COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response

Prospect ATSS Branch Member Update (Pay) – 03-Apr-2020

ATSS_administrator Branch, COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response , , ,

Dear member,

I want to update you on the latest developments in regard to NATS’ current financial situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

You are aware of the serious effect this continues to have on the aviation industry as well as the broader economy. Over recent days, we have been working with the NATS senior team to understand the social and economic impact COVID-19 is having on the company and to explore measures that could be taken to keep NATS going.

Cash Conservation

As you will have seen on the NATS hub, the company is seeking to conserve cash (to maintain company liquidity) through the next few months until traffic (and therefore revenue) begins to trend towards some form of normality. You will have received an email from Martin Rolfe on the 18th March which states a number of measures being undertaken to restrict cash expenditure in the drive to maintain liquidity.

We have been in consultation with NATS with respect to measures that could be implemented from an employee (payroll) perspective to contribute toward this objective.

Having considered some ideas we (together with Prospect ATCOs Branch and PCS) have reached a conclusion regarding the “fairest” way that the whole workforce can contribute to the conservation of cash in the short term. We have now reached an agreement with NATS on this cash saving measure and this is set out in the following two parts:

Firstly – the pay award of 2.3% as implemented with effect from 1st Jan 2020 will be reversed. This means that from April 2020, all pay scales will revert back to the levels they were at prior to the start of 2020. There will however be no ‘clawback’ of the payments already made covering the period of January to March. This applies to all employees who benefitted from the 2020 Negotiated Grades Pay Award.

Secondly – in line with measures already announced for the Personal Contract Grades (PCG) and other company bonuses, the bonus elements for those ATCE, STAR and ATCO grade staff that attract them will be deferred.

The combination of the two items above, along with the reduction in overtime will result in an estimated total saving in excess of £10m taken over a 12-month period.

The intention is that there will not be a detriment or erosion to earnings in the long term but a contribution in the short-term to reduce cash expenditure.

It is clearly impossible to predict with any certainty what the traffic levels and NATS revenue will be in the months ahead. Therefore 6-months after the implementation of the agreement there will be a joint review to consider whether (and when) the NATS financial situation will support the reinstatement of the 2020 pay award and/or the deferred bonus payment.

The ATSS Branch Executive has taken this collective decision as an elected body representing you our members. Whilst a ballot would have been desirable to seek your views on this course of action, there is simply not the time and it must be impressed upon members that this is a decision that has been taken in their best interests as to preserve NATS’ cash flow and the ongoing viability of the company in these uncertain times. To put this to a ballot could not have been conducted and implemented in time for April’s payroll.

Dear Colleague, we are in very uncertain times in a rapidly changing environment. Your Union has given careful consideration to implementing these measures as we look to protect all of our best interests. I thank you for your support.

A quick note on Furloughing

As you may be aware, the Government has announced a scheme, seeking to avoid job cuts, where staff are deemed to be on a on a leave of absence (‘furloughed’) for a period of time. We are actively discussing how this will operate within NATS, further details will follow in a further update to members.

Suresh Tewari

Branch President
Prospect ATSS Branch

ATSS Branch COVID-19 Member Update – 27-Mar-2020

Andy Mooney COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response ,

Dear member,

Another huge amount of activity over the last week as we adjust to the further restrictions on movements implemented by Government.

We continue to have extensive meetings with NATS management across the various business areas where our members are deployed. This collaborative approach has been very effective in helping and facilitating the adjustments required in response to the rapidly changing scene. Our key priority is the welfare of our members and during this week have addressed several specific concerns around working practices to ensure that essential activities can be conducted in a safe manner.

Additionally, we’ve been looking to understand what the changes the business will have to make in the short to medium term in response to the current situation and the need to conserve cash in the business – such as pausing external recruitment and releasing contractors and reducing external expenditure.

Our a broader front, Prospect National Secretary, Steve Jary and General Secretary, Mike Clancy are making representations with the government – notably the DfT and HM Treasury around the support that the Aviation industry as a whole requires – see the latest Prospect News Article here. You may also have seen that the provisional findings of the CMA reference were published earlier this week. Prospect has written to the DfT suggesting that it seems a waste of resources to continue with the RP3 determination given the current Covid-19 situation. All of the forecasts that underpinned the RP3 business plan – for traffic and revenue, and the planned investment programme are now worthless, it does not now make any sense to continue this process in our opinion until the situation stabilises somewhat.

It is clear that the current Covid-19 situation will be causing anxiety to members for many reasons – fear of the future, the struggle to balance home schooling with being productive or the personal impact of social isolation created through working remotely from the office and colleagues who we would interact with on a regular basis. Please do talk to your local reps if you have any concerns – they may not be physically available, but they will be reachable through phone, email or other means using our IT infrastructure. We would also encourage members to access the other resources available to them such as the Peer Supporters, Validium and of course their line managers.

For many of us, responding to the current crisis will be creating additional pressures and workload. Without the demarcation of the working day through physically travelling from office to home it’s all too easy for the working day to creep into our evenings and weekends having established our ‘home office’ workspaces. Please do try to set a ‘stop time’ and resist the temptation to just check on the email later in the day. And however many hours you work, please do record ALL the hours that you work. We are here to support you, we need to know where members feel compelled to work excess hours and it’s only by having the data that we can properly address the situation with management.

Lastly, a reminder that we’ve established a discussion thread on the Branch website where queries and concerns can be posted, at http://www.prospectatss.org.uk


Regards

Andy Mooney
ATSS Branch Secretary

27th March 2020

ATSS member update – 20 March 2020

Andy Mooney COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response , ,

Dear member,

We’re going to continue to issue these updates to members as often as is useful.

Since our last update you may have seen a number of announcements

  • An update on the issue of ‘key-workers’, related to the closure of schools. Those classed as ‘key-workers’ should be in the process of receiving notification of that from HR.
  • It has now been announced that the business will allow cancellation of Annual Leave such as where individuals may have had trips booked which cannot now be undertaken due to cancellations, government foreign travel advice etc.

As indicated in our last update we have been actively seeking meetings with Senior Management representatives of the business areas where our members are deployed and these are now underway or in the diary, with the intention that we continue to catch-up on a regular basis over the coming weeks as the situation evolves.

We have sought clarification on the identification of key roles and expect confirmation from HR of the roles included early in the coming week.

Many of us will be adjusting to the new normal of working from home. Here’s a few ideas to help us all get through the next few months.

Routine

Stick to a routine, maintaining – as far as possible and sensible your normal waking time. Try and ensure that your day has structure with set break times Perhaps take some exercise or ‘me time’ when you would otherwise have been on your normal commute.

Workspace

Try and make sure that you can sit and work comfortably. Avoid spending prolonged periods at your laptop/computer ‘workstation’, take time to stand up and stretch your legs on a reasonably frequent basis. Take a 5-minute ‘time-out’ when you make that cup of coffee or tea.

Social Contact

It’s important that we stay connected to one another. Why not use the technology available not just for formal meetings, use the technology to catch up with colleagues to exchanges experiences and ideas and check-in on each other’s wellbeing?

Working Time

We know that many of you will face an immediate increase in workload as the business seeks to respond to the emerging and rapidly evolving situation. Now, as ever, It is important that people continue to record all the hours that you work in SAP, and do try to limit those excess hours as far as is reasonably practical – to borrow a phrase, “this is a marathon and not a sprint” and we need to ensure we can deal with the demands of next week, next month and thereafter, not just today’s challenge.

Wellbeing

We understand that the current situation will be unsettling and a cause of anxiety for members. Please do use the resources available to access the support you need over the coming weeks.

  • Speak to colleagues or your line manager
  • Contact your local TU rep
  • Access the discussion thread on the Branch Website
  • Utilise the Validium resources
  • If you have an immediate need for support, the Peer Supporters are also available ]

Prospect nationally has issued a list of “Working from home – 10 top tips” which you might also find useful.

Regards

Andy Mooney
ATSS Branch Secretary

20th March 2020

ATSS Statement around the ongoing and rapidly developing COVID-19 situation

Andy Mooney Branch, COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response ,

All members will be aware that the current unprecedented worldwide situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a global crisis in the aviation industry with significant cuts to schedules being announced by all the major UK airlines. You will have also seen Martin Rolfe’s email sent on Sunday indicating the severity of the situation to the NATS business.

We have had initial meetings with NATS around what options will be needed to protect employees and the operational service as the full impact of COVID-19 is felt with the increasing numbers of people becoming infected. Nobody should be in any doubt that this situation is going to have a major impact on all ANSPs, airlines and our airport customers. We are urgently seeking to understand what the impact of the current situation will be in the short, medium and the long term.

ATSS Branch are beginning conversations with relevant management representatives of the different business areas in which our members work, to understand what the impact is likely to be. It is too early to say what measures may be appropriate in order to respond to the rapid decline in traffic levels or what impact this will have on staff. We have had initial discussions with Technical Services to understand what the impact might be on day-to-day operations and the overall investment programme as a consequence of the changed financial position of the company.

In practical terms, this means that members may be asked to assist in ways that will reduce the NATS cost base. Members may wish to consider whether they personally may be able to undertake measures on a voluntary basis, such as use of TOIL, sabbaticals, part-time working etc. We will be exploring and engaging with members on the practicalities and safeguards that would be required as and when any such arrangements are to be taken forward.

There is very little information available at the moment as the situation is evolving rapidly. We understand that many of you will have questions at the moment. We will endeavour to issue comms to members as and when information becomes available to us. It’s equally important that we hear from members with any concerns or issues. Please pass these through your local reps in the first instance. As matters evolve, we will look at how best to engage and support our members through this difficult period.

Suresh Tewari
ATSS Branch President

16 March 2020