Pilots Guild sets record straight on ‘Fly the Roster’ campaign

The Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka (ALPGSL) yesterday sought to set the record straight on a number of issues linked to its ongoing ‘Fly the Roster’ campaign while countering several erroneous and misleading reports published in connection
with its campaign.

The ALPGSL, which launched the Fly the Roster campaign on February 4 after unsuccessful talks with the chairman and management of SriLankan Airlines to win several demands, said that several media institutions have reported erroneous and false information regarding
its campaign.

“One of the main issues that has still not been rectified is an anomaly in the remuneration of newly-appointed Captains. These appointments were made on merit and First Officers promoted to the rank of Captain take full responsibility for the aircraft and its passengers and are accountable for the safety of the flight while under his command. However, the company is refusing to pay the newly-appointed Captains their salaries and paying them the salary of a First Officer while requiring them to perform the duties of a Captain,” the guild said in a press release.  It added that another issue is linked to remuneration, where contractually the company pays salaries in the rupee equivalent of US dollars to pilots but the company has
violated this.

“Since March 2020, the airline management has illegally and arbitrarily fixed a maximum exchange rate of US $ 188.78 for the payment of salaries only, which is unlawful and also not the actual Central Bank published rate nor is it the SriLankan Airlines Finance Department published rate,” the guild said.
 The initial Fly the Roster campaign was launched on December 21, 2021 and suspended after a few days, due to top assurances by SriLankan Airlines chairman communicated to the ALPGSL through the management, that their grievances would be resolved by January 31, this year. 

 The guild said that despite the assurances, none of the issues were resolved satisfactorily after a meeting with the chairman and management of the airlines by the said date and this led to the recommencement of the second Fly the Roster campaign on February 4.
The ALPGSL encourages any interested party to contact it directly for further information, to avoid misleading information and false
media reports. 

“When the pandemic was raging in 2020, the pilot fraternity did not hesitate to take the national carrier to any destination that was required of them, regardless of the threat it posed to themselves and their families, even if it meant they had to remain in isolation in their own homes,” the Guild added.