High praise for Prospect from aviation sector

Employers across the aviation industry have praised Prospect for helping them to deal with the coronavirus crisis – prioritising issues that need to be dealt with, coming up with good ideas and helping employers to avoid tripping up.

Members have also praised the union for being first with the most accurate information and advice.

Prospect negotiator Steve Jary thanked all Prospect’s workplace reps and branch and section officers across the industry.

“In my regular telecons with employers over the past two weeks, I have been told how brilliant the union has been on the ground.

“And even the government has rediscovered the value of unions as one of the glues binding society together. This would not be possible without our members and reps,” Jary added.

Things continue to move at breakneck speed. Last week, the union was focused on protecting the health of members and helping control the spread of the virus in workplaces where workers are inevitably unable to maintain social distance.

Jary said that this had been achieved in most cases, with measures designed through working together with employers.

This week, the main issue for the union has been furlough. This has been a new concept for everyone – and government, employers and workers have been learning on the job. Jary has drawn up a quick guide to a complex subject that he sent to all members in aviation (see below).

Protecting the industry

While there is no doubt that the CJRS will help stave off the immediate collapse of large parts of the industry, it does not fix the problem.

Prospect continues to meet regularly with the Department for Transport – both on our own and with the other aviation unions.

“It’s fair to say that these meetings have been us on transmit and the DfT on receive.

“We have been making lots of powerful points and ringing alarm bells where necessary, but we have had little in terms of concrete commitments. In essence, the support available to all businesses is available to aviation companies.

“Only if they exhaust those options and fail to use their own banking facilities and shareholders will special cases be considered by the government.

“We also hear that aviation is not at the front of the Bank of England’s queue – not surprisingly, NHS supply chain companies come first,” said Jary.

Read Prospect’s warning to the government here.