From my point of view Atco's simply have brilliant conditions, not only looking at the salary.
Above earning more than 6000€ (after tax) per month, they have:
- a totally secure job, as they are State employees. In other words, they can never be fired. If they lose their medical they are guaranteed another job at the same salary (except the premies): ask pilots how much money such a guarantee is worth (and how much they pay for their "loss of income" insurance). As State employees, even if their company goes bankrupt, controllers will get another job, with the same salary scale! That's very different in other countries. And talk to ex-Sabena, ex-Virgin or ex-City Bird pilots...
And it's not only about the medical: have you heard about that Atco from UK who was fired because he...answered a phone he wasn't allowed to answer? Similar things happened in our country and guess what happened? Nothing
No worries! But in any other country if you do anything else than your job on position, you are fired! Any pilot missing something very important because he would be doing something else not connected to his work at all would be fired! - an easy job compared to the Atcos working in countries with higher salaries. Heathrow director, London ACC, and many others are not to be compared... Let's not even talk about their workload. Those guys can work up to 2 hours and a half on position and get 30 minutes break (usually less than 2.30 but if short of staff they just do it, without striking). As stated by a controller himself in this thread, here they get 2 to 3 hours break here per shift! Shifts last 6 hours (last hour is never worked) so basically we are comparing controllers who work 3 hours per day with others who work 5.30 to 6 hours!
Additionnally, many positions are single manned in neighboring countries. All radar positions in Canac are 2 persons sectors. Nothing wrong with that but then it costs the company twice the price (two atcos per position instead of one).
- about pension: at 57 (slightly variable according to how many years they have worked), a controller goes "in dispo", which means that he gets 80% of his salary until his pension and he can stay at home (yes, at home). Afterwards, pension is above 3500€ (after tax). Again not even comparable to other countries!
So yes, let's compare with others but everything! And let's compare with all the people who had to cancel their plans each time there was a strike!
Controllers live in another world and forget that a huge part of the working population has way much harder working conditions, much more stress, and salaries that are much lower. I don't call stress working one hour peak per day behind a radar compared to working in a private company where your boss if after you checking everything you do every single minute. In Belgium there is basically no check of what you do. You can leave your workplace early: nobody says anything. You can work with 3, 5, 10 miles between planes, as long as you are above the minimum, there is no maximum! One can land 15 planes per hour and won't be blamed while he could have landed 35: nobody says anything! You can fail your annual check: no worries, here are 10 (or more) other attemps, for free! And nobody fails, because there is no real check (questions are given in advance and someone signs a paper without even watching the work).
Let's take everything into account please and inform the public of what things are. Because you screw up the public. If you want to keep your conditions secret, fine, but then leave people alone and let them fly as they have or want to. You are a public service! We pay for your jobs!
It's true that not everything is done well in the company, that a lot of things could be improved. But that is not a reason, when you have so many privileges, to screw up people who can barely afford to go once per year on holidays. And at least tell them everything which is going on. And then everyone can make her/his own idea.
and so on and so on
(Maastricht, Geneva, Dubai, Australia, UK...) wich obviously doesn't help solving the problem.