Is efficiency always the way forward?

I've previously made my posts too long, so I'll try to make this one short!
Air Traffic Control is based on Safety, Orderly and Expeditious flow. We accept no compromise on the former, The other two come in variable amounts according to qualification, experience and sometimes even guts of the controller.
A year ago we could sustain heavy work with minimum separation between aircraft. And provide lots of direct routes on top of that. It represents a larger effort from the controller, but it's worth it. I used to save more time and money on fuel than I earned.
Then came José Blanco, decided to change everything: more hours, less rest, more traffic, less vacation, compulsory immediate attendance, less pay; all with no previous advice. The circumstance became unbearable. 70% pay reduction in my case. This obviously brought a struggle to pay bills. I'm not disputing the need for it, but surely there had to be a different way.
I personally spent five months off, on a stress related medical leave. I'm still troubled balancing my life. I would prefer to be able to focus completely on my job.
Satisfied controllers are always going to be more efficient controllers, there's no way around it.
Or is there? What will the next step be? Pay per plane per hour? Will they create a struggle to cram as many aircraft as possible into the smallest space in order to increase efficiency? What about Safety? We've just gone crazy!

EUROCONTROL

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
The European Organisation for What?
Check their website. You will probably be amazed or surprised to see that "safety" only appears -title excepted- once on the home page of the website. I'm neither.
Eurocontrol has grown from being what it probably was initially, fifty years ago, into a pressure group from aircraft manufacturers, airline operators, indeed the industry in general and even Governments, with the purpose, first and foremost, of increasing efficiency and the new great word, "sustainability".
So, what is sustainable? Whatever makes more money. No interest whatsoever in the Safety side of the sector. That's just taken for granted. The decision makers are absolutely convinced that the appearance of new technologies such as TCAS guarantees Safety. They need to look closer into this. Meanwhile, why bother, let's move on to the ultimate goal: money making. I already wrote about fuel saving: no further comment.
I can admit I'm biased. I still can't understand why buses don't have conductors. Maybe someone can prove me wrong, but has the bus travel sector gained anything from the disappearance of conductors, apart from making more money?. Where does this lead us to?. Is everything going to veer into the so called New World Order, in which more money is going to reside in fewer hands, middle classes tend to disappear and workers will see their conditions endlessly deteriorate?
Sorry for straying off from my object: Eurocontrol. Let's remember "safety" is mentioned once.
That one time refers to Safety Management. Click on it.(Activities, bottom of page). You'll eventually find :
"support to the implementation and operation of safety management systems and application of best practices in the field of human factors".

Human factors? Do I need to believe that not a single one of the workers at Eurocontrol knew of the havoc that was created by the Spanish Government last year? How many people work at Eurocontrol? Do they think there was no Safety issue whatsoever? Or perhaps, on the other hand, they thought efficiency was being pursued and presumed it would be better to refrain from acting?
Not a single word has been uttered from Eurocontrol to defend collective bargaining of working conditions and wages, abiding of Law, compliance with regulations regarding rest time, rostering practice, and many other human factor issues which have clearly affected Safety and continue to affect efficiency in the Spanish skies.
Sadly, Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, kept silent because their concern is mainly making sure everything remains efficient.
Prove me wrong. Maybe Eurocontrol spoke to my deaf ears. Send me the links or articles published by Eurocontrol to defend their safety culture in Spain last year. I really hope you can.

English: a controversial topic

You would be excused for thinking this is as straightforward as it can get. You enter a selection process. You prove your level of English. You get selected. You study and do your training and then you have a job with great wages and you forget about your English altogether because you’re never going to be tested again.
That was so until a few years ago. Or a few months, from our point of view. ICAO (International Civil Aviation Authority) has proved that miscommunication is a key factor in many air traffic incidents and therefore has published a document (doc 9835) and a circular (318) to do it’s best to establish minimum standards for all Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots, in order to curb this serious problem. It poses the need for all personnel to pass an exam and obtain level 4 or higher out of six. It also established a deadline which nobody took any notice of. So it has now been extended, for the last time, until 5th March 2011.
This means nothing to you native English speakers out there but it causes havoc here in Spain. We currently have ATCO’s with 30 plus years’ experience who haven’t done an English refresher in the whole of their working life. Some others have. Some practise a lot, regardless of their job. About two thousand different cases. All are now required to prove their proficiency during the next month. And beware: you lose your license if you fail!
How much English is really used on the average day at work? Not much more than numbers and descriptors to indicate runway names, speeds, headings, altitudes, rates of climb or descent, departure or landing procedure names, and company or unit names. Possibly a little more may be needed to warn of bad weather or radio interference. It seldom goes any further than that.
These are the grounds for many controllers to argue that, if they have been working for a number of years and have never been involved in an incident report regarding the use of English, why shouldn’t they be validated to continue working? Precisely the opposite reasoning goes into ICAO’s effort: many people hadn’t suffered a mishap because non-routine circumstances hadn’t cropped up. The whole English debate intends to ensure that we all are ready to affront most non-routine situations
These are also the reasons that were used by National Safety Agencies to curb the previous deadline by giving all workers a provisional level 4. That’s now until March 5th next. By then, you have to hold your certificate. All you have to do is get yourself a four, then forget the whole issue for three years. Or a five and forget it for six years. A level six will allow you to bury the bastard for ever, although you have to be practically bilingual to get one. For 2000 controllers, anything could happen. But, despite claims from the Spanish ATCO Guild that our English is excellent, it doesn’t seem that absolutely everyone will keep their license. And many are scared stiff to take the exam.
All this has caught both Aena and Spanish controllers off guard. More than a year ago some of us were offered a test exam over the phone. Just a few of us actually tried it. As far as I know, nobody got any marks. Nobody knew what it was all about. Nothing else was known for months, until suddenly we received a letter from the Human Resources Director pointing out the new deadline, and it’s consequences.
So what will Aena do to the controllers who fail their test? Basically, a six months leave with progressively diminishing pay has been offered, in order to give people time to revive their languishing English and retry the test. All studying has to be done in one’s own time, although Aena has offered an online study package. If, after this you fail, you’re fired.
Bear in mind the following situation: Controller has been at the job for 35 years, had qualified for early retirement, was deprived of that by the (probably illegal and certainly immoral) Royal Decree, but could still retire in the short future, maintaining substantial wages until full retirement and State pension. He/she fails the exam a few weeks before retirement and loses it all, without ever having been offered an English refresher. Obviously unacceptable. Our reaction has been to leave the exam until the last possible moment, just in case Aena realises that it has some duty towards it’s workers.
Even the Sinister Minister has had to speak. Facing the prospect of suddenly losing all Air Traffic Services in Spain, he has filtered a project extending the validity of our English level 4 for 18 months. As a result, we will be an ICAO exception (as in many other areas). And if all our managers and politicians continue to try to enforce unacceptable measures upon us with no negotiation we are slowly but steadily going to turn into one of the most dangerous places to fly to in the world. If we’re not there already.