Outrage in Spain over soaring air traffic controllers’ pay
The Times Jan 2010
Among the Spanish controllers, some were previously lawyers, doctors and engineers. One was a philosopher
Every air traffic controller will agree: the pressure is intense and each shift is underlined by the fear that one mistake could be fatal.
In Spain, however, there’s another worry on their radar. A storm has followed the discovery that some controllers are earning more than £800,000 a year.
The revelation that Spain’s air traffic controllers can earn ten times more than their Prime Minister — and more than 50 times the average salary — has provoked outrage, while presumably raising more than a few (concentrated) eyebrows among lesser-paid counterparts across Europe.
The soaring salary scale was revealed as the country’s socialist Government announced plans to cut the cost of its loss-making airports, run by the state operator Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA).
Of 2,300 controllers, ten were paid between €810,000 (£725,000) and €900,000 last year. A further 226 were paid between €450,000 and €540,000 and 701 were paid between €270,000 and €360,000.
The average basic salary is €200,000 but most double or triple this amount by working overtime.
In contrast, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, is paid €91,982 a year and the average salary in Spain is €18,087, according to government figures.
“Scandalous” harrumphed an editorial in El Mundo, the right-wing daily. “Half earn more than double the salary of a government minister.”
One cartoon showed a character, which resembled Emilio Botin, the chairman of Banco Santander, Europe’s biggest bank, studying how to be an air traffic controller.
Certainly some controllers were previously lawyers, doctors and engineers. One was a philosopher.
Few passengers can complain that preventing aircraft collisions is not worthy of reward but the pay may come as something of a surprise to the Britons whose holidays have been ruined by striking controllers.
Earlier this month, passengers endured long delays, after two runways were closed at Madrid Barajas airport, because of staff shortages among its controllers.
Spanish air traffic controllers work 12-hour days made up of two four-hour shifts and two, two-hour rest periods. Most do an average of 1,200 hours with 400 hours overtime a year, according to the government but the Union of Air Traffic Controllers (USCA), which negotiated the salaries, said its members work 2,000 hours a year with 575 hours extra.
The controllers must have a degree, speak good English and pass a medical test every two years. After they are 40, they must undergo the test every year. A long list of medical complaints, including heart or digestive problems, will rule them out of the job.
The minimum entry age is 18 and the maximum working age is 55. Air controllers must pass a series of exams, including one on aeronautics and other psychological tests before being accepted for training. These tests aim to establish if they are able to withstand fatigue and high levels of stress. If they pass, they undergo 15 months training, However, the jumbo pay packets look set to fly no farther.
“I have taken the decision to take the bull by the horns and end the privileges of these controllers,” José Blanco, the Development Minister, told the Spanish parliament, after it emerged that AENA, which manages Spain’s 48 state-run airports, had recorded a loss last year of €300 million.
Mr Blanco aims to cut the costs of air traffic control by at least €12.6 million next year, which could mean a pay freeze or job cuts. Spain is now considering replacing air traffic controllers with a computer system in at least 12 small airports, which handle fewer than 50 flights a day.
British air traffic controllers are paid £60,000 on average but this can rise to around £90,000, according to NATS, the air traffic information service. Their French counterparts take home €110,000.