Air control a**holes
I´ve mentioned it before, but I will say it again in order to put this post into context for anyone who has been living in a cave the last two years: the world is suffering from a financial crisis. Apparently, in some places like Spain it is an obsession and not a day goes by that we don´t hear about it. First, we had a general strike back in September (that really did a lot of good, I see the changes daily) and then things seemed to die down a bit in that it wasn´t necessarily the first thing to come on the news everyday. Then, a few weeks ago came the implosion of Ireland´s economy and successive bailout. People here in Spain (with good reason I am sure) have become concerned that they might be next. I understand their fears in an economy that seems to rely heavily on the tourism industry. When people are suffering hardships, they cut back and travel is one of the first things to go. Well, here I was thinking I was contributing to the European economy (even though their currency is kicking my paycheck´s ass each month, I don´t hold it against them) by planning a trip to Germany over the 5 day break we had last weekend. Please realize I am totally simplifying this situation and that I am sure I don´t understand it completely. (This is my disclaimer, don´t hold it against me).
Two days before we were to leave, the President of Spain announced his measures for improving the economy and safeguarding against what happened in Ireland. He proposed nationalizing some airports as well as the state run lottery system. He decided to cut unemployment benefits to some as well as trimming the budget in other areas. I am not saying that these measures are the best or only answer but he had to do something in order to save Spain from sinking (or at least make it seem that way to appease investors). Now, let´s not get into the fact that it seems to me that there are WAY too many public officials that are basically tenured into their positions until they retire (an age that he also proposed to change much to everyone´s horror). With no performance review system that I am aware of, some of these people leech off the government for years doing little or no work. I honestly think Spain needs to revamp their beauracracy and do away with a lot of these jobs, make government more efficient and cut costs (but what do I know). Don´t tell anyone I said this because I think like 75% of Spanish people work for the government in some capacity (I made that figure up). In any case and in order to get back to my original story before I was sidetracked, one of the proposed changes was privatizing some of the airports. This sent up a cry from people working in the airports who were accustomed to living with government benefits, pay and expectations. The air traffic controllers who were already trying to negotiate for more time off (maternity leave, time off after weddings etc.) apparently thought they could leverage this new chain of events in their favor by staging a strike during the national 5 day vacation period last weekend. They did not go to work and therefore both the airspace and air travel in Spain came to a complete halt. My flight to Berlin was of course canceled but I was lucky enough to be able to make other arrangements to have a vacation here in Spain. What about those people whose only chance to travel was this weekend? What about those who scrimped and saved for just one vacation this year or those people who had planned on seeing their family after a long absence? What about those people who were traveling for work? What about those people who were traveling through Spain on their way elsewhere but became stuck? What about those parents whose underage children were traveling alone for the first time and became stranded in a foreign country because they couldn´t fly into Spain? In a country that relies so much on tourism and travel, to have everything come to a screeching halt during one of its highest traffic and volumed seasons is criminal. Today in the newspaper I read the figure that the country lost 500 million plus in revenue. That is criminal. That the government had to declare a state of emergency and take over the airports and force the air controllers back to work is criminal. That people were stuck in the airports for days and that it is still not back to normal almost a week later is criminal. Apparently, the Spanish government agrees with me and the strikers are being taken to court beginning today. We will see how it pans out but in all reality even if they were forced to turn over their paycheck for the rest of their career, the financial losses will never be recuperated. This is truly a case of the wants and desires of a minority undermining the needs of the majority and I hope they are punished in a fitting way. I´ve heard rumors of another possible strike planned for the Christmas season. I can´t imagine the goverment letting it happen but we will see.
Two days before we were to leave, the President of Spain announced his measures for improving the economy and safeguarding against what happened in Ireland. He proposed nationalizing some airports as well as the state run lottery system. He decided to cut unemployment benefits to some as well as trimming the budget in other areas. I am not saying that these measures are the best or only answer but he had to do something in order to save Spain from sinking (or at least make it seem that way to appease investors). Now, let´s not get into the fact that it seems to me that there are WAY too many public officials that are basically tenured into their positions until they retire (an age that he also proposed to change much to everyone´s horror). With no performance review system that I am aware of, some of these people leech off the government for years doing little or no work. I honestly think Spain needs to revamp their beauracracy and do away with a lot of these jobs, make government more efficient and cut costs (but what do I know). Don´t tell anyone I said this because I think like 75% of Spanish people work for the government in some capacity (I made that figure up). In any case and in order to get back to my original story before I was sidetracked, one of the proposed changes was privatizing some of the airports. This sent up a cry from people working in the airports who were accustomed to living with government benefits, pay and expectations. The air traffic controllers who were already trying to negotiate for more time off (maternity leave, time off after weddings etc.) apparently thought they could leverage this new chain of events in their favor by staging a strike during the national 5 day vacation period last weekend. They did not go to work and therefore both the airspace and air travel in Spain came to a complete halt. My flight to Berlin was of course canceled but I was lucky enough to be able to make other arrangements to have a vacation here in Spain. What about those people whose only chance to travel was this weekend? What about those who scrimped and saved for just one vacation this year or those people who had planned on seeing their family after a long absence? What about those people who were traveling for work? What about those people who were traveling through Spain on their way elsewhere but became stuck? What about those parents whose underage children were traveling alone for the first time and became stranded in a foreign country because they couldn´t fly into Spain? In a country that relies so much on tourism and travel, to have everything come to a screeching halt during one of its highest traffic and volumed seasons is criminal. Today in the newspaper I read the figure that the country lost 500 million plus in revenue. That is criminal. That the government had to declare a state of emergency and take over the airports and force the air controllers back to work is criminal. That people were stuck in the airports for days and that it is still not back to normal almost a week later is criminal. Apparently, the Spanish government agrees with me and the strikers are being taken to court beginning today. We will see how it pans out but in all reality even if they were forced to turn over their paycheck for the rest of their career, the financial losses will never be recuperated. This is truly a case of the wants and desires of a minority undermining the needs of the majority and I hope they are punished in a fitting way. I´ve heard rumors of another possible strike planned for the Christmas season. I can´t imagine the goverment letting it happen but we will see.
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