GS Message

Dear members,

The route to recovery in the aviation industry has been dotted with many challenges - both for airlines and MRO's.

In recent years, airlines have been struggling to cope with the effects of high oil prices as well as the turbulent and uncertain global economy. On top of that, the profit margins of airlines continue to be sliced thinly with the inception of more and more budget carriers.

MRO's face a similar predicament in such trying times. The difficult operating environment faced by airlines often trickle down to MRO's. In a bid to lower operating costs, airlines look to MRO's for rate cuts in their tenders for maintenance contracts. While such cuts may seem inevitable, there is no compromise in Safety and Quality, the key requisites of our high-reliability industry.

Our business is global, with a perpetually increasing number of players in the market. Compared to pre-financial crisis levels, competition between MRO's has become keener. The Company too has been facing increased cost pressures and demands from our customers. Our competitors are increasingly able to meet customers’ demands of lower costs, especially in places like China, where the cost of labour can be much cheaper. Companies in the Middle East are also expanding aggressively in a bid to emulate our success stories.

In order to enhance our competitive edge, we need to continue to innovate so as to improve in areas such as aircraft turn-around times, pricing and value-added services. The objective should be to strive towards providing the best value to our customers, and not just to be the cheapest in the market.

In the past few years, management has introduced new initiatives to meet the challenges posed by the dynamic business environment. Some of these changes have helped the company to move forward. However, there were also initiatives that have taken a toll on our members, both physically and mentally, such as those who had to work more night shifts due to operational requirements.

The Union has met up with senior management and divisional management staff to resolve 'bottle necks' and identify key areas for improvement in our operating divisions. Constructive feedback from our members has been useful in addressing and resolving issues. However, it is of utmost importance that all parties involved must be committed to share the common goal of arriving at a win-win conclusion.

On behalf of the 7th SEEU Executive Committee, I would like to update our members on recent events:

1. CA 2009 has been successfully concluded with an MOA signed on 03 Oct 11. The details can be found in SEEU's website as well as on the Company’s EBB.

2. Discussions are still ongoing at the Pan-Union level for the Profit Sharing Bonus Agreement for FY2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. We are arriving at the final stages of negotiations.

3. A review of the Overseas Posting Scheme rolled out by the Company in recent years is currently in the works, and we will resume talks as soon as the Company is able to revert to us on the issue.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our members for your kind understanding and patience while the Union was working on the above items. It is only with your support that SEEU can continue in our commitment to safeguard and enhance the well being of our members, whilst upholding the standard of our profession.

Thank you.

- Ong Hwee Liang

  General Secretary