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Keeping pilots longer lands Garuda in court case
While Indonesia’s airline industry is expected to grow 10 percent this year, many airlines are struggling to find professional pilots, due to the limited output of available flight training centers
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hile Indonesia’s airline industry is expected to grow 10 percent this year, many airlines are struggling to find professional pilots, due to the limited output of available flight training centers.
The situation has forced airlines to resort to unconventional measures that have at times yielded negative side effects, such as what is currently being faced by the flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
Recently, Garuda’s pilot association (APG), which caters to more than 500 pilots, pursued a case against the management of the company for implementing an allegedly unfair policy on retirement age and pension funds.
APG chairman Stephanus Geraldus said Garuda employed pilots longer than the official period of servitude (25 years) before a pilot was eligible to receive a pension.
Garuda had employed pilots for more than 25 years because of the scarcity of qualified pilots
available, Stephanus said.
However, Garuda had treated those working more than 25 years unfairly, he said.
“Employees who work for 25 years will be rewarded with 28 times their salary, however, employees who work for more than 40 years only receive 29 times their salary. This is really unfair,” Stephanus said.
The association has taken Garuda to the Industrial Relations Court (PHI), to fight for better conditions.
The airlines industry had been facing a shortage of pilots for years, Indonesia Pilot Federation chairman Manotar Napitapulu said. Indonesia has seven flying schools that produce a total of around 100 graduates a year, Manotar said.
According to data from the Transportation Ministry, as of June the Indonesian Aviation Institute (STPI) had 535 outstanding requests for pilots from local and foreign operators, but the center only produces 45 a year.
“To be a pilot requires US$60,000 worth of training, the excluding an additional $12,000 for specialization,” Manotar said, adding that good pilots also had clocked up at least 2,000 hours flying.
Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA) spokesman Teuku Burhanuddin said creating good pilots required a lot of investment.
“We are talking about professional pilots who have skills,” Burhanuddin said.
On top of the supply shortage, many experienced pilots were being headhunted by foreign airlines offering salaries ranging between $10,000 and $15,000 per month — roughly five times what pilots earn in Indonesia — and better working conditions.
“Based on my calculations, up to 150 Garuda pilots have been poached by foreign operators,” pilot Rendy Sasmita Adji Wiboto said.
An expert on transportation safety and a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT), Setio Rahardjo, said flight safety nowadays was at risk not only from “rookie mistakes”, but also from pilot fatigue.
“Pilots tend to fly more because of an increase in flight frequencies, caused by the shortage of pilots. This could pose a serious threat to safety.”
Aiming to avoid lost opportunities and ensure flight safety, Garuda plans to establish its own aviation school. Garuda spokesperson Pudjobroto told The Jakarta Post the company was still processing a license for the school, which would not only produce pilots but also technicians.
