answer was YES, please state some or all of the Performance Indicators to which your wages are linked:
4. Working Conditions and Working Environment
1) Have there been any changes to your working hours?*
Yes, working hours increased:
Yes, working hours decreased:
No, there were no changes:
2) Have there been any changes to your rest periods?*
Yes, rest periods increased:
Yes, rest periods decreased:
No, there were no changes:
3) Have there been any changes to sickness leave?*
Yes:
No:
If the answer was YES, what did change?
4) Have there been any changes to normal leave/holidays?*
Yes, they increased:
Yes, they decreased:
No, there were no changes:
5) Overtime is*
Voluntary:
Enforced:
Not available:
6) Please explain your shift scheme/regulation of working hours briefly (rotating shifts, individual roster, etc.). If there were any changes after privatisation please explain the system you had before as well:
7) Please enter:
Average working hours:
A day:
A week:
A shift-cycle:
Average breaks:
A day:
A week:
A shift-cycle:
8) Has any new equipment (e.g. RADAR) been introduced after privatisation?*
Yes:
No:
If the answer was YES: Have any ATCOs been participating in developing or buying the new system?
Yes:
No:
9) Did your new management introduce new structures (e.g. rearrangement of airspace structure) to enhance ATC capacity?*
Yes:
No:
If the answer was YES: Please state the changes briefly:
10) Has your workload increased after privatisation?*
Yes:
No:
If the answer was YES: Is this a result of any reorganisation of duty rosters, sector staffing, increased traffic or staff shortage etc.? Please state briefly:
5. Management
If the answer was YES, please state some examples:
Remarks:
If there is not enough room for your answers to the following questions don’t hesitate to add extra pages!
6. Miscellaneous
1) Please state the experiences you had during the privatisation process and advice warnings to MAs facing privatisation.
2) Do you have any fears for the present or the future that you would like to share?
3) Please state any other information you would like to provide with regard to how your MA has dealt with privatisation.
Possible questions:
- What advantages/disadvantages did you expect and have these been realised?
- What is the staff/management relationship like?
- Was your MA invited to participate fully in the privatisation process?
When finished, please send this questionnaire to:
IFATCA Office
1255 University Street Suite 408
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3B6
Canada
Email to: office@ifatca.org
Thank you very much for having answered all the questions!
Last Update: September 28, 2020