Civil aviation workers have their say!
March 30, 2013
ITF Civil Aviation affiliates participated en force at the Global Dialogue Forum on the Effects of the Global Economic Crisis on the Civil Aviation Industry. The forum was held at the International Labour Office in Geneva, from 20-22 February 2013. The workers delegation consisted of civil aviation affiliates from over 30 countries, and they were joined by the presence of IFALPA, IFATCA, IUF and IndustriAll. The points of discussion centred round 4 key points:
1. What have been the effects of the economic crisis and other crises since 2000 on civil aviation, what difficulties did the industry undergo due to the structural change, and how have low-cost carriers affected the industry as a whole?
2. What are the most important occupational safety and health issues and how could they best be addressed?
3. What should be done to promote social dialogue in the civil aviation industry, in order to ensure that civil aviation can attract and retain the workforce it needs and provide decent work, and to contribute to a more sustainable industry?
4. Recommendations for future actions by the International Labour Organization constituents and the International Labour Office.
See our short film from the event here>>
To see forum documents and the points of consensus reached click here >>
The above event was shortly followed by the ICAO Sixth International Airtransport Conference held between 18 -22 March, at the ICAO Headquaters in Montreal.
See our short film clip from the event, here>>
The ITF produced a detailed discussion paper that made the following recommendations:-
a) recognise the safety and security aspects of liberalisation and the need for the participation of all stakeholders in the evolution of the economic regulation of the industry. ATConf/5 established two important basic safeguard principles that should guide the work of ATConf/6. These two basic safeguard principles should be evident in the conclusions of ATConf/6;
b) adopt a more balanced view of the social, safety and security aspects of aviation deregulation and liberalisation. The background material to ATConf/6 does not adequately examine the impact of liberalisation on civil aviation workers and the safety and security risks of aviation “flags of convenience”;
c) urge ICAO to develop in any future work program an explicit recognition that airline workers are one of the stakeholders whose interests must be considered in evaluating any proposed recommendations or guidelines; and
d) urge ICAO to work in co-operation with other United Nations agencies, particularly the ILO, in order to give a proper follow up to the conclusions of the recent ILO Global Dialogue Forum on the Effects of the Global Economic Crisis on the Civil Aviation Industry.
To see conference documents click here >>