WARSAW – There is another breakthrough in negotiations with the ATCO’s Trade Union (ZZKRL).

As part of the collective bargaining process, the two parties have tentatively agreed on amendments to the work and remuneration regulations requested by the social side.

Both drafts will be presented for consultation with the social side and the Ministry of Infrastructure.

What will change for ATCOs?

The worked-out provisions and changes reported by ZZKRL have tidied up the issues of work posts and aim at minimizing the number of controllers’ overtime and eliminating discretion.

The new annex to the work regulations limits the increase of allowances, and changes the rules of inspectors’ remuneration not only in Warsaw but in the whole country, reducing disproportions in income levels among employees.

The parties are striving for a situation in which the number of overtime hours worked due to special needs of the employer cannot exceed 150 hours per calendar year for employees working as air traffic controllers, and 240 hours per calendar year for flight information service providers.

Exceeding the daily working time standard is admissible only with the consent of the operational employee concerned or in the case when the special need is a consequence of an event that could not have been foreseen by the employer before the given employee started their operational duty.

Moreover, Agency is in the process of developing and implementing 24 postulates regarding safety procedures at PANSA formulated by ZZKRL. The parties are working on a code of ethics and other social issues.

Will PANSA find the money?

The most important question that arises at PANSA and in general is how to get so much money for raises? Changes at this level involve either redundancy or looking for money in other parts of the business.

Will the increase in personnel costs be reflected in increases in terminal or route fees for flights over Poland?

If so, it will, unfortunately, have a disastrous effect on passenger transport and air freight. Tarnished by the pandemic, the airline and travel industries in Poland may not be able to withstand further increases.

Especially in a country where rampant inflation ranges from 10 to 12 percent.

“We will be asking for details in the infrastructure committee. Analysing the costs of these arrangements and its impact on the financial standing of PANSA. As well as on airfares for millions of airline passengers and the competitiveness of Polish airspace”,

said Jerzy Polaczek, former Minister of Infrastructure and member of the Parliamentary Infrastructure Committee.

Is the dispute at PANSA coming to an end?

At the end of April PANSA and Unions signed an agreement, thanks to which it was possible to avoid the paralysis of Warsaw’s airports.

The agreement was supposed to be in effect until July 10, during which time both parties agreed to work on a final agreement.

The Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk in recent days argued that it is not far from reaching it.

He stressed that a controller’s work requires special skills and concentration, that’s why such people have to earn well.

Ruslana Krzeminska from PANSA told the Polish Press Agency that consultations with 13 unions will now take place.

That leaves the way open for other unions to have another dispute. The other unions are not happy that only one of them is being consulted on the changes.