Date una occhiata a questo articolo redatto dalla rivista settimanale "Economist" è sconvolgente, ci lamentiamo tanto noi delle nostre compagnie ma guardate un pò che succede in Cina
Trapped in the cockpit
Apr 17th 2008 | SHANGHAI
From The Economist print edition
The reasons behind an unusual display of defiance
DESPITE the aviation industry's woes, pilots remain in short supply around the world, so most are pampered. But not in China, where pilots are poorly paid and are often chained to their cockpits for life. For months relations between China's pilots and their employers have been in an uneasy holding pattern. In recent weeks, however, things have taken a nosedive.
On March 14th 40 pilots from Shanghai Airlines simultaneously reported sick. Two weeks later 11 pilots with East Star Air also requested sick-leave, resulting in long delays and several flight cancellations out of Wuhan. A few days later 21 pilots with China Eastern Airlines (CEA) in Yunnan province flew 1,000 passengers back to where they had started. Some planes turned around in mid-air; others reportedly reached their destinations, trundled down the runway and then took off again. Industrial action like this is very rare in China.
The main problem is pay. There are 12,000 civilian pilots in the country, most of them employed by state-owned airlines. Some earn as little as 10,000 yuan ($1,430) a month, though the average is around 35,000 yuan. But local private airlines pay almost double, and more experienced pilots on long-haul international flights earn twice as much again. Low-paid pilots who try to earn more through overtime face heavy taxes.
The CEA pilots in Yunnan have further problems. Those who took action have been suspended, along with two of their bosses, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has threatened them with a lifetime ban. Meanwhile the provincial government, having been spurned in a takeover bid for the local arm of CEA, has retaliated by removing preferential tax breaks. Most Chinese pilots pay an 8% tax; those working in Yunnan must now pay 20%.
The state is being so heavy-handed because it fears a mass walkout. It maintains an iron grip on pilots through lifetime contracts, enshrined in state law, which they must sign in return for receiving pilot training. With growing demand from the 20 private airlines that have started up in the past four years, these contracts seem like handcuffs. The CAAC requires pilots to pay 700,000-2.1m yuan to break their contracts. This week Shanghai Airlines filed a lawsuit against nine of its pilots demanding even more (35m yuan) if they continue with their plans to leave the company.
The CAAC's figures show a shortage of 5,000 pilots and predict that 6,500 more will be needed by 2010. The lack of local facilities is prompting Chinese airlines to send groups of students to Canada, Australia and Spain for training. The shortage will only strengthen the pilots' hand. Indeed, this week there were rumours that pilots at Shanghai Airlines will soon receive a pay rise—though any connection to their recent protest will no doubt be strenuously denied.
La parte più sconvolgente è quando dice : The CAAC requires pilots to pay 700,000-2.1m yuan to break their contracts.
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