Author: Andy Mooney

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