February 7th, 2013 | Author: Editorial
It was reported in Today online on 4 February that SIA made changes to allowances for its cabin crew drawing disdain and unhappiness from the crew [LINK].
According to Today online, a strong Singapore dollar and protracted negotiations between SIA and the staff union meant staff were paid interim allowances between July and November last year. When negotiations finally concluded in November, SIA announced it would be retracting part of the paid allowances. According to comments posted online, some crew members saw a claw-back of as much as $1000.
Mindy Wang said, “Gave away my AWS! $1K. Thanks SQ! Great way to eat my $!”.
Others had to pay back between $400 and $900, not a sum to be sniffed especially when flight crews depend heavily on allowances to cover meals and expenses on overseas.
According to SIA cabin crew TODAY spoke to, the allowances received for working on flights to European countries and the Americas were the hardest hit by the adjustment — by as much as 20 per cent. For example, the allowance for a five-day trip to London used to be about S$900 but has now decreased to about S$650.
It was further reported that the last time cabin crew members had to return a portion of their allowances was in 2004.
Apparently, while SIA was quick to cut allowances on the basis of a strong Singapore dollar and cheaper hotel menu prices, it had not adjusted allowances for inflation in a long time.
A flight steward who wanted only to be known as Mr Lim, 30 wrote, “The fact that they did not take inflation into view, I feel that it’s poor judgment and the timing was just bad. They have not increased location meal allowances for a long time — in the five years I have been with the airline, they’ve already adjusted (allowances) downwards three times.”
Echoing his view is Alex Pan who wrote, “I notice Europe allowance almost same with 2002 after checking my 10 years old allowance slip. Inflation leh…?”
The unhappiness doesn’t stop there.
TRE understands from a reader, Slave In Air, that SIA had made only a small 2.5% increase to transport allowance after the last fare hike, put crew flying long haul flights in cheaper hotels, extended working hours from 80 to 85 hours and reduced the number of crew numbers on certain aircraft type which meant crew would have to work harder to meet passengers’ demands.
All these actions combined, including the recent announcement by SIA that it would be cancelling some contracts of its pilots ahead of time makes it safe for one to assume that SIA is desperately finding ways to cut costs and tighten its belt.
A report on CAPA shows that while the revenue for SIA group has increased by 3% in the 2nd quarter of its 2013 Financial Year, the profits have almost halved in the same period. This would sound the alarm bells for any business except that the reduced profit in that one quarter amounts to SGD90.1 million (USD72.2 million)!
Make no mistake, this is profit from just ONE quarter (i.e. three months)!
One wonders why a company that sells itself on its Singapore Girl image would choose to upset the very people who front its brand. Surely the SIA management cannot be so naïve to not know that happy employees determine your success?
Employee happiness may not be at the top of many executives’ lists, especially these days, but it should be. Compare Fortune magazine’s annual list of best places to work with the Fortune 500, and you’ll find a lot of crossover. Experts say that happy employees— especially in customer service—are more engaged with their jobs and therefore more likely to go the extra mile (Why Happy Employees Determine Your Success - Articles - Executive Travel).
This reality doesn’t escape lay people.
Chazza Boags wrote, “the airline is really managing this very badly. If negotiations did not conclude in time, the interim allowances should stand. How can the workers trust management when they are asked to return allowances?”
Infinit added, “SQ should never -ever- do anything to demotivate their cabin crew. No matter how bad the going gets, their salaries or allowances should never be cut. Simply because their cabin crew are their one true differentiating factor. If the crew become dissatisfied and lose the consistency they have, it’s all going to go downhill for SQ”.
If a layman recognises this, one wonders how a big and long-time company doesn’t. Is SIA being penny-wise, pound foolish?
.
References:
SIA Group operating profit almost halved in 2QFY2013 | CAPA - Centre for Aviation
SIA cabin crew unhappy with allowance changes | TODAYonline
Why Happy Employees Determine Your Success - Articles - Executive Travel
It was reported in Today online on 4 February that SIA made changes to allowances for its cabin crew drawing disdain and unhappiness from the crew [LINK].
According to Today online, a strong Singapore dollar and protracted negotiations between SIA and the staff union meant staff were paid interim allowances between July and November last year. When negotiations finally concluded in November, SIA announced it would be retracting part of the paid allowances. According to comments posted online, some crew members saw a claw-back of as much as $1000.
Mindy Wang said, “Gave away my AWS! $1K. Thanks SQ! Great way to eat my $!”.
Others had to pay back between $400 and $900, not a sum to be sniffed especially when flight crews depend heavily on allowances to cover meals and expenses on overseas.
According to SIA cabin crew TODAY spoke to, the allowances received for working on flights to European countries and the Americas were the hardest hit by the adjustment — by as much as 20 per cent. For example, the allowance for a five-day trip to London used to be about S$900 but has now decreased to about S$650.
It was further reported that the last time cabin crew members had to return a portion of their allowances was in 2004.
Apparently, while SIA was quick to cut allowances on the basis of a strong Singapore dollar and cheaper hotel menu prices, it had not adjusted allowances for inflation in a long time.
A flight steward who wanted only to be known as Mr Lim, 30 wrote, “The fact that they did not take inflation into view, I feel that it’s poor judgment and the timing was just bad. They have not increased location meal allowances for a long time — in the five years I have been with the airline, they’ve already adjusted (allowances) downwards three times.”
Echoing his view is Alex Pan who wrote, “I notice Europe allowance almost same with 2002 after checking my 10 years old allowance slip. Inflation leh…?”
The unhappiness doesn’t stop there.
TRE understands from a reader, Slave In Air, that SIA had made only a small 2.5% increase to transport allowance after the last fare hike, put crew flying long haul flights in cheaper hotels, extended working hours from 80 to 85 hours and reduced the number of crew numbers on certain aircraft type which meant crew would have to work harder to meet passengers’ demands.
All these actions combined, including the recent announcement by SIA that it would be cancelling some contracts of its pilots ahead of time makes it safe for one to assume that SIA is desperately finding ways to cut costs and tighten its belt.
A report on CAPA shows that while the revenue for SIA group has increased by 3% in the 2nd quarter of its 2013 Financial Year, the profits have almost halved in the same period. This would sound the alarm bells for any business except that the reduced profit in that one quarter amounts to SGD90.1 million (USD72.2 million)!
Make no mistake, this is profit from just ONE quarter (i.e. three months)!
One wonders why a company that sells itself on its Singapore Girl image would choose to upset the very people who front its brand. Surely the SIA management cannot be so naïve to not know that happy employees determine your success?
Employee happiness may not be at the top of many executives’ lists, especially these days, but it should be. Compare Fortune magazine’s annual list of best places to work with the Fortune 500, and you’ll find a lot of crossover. Experts say that happy employees— especially in customer service—are more engaged with their jobs and therefore more likely to go the extra mile (Why Happy Employees Determine Your Success - Articles - Executive Travel).
This reality doesn’t escape lay people.
Chazza Boags wrote, “the airline is really managing this very badly. If negotiations did not conclude in time, the interim allowances should stand. How can the workers trust management when they are asked to return allowances?”
Infinit added, “SQ should never -ever- do anything to demotivate their cabin crew. No matter how bad the going gets, their salaries or allowances should never be cut. Simply because their cabin crew are their one true differentiating factor. If the crew become dissatisfied and lose the consistency they have, it’s all going to go downhill for SQ”.
If a layman recognises this, one wonders how a big and long-time company doesn’t. Is SIA being penny-wise, pound foolish?
.
References:
SIA Group operating profit almost halved in 2QFY2013 | CAPA - Centre for Aviation
SIA cabin crew unhappy with allowance changes | TODAYonline
Why Happy Employees Determine Your Success - Articles - Executive Travel
