The air traffic controllers' confrontation with aviation authorities has been temporarily frozen. But as both sides assess the damage, reports Amirah Ibrahim, there may be more trouble in the air While the initial sit-in orchestrated by air traffic controllers in March ended with the protesters in the exact same position they started in, this latest round in the controllers' confrontation with aviation authorities has resulted in a far more complicated dynamic -- one nearly impossible to tolerate or ignore. The aviation sector has been badly damaged, and losses at the national carrier continue to rise (up to $36 million in just 10 days) as airlines request compensation for their own losses due to delays at Egypt's airports. Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq has been, throughout the conflict, adamant about refusing to negotiate the air controllers' demands, which include higher wages. He has also rained down the punishments. His more recent blows include firing two young controllers in Sharm El-Sheikh for deliberately delaying flights and causing company losses. Three other senior controllers joined them two days later; the air controller union chief, his deputy and a shift chief, were also fired on similar charges. Air Controllers Union head, Magdi Abdel- Hadi said he was actually punished "for telling the truth, for disclosing all the lies that have been told about our wages. The minister said a controller with 25 years of service got an LE3,705 increase over the last three years. How can that be true when my current salary is LE4,200 and I've been working 25 years?" Abdel-Hadi also disputed the minister's other figures. "Our pension fund only provides LE20,000 to each controller upon retirement, not the LE470,000 he spoke of." Shafiq's hard-line approach to handling the crisis only softened a bit on Saturday, when the minister and his administration adopted a more flexible attitude. The two young controllers who were fired were summoned to meet Shafiq, who appeared more understanding. "He shook hands with us, and said that after investigating the matter, he decided we deserve a chance, considering our age and our position," one of them said afterwards. Earlier, the minister had attempted to abort a gradually worsening situation -- with plane delays reaching four to seven hours -- by first, meeting with controller leaders like Abdel-Hadi and threatening to bring in foreign replacements, and then, by bringing in a team of his own assistants to supervise air navigation and attempt to contain the strike damage. Last Friday, three senior officials, including the airport manager and the deputy and aviation sector directors, controlled air navigation at each airport. The teams had clear orders to fire air traffic controllers who denied pilots' requests to take off after planes had already boarded. This latter plan appeared to work, if only for a day. Delays shrunk to 60-90 minutes. By the next day, however, there were longer delays on the ground again, and hours of turn-around time in the skies above the airports. When the minister finally showed a little flexibility, and reinstated their two young colleagues, the striking air controllers decided to put air traffic at ease again, while simultaneously continuing their sit-in protest over other colleagues who have been fired. They also want the "unfair" punishments meted out to eight of their colleagues for supposedly "plotting to cause damages to their company" thrown out. Four controllers received a 15-day salary cut; three others were docked for 20 days; one had a whole month's wages rescinded. The controllers demanded that the salary cuts be reversed. "We will then be ready to discuss other related matters that we are fighting to get, and will not give it up," one of them said. The March industrial action -- which involved a sit-in and work slowdown at six main airports -- was in protest against low wages, and included a list of demands that were described by aviation officials as impossible to fulfill. Amongst them was an immediate 100 per cent raise in net salaries, with another 25 per cent increase in the next two years. The air traffic controllers are arguing that, "less-qualified air controllers in countries that are much poorer than Egypt earn much more than them." Controllers also want the government to make up for an estimated LE2.5 million shortfall in their pension funds, and provide more job security for their younger colleagues, who are increasingly on temporary contracts that feature a clause allowing the employer to terminate the contract at any time. The controllers' moves appear to have also inspired others in the field to act on pent-up demands. On Monday, representatives from national carrier Egyptair's Pilots' Union demanded a meeting with the airline's management to discuss wage increases and bonuses. During a meeting with the airline's chairman, Sherif Galal, the pilots demanded a 40 per cent increase in their net income. Management refused, with Galal saying, "they should have first considered the fact that the airline company has yet to disengage from its mother company, which is making it hard for us to develop our resources and profit independently. The company is not ready to offer that kind of increase right now. Our pilots' incomes range between LE17,000- LE35,000, depending on achieved flight hours, so the increase they are demanding would cost the company an average of LE24 million per year." As Al-Ahram Weekly went to print, the pilots were set to decide on what to do next. Should they opt for a slowdown or a strike, the situation in Egypt's skies will only get more turbulent.
