Mere weeks after Transport Minister Robeson Benn assured the nation that the country’s air traffic control system is safe, the control tower at the Ogle Airport has been closed indefinitely while the aviation authority is struggling to match staff to the shift system at the Timehri tower.
The air traffic controllers are said to be strictly working to rule since they have lost faith in negotiations on their grievances.
Workers are protesting the way the authority is dealing with outstanding issues including salary increases which have caused them to feel resentful towards management and other key decision makers.
For most of last week several air traffic controllers have either reported sick or submitted medical certificates covering them over a number of days, impacting the department which is already struggling with a staff shortage.
A senior air traffic controller, speaking to this newspaper on the basis of anonymity, said that workers previously willing to fill in for sick colleagues just to keep the system up and running have lost faith in negotiations, since they have met with officials at all levels but are not convinced that their concerns are being treated seriously.
“We cannot work overtime because we do not want to compromise the safety of the flying public,” the staff member said, adding that previously some controllers worked as much as 17 hours. He pointed out too that one of the officers who worked a shift last week needed to be released to visit the washroom and another staff member who should not have been on duty at the time assisted, but ended up not being released.
As hours passed that officer notified the supervisor on duty and then left subsequently since according to him, too many long hours for one employee could mean knowingly compromising safety.
Retroactive overtime payment on salary scale adjustments, a 10 percent increase in wages and salaries for last year and salary and leave advances are among the grievances. Additionally, workers want management to address the issue of substantive appointments as well as maximum work hours per month for Air Navigation Services staff.
The air traffic controller has sought the intervention of the Office of the President. This newspaper has also seen correspondence forwarded to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon by the Guyana Association of Air Traffic Control Officers late last year in which the same requests were made.
The employee said the last word on discussions was a decision by Luncheon to hold a tri-partite meeting among staff of the Guyana Civil Aviation Department (GCAA), its management and Minister Benn. However this meeting never materialized.
Yesterday both Benn and GCAA interim director Zulficar Mohammed were reticent about discussing the matter, but both were aware of the recent sick reports made by some employees.
It was confirmed too that at least four employees had submitted medicals while others are working to rule. While Mohammed acknowledged that a staff shortage had resulted in a slightly difficult situation at Timehri on Wednesday in which one officer single-handedly manned the Timehri tower, he said this did not cause a closure of the airport as such.
Neither official has offered a definite word as regards a resolution of the staff concerns.
Meanwhile the workers are to meet tomorrow to decide whether they will intensify action and alert management accordingly to ensure that their concerns are addressed. (Heppilena Ferguson)
