A survey of the work and sleep patterns of Great Barrier Reef Pilots

Appendix 2

MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS

After completing the questionnaire, respondents were invited to offer further comments regarding additional sources of stress.

The purpose of the miscellaneous comments was to capture information on sources of stress across the industry, at sea or at home not addressed in the structured questions. Additionally, comments enabled the wide variation within pilotage work to be recorded. Of the 35 respondents, 29 (83%) offered additional comments ranging from a few paragraphs to a number of pages.

For analysis, comments were divided into the following broad areas: general industry, at sea and at home. Within these broad areas, themes were identified and comments then coded as negative, positive, suggestions or other.

The following section shows the percentage of comments on issues relating to the general industry, at sea and at home that account for 5% or more of total comments. A synopsis of the comments indicating underlying issues on each topic has also been shown.

Table 2a Percentage of negative comments: general industry, at sea and at home

Table 2b Percentage of positive comments: general industry, at sea and at home

Table 2c Suggestions: general industry, at sea

GENERAL INDUSTRY

The 276 comments on general industry issues consisted of 32 positive, 242 negative, 1 suggestion and 1 other. The highest percentage of negative comments related to the impact of competition on various aspects of the industry. The following sections provide some insight into the nature of miscellaneous comments regarding general industry issues.

Positive comments

The number of positive comments received was fairly evenly spread across the following issues:

• Pilots perceive their role is one of service to the community and consider their major role as that of protecting the environment.
• Issues of competition must be addressed jointly by the pilotage companies.

Negative comments

Detail on the nature of negative comments relating to general industry issues is shown below. Over 50% of negative comments related to the impact of competition on financial issues. Respondents indicated that:

• Competition has resulted in a decrease in income levels by at least 50%. Additionally, cost cutting and no increase in pilotage fees leads to difficulties in preparing for retirement. Issues such as concerns over superannuation, refinancing of loans have all occurred since deregulation.
• A continuing problem has been the slow payment by shipping companies for work already completed.
• Competition has impacted on the levels of pilot stress, anxiety and performance. Frustration existed among the pilots because AMSA refused to acknowledge that this was happening.
• Competition in a safety-based industry would lead to a disaster.
• Managers, infrastructure providers and shipping agents have consolidated their position in a deregulated market place and scoop the profits.
• Competition had led to a feeling of uncertainty about job security and career prospects. Given the age group of the present pilots and the difficulty of returning to general shipping many respondents indicated this was of considerable concern.
• Competition has resulted in pilots undertaking more work with shorter breaks to enable same standard of living to be maintained – this leads to fatigue.

The remainder of negative comments drew attention to other topics such as:

• Bureaucratic interference in pilotage work.
• AMSA’s perceived attitude to pilots, frustrations that AMSA refuse to listen to points of view and dismiss problems as "that’s a commercial issue, not our problem".
• AMSA are considered to have wrecked a perfectly good service with little consideration given to changes experienced by pilots. Public servants on large indexed salaries, and government funded superannuation push for changes to pilotage work.
• The lowering of entry standards into pilotage service. Respondents considered that pilotage will not attract the quality of personnel required. High level applicants are forewarned due to well-publicised difficulties in the industry.
• Level of anxiety between pilots and pilotage service managers where verbal and contractual agreements not always met.
• Bad feelings between pilotage companies, not appropriate in a high profile industry.
• At no time during the change over to commercial pilotage operations were pilots made aware of the Seafarers Assistance Service for counselling on coping with these changes. Human Resources areas were largely ignored. Conflict developed in the pilotage service with resulting disunity and pilots moving to another company. Pilots suddenly found themselves in a hostile, competitive environment which was completely alien to them and many felt unable to cope.

Suggestions

One suggestion indicated that an ombudsman should be appointed to oversee the pilotage industry.
AT SEA

The 100 comments on issues at sea consisted of 19 positive, 77 negative, 2 suggestions and 2 on other issues. The following section shows some of the underlying topics relating to miscellanous comments regarding issues at sea.

Positive Comments

The highest number of positive comments at sea related to bridge teams and improvements in navigational equipment.

• Competent bridge teams: A considerable number of positive comments related to experiencing reduced stress on well-run ships with competent bridge teams providing excellent back up skills. This issue positively impacts on the quality of rest pilots achieve while at sea and smooth bridge operations.
• Improved electronic navigation equipment: Additionally, positive comments referred to the improvements in electronic navigational equipment and the reduced stress due to these advances, particularly in bad weather.
• Pilotage duties: Pilotage duties are not stressful, pilots are well trained to handle stress intrinsic to the job. It is the stress from extrinsic sources (bureaucracy) that is causing the additional problems. Pilots feel they can exert no control over stress from bureaucratic sources.

Negative Comments

The highest number of negative comments concerned safety issues. Safety issues raised by respondents related to:

• Safety being compromised due to commercial pressures.
• An increase in the number of incidents in the last 5 years.
• Breaches of safety and poorly maintained equipment on ships and unhygenic accommodation are not reported for fear of the pilotage company losing clients.
• Even though STCW 95 is supposedly being implemented, in many cases poorly trained bridge teams fail to undertake basic tasks such keeping lookout and checking compass bearings, vessels are off course in a short time; therefore increased stress on pilots particularly during rest breaks.
• Pilots not communicating with colleagues from the opposition company re passing manoeuvres, weather and traffic – safety may be compromised.
• Pilots lacking concentration while on the bridge, thinking of extraneous matters such as commercialisation, bureaucratic interference and uncertainty of the future of pilotage.
• Fishing traffic is not policed and vessels are often in shipping channels without lookouts or navigational lights.

Suggestions

• A number of respondents suggested that the practice of pilots being on ships for some days prior to, or after the compulsory pilotage region is inappropriate and should be reviewed. One suggestion stated that if vessels required a pilot out of the compulsory area, a change of pilots in Cairns would relieve the pilot who had navigated the vessel through the compulsory region. A similar pattern would apply to northbound vessels, with a change of pilot in Cairns.
• An attachment from one of the pilotage groups indicated that there were a number of topics to be considered with the practice of having pilots on vessels in non-compulsory areas. Some of these issues included:
• incurring fatigue prior to the actual compulsory area;
• remuneration and additional expenses incurred in extra travel;
• better use of personnel in busy periods in compulsory areas;
• pilots are not required and are therefore in an awkward situation;
• pilot scheduling could be improved with shorter time away from home;

A review of this practice by pilotage providers appears to be very much warranted.

• To optimise the potential for sleep at sea, the charting of alternative shipping channels should be undertaken. For example, pilots have commented that the official use of the Fairway Channel region of the Inner Route would eliminate one of the most difficult sections of this route and permit more extensive rest and sleep periods. At present, the channel has been surveyed but no charts or Differential Global Position (DGP) facilities for this region have been developed. Therefore, development of these facilities should be undertaken urgently.
• The process of extending navigation aids and DGP facilities to other pilotage regions should also occur. This process would enable an improved quality of the short duration sleep periods at sea.

Other

Other points raised in the miscellaneous comments on issues at sea referred to:

• The Midway section of the Inner Route (Magpie Reef to Rye Reef) is much easier during the day than at night in the same sea conditions. Sleep is therefore more recuperative and fits circadian pattern.
• Rest time during pilotage varies greatly with the ships speed, environment and competence of bridge teams.

AT HOME

The 35 comments on home issues consisted of 2 positive, 32 negative comments and 1 suggestion. The highest percentage (92%) of negative comments related to the impact on home life of changes since deregulation of pilotage services.

Positive comments

Positive comments about the impact of pilotage work on home life related to the importance of time with the family at home and the recuperative benefits of this period.

Negative comments

Almost all negative comments focused on the impact of the changes in pilotage services on home life. Issues raised by respondents related to:

• Uncertainty of job/career and present and future financial security, ongoing anxiety and depression associated with this issue all affecting family life;
• Shorter time spent at home due to increased work assignments and shorter breaks to make sufficient income;
• Long delays in payment for pilotage work increased strain at home;
• Tension in marriages and breakdowns of family life due to changes in lifestyles since deregulation.

Summary

Most of the concerns regarding additional sources of stress related to either general industry problems or issues at sea. In contrast, few comments referred to additional sources of stress concerning the home.

From a general industry viewpoint, the highest percentage of comments related to the negative impact of competition on all aspects of pilotage work including income, job security, safety and the increased workload required to maintain income levels and stress and anxiety levels. The positive aspect of general industry issues was that pilots felt they served the community and were protectors of the environment. Additionally, there was an underlying tone that AMSA were ill-advised in the implementation of competition, showed little concern for hardships, particularly personal ones, and dismissed well-founded complaints regarding safety as ‘commercial matters’.

At sea, a considerable degree of concern was raised regarding the increased stress on pilots when bridge teams were not properly trained and offered unreliable backup. In contrast, highly competent bridge teams and improvements in electronic navigation equipment greatly reduced stress levels on pilots. Also, it was evident that since competition, in order to maintain shipping clients, pilots were reluctant to report unsafe ships, breaches of safety, faulty equipment and unhygenic accommodation.

Pressures at home were mostly associated with the changed income levels leading to reassessment of present mortgage situations and future plans for retirement including superannuation arrangements.

Suggestions from pilots related to a review of the existing practice of pilots being on ships outside the compulsory region; development/extension of charts and navigational aids to improve the opportunities for sleep not only during Inner Route assignments and also in other areas. Additionally, it was indicated that the appointment of a pilotage ombudsman or independent watchdog group to oversee the industry would be an appropriate path to follow.

The comments created the impression that Great Barrier Reef pilots enjoyed the challenges and responsibility of pilotage work and carried out their work with a high level of professional pride. However, pilots considered that the once elite Great Barrier Reef pilotage service established over 100 years ago, has been reduced to just another commercial operation. From the comments it was clear that most pilots have struggled personally and financially in making the transition from a one-provider situation to a hostile competitive environment. Moreover, pilots felt that since deregulation they are not reimbursed adequately for their skills and responsibility.

Overall, it would seem that the process by which competition was introduced has led to bitter divisions in the pilotage workforce, between pilotage companies and between both these groups and AMSA. The authority is perceived to have a contemptuous attitude towards Great Barrier Reef pilots; as a result AMSA’s role in pilotage matters is met by a considerable degree of animosity from many pilots. The ongoing conflict certainly raises the question whether this situation is appropriate in a safety-based industry servicing a unique environment.

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