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On the surface, the issue with Australia\u2019s air traffic control system is simple. It has too few staff, and when they exercise their right to unlimited days of sick leave, flights have to be delayed.<\/p>\n
But industry insiders and union representatives point to a much deeper organisational malaise. They claim that despite two external reviews six years ago, Airservices Australia (ASA) is still a fragmented \u201cold-school boys\u2019 club\u201d rife with favouritism.<\/p>\n
\u201cManagement had their favourites, and if you did not fit in with the \u2018in crowd\u2019 you were at a disadvantage,\u201d says one former Airservices employee. A former staffer adds that even hires recruited from overseas, who Airservices actively court, are often treated poorly because agency leadership \u201cjust want to do it the same way it\u2019s always been done\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to see how that could lead to staff shortages, despite air traffic controllers being very well paid, and even potentially the two near misses between planes on the tarmac in recent weeks. Who wants to work in such an environment, especially where a momentary lapse in attention can lead to disaster?<\/p>\n
Airservices, which is a government-owned service provider, underwent a culture review in 2020 that found unacceptable levels of bullying and sexual harassment.<\/p>\n
It triggered 36 investigations into possible breaches of its workplace code of conduct. The report by sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick followed a 2019 report by former Federal Court justice Tony North, commissioned by the air traffic controllers union\u2019s law firm, which found sexual harassment, rampant bullying and discrimination.<\/p>\n
To his credit, Airservices chief executive Rob Sharp, speaking to this masthead on Monday, does not deny the possibility of a hostile work environment, acknowledging that he has heard these cultural complaints and making clear that management takes feedback on culture seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s more to do there, I wouldn\u2019t say that there\u2019s not,\u201d Sharp says.<\/p>\n
But, he adds: \u201cThe risk in saying there\u2019s a cultural issue is that it comes across as blaming your staff, and I absolutely don\u2019t do that. The air traffic control is a highly professional group.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Scott Nugent, president of the air traffic controllers\u2019 union Civil Air, the system relies heavily on overtime, pushing staff to severe fatigue and burnout. Nugent notes that he is speaking only about staffing levels, not the incidents at Sydney Airport, which remain under investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just not enough air traffic controllers at Sydney Airport,\u201d Nugent says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Sydney Airport, they are, and have been for a long time, relying on air traffic controllers doing overtime, some of them doing 10 shifts on, and then one day off, over and over, in order to keep the tower running properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The staffing deficit dramatically worsened in 2021, when ASA offered voluntary redundancies to 144 air traffic controllers during the COVID-19 aviation slump. When borders reopened and aviation roared back, the agency was left understaffed.<\/p>\n
Under the agency\u2019s pay deal with staff, controllers can take sick leave any time they are unwell, with no limit on the total number of days.<\/p>\n