Welcome to the Chinese New Year of the Dog – it’s a year that celebrates the traits of loyalty, honesty and service, and 2018 is predicted to be one of considerable change.  This is particularly poignant for NZALPA given these qualities are central to our advocacy role on behalf of our members and the strength of relationships we develop with stakeholders. 

This is just as important outside the negotiating table as much as it is around it.  It’s also making sure we foster open communication and trust with the wider industry and the public, which is imperative if we are to demonstrate how our opinions are increasingly sought and our influence clear as the Voice of Aviation. 

This year it will mean closer and more effective relationships with government - Ministers, policy makers and regulators.  It will also mean working on areas of common ground and improving relationships with employers to achieve the best outcomes for those people and issues we represent – our members, the safety of the travelling public, and the industry as a whole.

In-house we’re working through the Structural Review and recommendations from this work will be focus areas at this year’s NZALPA Conference in June. The Structural Review Working Group will be presenting its report and recommendations which will include feedback from as many NZALPA Councils as possible prior to then. At Conference we will then deliberate on these recommendations and decide the way forward. 

Prior to this, NZALPA representatives will attend the annual IFALPA Conference, to be held in Luxembourg later this month.  As an article in this Uplink issue outlines, New Zealand pilots were founding members of IFALPA in 1948 so it’s exciting to be celebrating over 70 years of our contribution to all facets of IFALPA work.  This includes participation in the Executive Board, its Technical and Professional committees, and within our specific Asia/Pacific Region.

One of the most important aspects of IFALPA’s work is participation and representation of the global pilot community at The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Because of this representation, NZALPA has direct access to the highest decision making body in global civil aviation.  

Information flow regarding important industry matters has always been two-way between NZALPA and IFALPA. Whilst NZALPA has benefited hugely from the expertise and the global specialist knowledge that IFALPA offers, IFALPA has also regularly requested information and expertise from New Zealand to contribute to the international knowledge base.

One of the key features of IFALPA’s recent Conferences has been the running of annual Global Pilots’ Symposium (GPS). The outline of this year’s GPS is called The Trail Ahead.   Our delegates at this year’s Conference will be keenly anticipating the outcomes from this which will include input from the three global alliances - the Association of Star Alliance Pilots (ASAP), the Oneworld Cockpit Crew Coalition (OCCC), and the SkyTeam Pilots Association (SPA).

Topics will be those that are at the forefront of our industry and will include the rapidly changing labour arrangements around the world; address the evolution of Global Alliances; and the effects of atypical employment practices.  We know there is still much work to be done towards permanent solutions, so it’s not just a ‘talk fest’ - this Conference provides strategic tools alongside action plans for the wider profession. This also ties in with our shared international objective to promote, mentor and develop the next generation of pilot and air traffic controller leaders. 

We look forward to reporting on the proceedings in an upcoming issue of Uplink. 

Have a safe month.

Tim