Aviation safety regulator ‘unsafe’ say unions ahead of half-day strike

Pilots, engineers and other technical specialists plan to walk off the job on Tuesday over their complaints about chronic understaffing and excessive working hours.

CASA pilots and engineers are staging a half-day stop-work on Tuesday over what they say is chronic understaffing of the regulator.

Australia’s aviation safety regulator has been accused of undermining safety in the industry through chronic understaffing and excessive working hours.

Pilots, engineers and other technical specialists employed by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority plan to walk off the job on Tuesday in an effort to have their concerns addressed.

They include members of Professionals Australia, the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association.

Professionals Australia chief executive Jill McCabe said 95 per cent of their members supported escalating industrial action after CASA failed to satisfactorily respond to their concerns.

“Chronic understaffing has left CASA’s technical workforce overworked and under enormous pressure to cover a huge backlog of work that needs to be completed to keep Australia’s aviation industry safe,” said Ms McCabe.

“Twenty five per cent of our members reported working between six to 10 extra hours a fortnight and a further 15 per cent are working more than ten additional hours each fortnight.

“In addition, 65 per cent of our members indicated that working extra hours impacted the quality of inspections, the effectiveness of safety regulations, the workplace culture and their health and safety.”

CASA inspectors at work in Melbourne. Picture: Julian Smith/AAP

Executive director of AFAP Simon Lutton said fatigue caused by excessive overtime due to understaffing was a major concern for members.

“While a key objective of CASA is to ensure that proper fatigue management protocols are enforced within Australia’s aviation sector, CASA’s role in providing a work environment conducive to managing the fatigue of its own pilot employees is extremely poor,” Mr Lutton said.

“Our members are routinely working excessive overtime to keep up with demand, and as a result, the quality of their work, their health and safety and the safety of the travelling public is being put at risk.”

ALAEA federal secretary Steve Purvinas said the highly technical nature of members’ work was being undermined by poor workplace conditions.

“The work that aircraft engineers undertake for CASA is often highly complex and takes significant time. This type of work cannot be rushed, and the consequences of cutting corners can be catastrophic,” Mr Purvinas said.

“CASA aircraft engineers need the staff and time to do their jobs properly.”

The three unions were pushing for an additional 36 technical staff in the immediate term and a review of technical staffing levels.

PA also advised they were writing to Transport Minister Catherine King about the impact of understaffing on CASA’s ability to effectively regulate safety in the aviation industry and the urgent need to lift any public sector staffing caps that apply to CASA.

“The reality is that CASA needs additional staff to keep Australia’s aviation sector safe,” Ms McCabe said.

A CASA spokesman said aviation safety would not be compromised by Tuesday’s stop work.

He said CASA continued to negotiate with unions representing the regulator’s staff, with the aim of reaching an outcome that was fair and equitable for all.

“We have sufficient qualified staff available to continue to ensure the ongoing safety of aviation in Australia,” the spokesman said.