On the heels of a major agreement with the air traffic controllers' union, the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week it will test a broad-band pay system on 1,200 employees.
Under a project that could eventually be expanded throughout the FAA, 1,200 non-union employees in the agency's office of research and acquisitions will be moved off the General Schedule, the governmentwide pay scale, into a system that includes a smaller number of broader pay bands.
"This test plan gives us the flexibility we need to keep and reward our best people and to attract world-class talent," said FAA Administrator Jane Garvey.
Pay banding, a concept being tested in several locations throughout the federal government, turns the 15-grade, 10-steps-per-grade General Schedule into a simplified three-, four- or five-tier pay system. Under pay banding, managers have more control over pay levels for their employees. They can more easily reward high-performing workers with larger raises than General Schedule restrictions permit.
The FAA test will run 18 months, after which the agency will decide if the pay banding system, along with changes to performance appraisal systems, has improved employee performance and satisfaction. The system could then spread to the rest of the agency. Unionized employees are in the midst of negotiating labor-management agreements, so they will not be included in this first test.
Senior executives, however, will be part of the test. They will be eligible for bonuses for achieving agency goals.
On Monday last week, the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association announced tentative agreement on a five-year contract. The pact includes a provision guaranteeing that the number of air traffic controllers will not fall below 15,000 (currently there are 14,840 controllers). It also provides merit-based incentives to controllers who reduce errors and provides higher pay for controllers who work at the nation's busiest airports.
Another provision of the contract cuts air traffic supervisors by 30 percent, from 2,200 positions to 1,500 positions. The Federal Managers Association says that provision raises safety concerns. The group is meeting with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey this week to discuss the cuts.
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