#32
Post
by Darkhorse » Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:01 am
This is an interesting subject as there are many sides and issues involved when it comes to the pilot or AME or general labourer working for an air taxi service, charter, or airline.
Most general employees are under provincial laws (correct me if Im wrong). Pilots fall under federal labour law. I am not sure what category AMEs fall under. Therefore, depending on what career you choose gives the employer and employee specific rules and rights.
There are many people which have been done wrong by the employer. Be it constructive dismissal or tactics used putting the fear of god into the employee, "if you (don't / do) this then you will not be promoted, upgraded, asked to come back, or just simply loose your job...
I had a personal experience where the owner and two subordinates threatened me and my job if I did not toe the line. The evidence gathered was weak and unrelated. This went to a lawyer which quickly stopped the employer in their tracks for constructive dismissal.. It happens. It is a difficult decision for an individual employee to make and carry out and of course there will be consequences immediately and in the future.
Now as professional: Pilots/ AMEs we put a certain amount of faith into the employer and into the government (Transport Canada). We believe that when we provide our services to an employer we will be treated with respect and paid accordingly. We also believe that if we have any issues we can approach the employer to discuss. If that fails we believe that we can turn to TC and ask for help. Having failed that we believe we can turn to the Labour board and address our issues with them. This can be a long process and daunting as you as an individual will have to take it on by yourself with limited resources and no support (except family).
So now what. Well maybe you have a union to help you out. But as someone pointed out in the early post - Unions are not perfect either but can be helpful depending on the union.
The last point about Pilots specifically is that they have a tendency to fight their own fights and run away from everyone else's. They are loaners. This is not a negative criticism just an observation. EMPLOYERS KNOW THIS and they use it to their advantage. AMEs are different in this category.. generally I have noticed that the AME crowd (correct me if Im wrong) stick together.
I believe that if Pilots and AMEs wanted to take more control over their future, the best solution would be to have a professional association similar to Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers. An association that can lobby the government to change the Labour code that will protect all pilots (200 hour and 10000 hour) from the bad employers, unsafe operations, low paying first jobs, and more importantly federal laws which allow the employers to tell you that "you can fly a 14 hour day in an Air taxi operation because we dont fly in the winter" When do most accidents happen???? Late summer.
It is up to the whole group of pilots to protect each other before one even gets into an employers c-185, or ATR 42
Cheers
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