Don’t burden already-fatigued cabin crew with pre-flight checks, says union
Nufam says the tourism minister's suggestion for cabin crew to report early for pre-flight drug screening would punish the whole workforce.
The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) has criticized tourism and culture minister Tiong King Sing for suggesting that cabin crew report earlier for pre-flight checks, claiming it would burden an already fatigued workforce. Nufam argues that cabin crew already work under immense pressure, dealing with early starts, late finishes, long duty periods, irregular schedules, poor sleep, and constantly changing rosters.
Any new policy would place additional stress on all employees in the aviation industry, not just cabin crew, Nufam stated. The union's secretariat emphasized that fatigue affects alertness, concentration, reaction time, decision-making, and emergency response during flights. They questioned who would bear the cost of extra working hours and whether the minister would pressure airlines and the government to pay crews more.
Nufam pointed out that safety cannot be achieved by continuously overworking these frontliners. They reiterated that cabin crew must have pre-flight rest, adhering to aviation rules and safety guidelines. Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin Abdul Wahab acknowledged the need for stringent checks but warned that pre-flight drug screening could cause delays and penalize aircrew unfairly for the actions of a few.
The union urged the tourism, arts and culture ministry to collaborate directly with them before proposing any changes beyond existing aviation guidelines.
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- Don’t burden already-fatigued cabin crew with pre-flight checks, says union freemalaysiatoday.com
