(GCAA) The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority noted a published Article on January 14, 2024, in the Sunday Edition of the Kaieteur Newspaper with headline “20 Air Traffic Services staff resigned within 12 months”. The GCAA notes this as an attempt to present misleading information and to malign the image of the organization and its Management. This Press Release is to present facts to address the issues raised.
The GCAA acknowledges the invaluable contribution of Air Traffic Services provided by Air Traffic Controllers and supporting staff of the Air Navigation Services (ANS) Directorate of the GCAA. The Minister of Public Works, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and the Director General of GCAA would have publicly praised the ANS for their invaluable contribution to national development.
Resignations: “20 Air Traffic Services staff resigned within 12 months” is not factual. The fact is that only nine (9) staff associated with Air Traffic Services resigned between January and December 2023, (seven (7) Air Traffic Controllers and two (2) AIS/AIM Officers). With the rapid transformation of Guyana, this challenge of staff resignation is not unique to the GCAA but has been an aviation industry experience with staff leaving the industry to pursue other careers especially in oil and gas sector, where the salaries are perceivably higher.
The Article states that “resignations are taking a toll on the operations there and staff complained that they “are stretched” … as a result in controllers working “a lot of overtime,” a situation which can lead to fatigue, given the critical nature of the job.”
While there exist vacancies at the Control Tower, overtime work may be required for facilities to maintain the required staffing levels. It must be noted that working overtime is voluntary and staff would occasionally request to be excused for specified periods which would always be accommodated. There is also strict monitoring of Air Traffic Controllers duty and rest period to ensure compliance with regulations and proper fatigue risk management.
Staff underpaid: the GCAA acknowledges that its pay level is not in comparison to the rest of the Caribbean region. However, this is an organization wide challenge and not just the ANS Division. Air Traffic Controllers are paid on scales CA4 to CA9. Air Traffic Control Assistant starts on scale CA4 (minimum $216,502) and works all the way up to ATS/ACC Supervisor on scale CA9 (minimum $596,065). In November 2023, the ANS Director submitted a proposal to adjust the salary scale for all staff of the ANS and this proposal is currently under review by the Management of GCAA.
The Article stated that “one of the main reasons behind the resignations, is tied to the staff at the tower being underpaid.” Please note that of the nine (9) resignations, only three (3) staff stated at their exit interviews that “better opportunities” was their reason for leaving while the other six (6) stated non-financial reasons.
The Article noted that the monthly salary for the AIS Supervisor is around $260,000. In fact, an AIS Supervisor is on scale CA7 which starts at $390,263 (inclusive of the recent 6.5% salary increase by the Government). This is 50% more than what was stated in the Article.
Complaints fell on deaf ears: the Article stated that “it was noted by staff members that annual appraisals which are conducted on staff at the tower have been ignored by the GCAA’s management for years.” It is a fact that the GCAA conducts annual staff appraisals, however, Management has undertaken, in tandem with the review of the ANS salary proposal, to also develop a policy to address increments along the salary scale based on appraisals.
“The opinion that concerns are being ignored and/or taken for granted by the hierarchy of the GCAA” is not factual. Management held several engagements with the ANS staff to address their concerns and took corrective action where necessary. This is what is expected of prudent management. In addition, Management and the Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill visited the Control Tower on a several occasions and had meetings with Air Traffic Controllers at his office to listen and address their concerns. Except for the matter of salary, which is currently being reviewed, several other concerns raised with Management and the Minister were addressed such as expedient procurement, sickness report at the Tower, installation of dehumidifiers at the Control Tower to aid in air filtration, acquisition of vehicle, transportation of ANS staff, uniforms, training requests, promotion and staff appointments, and facilities enhancements.
Head office staff favoured: the Article stated that “one of the biting issues which has been affecting staff members at the tower is related to the treatment meted out to them by the GCAA’s administration in the city. They believe that the staff members at the aviation body’s headquarters are “favoured”, and it was noted that those personnel are frequently offered training opportunities overseas. They noted that aviation inspectors who are based at the body’s head office travel out of Guyana as much as thrice annually to pursue training opportunities. On the other hand, the air traffic controllers and other ATC staff at Timehri are most times confined to virtual training here.”
As per the Civil Aviation Act 2018, there are two broad Divisions of the GCAA – (1) Air Navigation Services (ANS) which provides air traffic services and (2) the Regulatory Division responsible for safety, security, and economic regulation of the aviation sector. The ANS operates out of Timehri and Ogle and the Regulator operates out of Head Office in Georgetown.
Both the ANS and Regulatory Divisions need training for its staff, however, much of the ANS training is facilitated by the Civil Aviation Training School with some specialized trainings offered overseas either virtual or in person. However, this is not the case for the Regulator as most of the trainings are available overseas either virtual or in person. It must be noted that it is a requirement by ICAO to keep the Inspectors of the GCAA trained and current in their respective specializations.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many training programmes are now being offered virtually. Within the last three (3) years, many of the staff and inspectors of the GCAA participated in several virtual trainings. Virtual training is a more cost-effective way of training staff as it eliminates travel and accommodation costs.
The Article states that “in the past, air traffic controllers who are qualified enough to advance their careers, could have applied to fill vacant positions at the GCAA headquarters. That was ground to a screeching halt and according to a former controller; those roles are sometimes filled by overseas applicants, some of whom resign to pursue other jobs here.” The Board of Directors previously made a decision to freeze hiring Air Traffic Controllers for jobs at headquarters. The rationale for this decision was not to deplete the staff of the ANS to fill jobs at the headquarters as you will be solving staffing problem in one Division but creating problem in another Division of the GCAA. This decision was subsequently rescinded after Air Traffic Controllers voiced their concern since mid-2023 and now any duly qualified staff within the Authority can apply for any vacancy within the GCAA.
On the matter of promotion, in 2023, nineteen (19) ANS staff were promoted. This trend will continue as monies are budgeted in 2024 for new appointments and employment of Trainees.
Lack of basic amenities: “There was a time when to get simple things like Lysol, we would get that at Timehri. Not now, but if you go into the head office on High Street, you can find all of those things in all the washrooms”. The declaration regarding the lack of Lysol is misguided. The GCAA uses disinfectant sprays which are supplied and made available to entire organisation. Glitches in procurement and unavailability of basic amenities was a challenge of the past, but that has since been corrected since July 2023.
