And, in the current absence of credible options and information, that quality will fall and prices rise, whichever option is selected.
In our current multi-generational force the need, cost and availability of childcare is becoming a huge burden on the diverse range of RAF families who need to access it – or indeed those who cannot afford to access it. Whilst acknowledging that this is an issue that affects many civilian families as well, we are nevertheless concerned about the wildly varying costs around the country and the growing strain it is placing on those that need childcare in order to meet their operational Service commitments. The MoD should not underestimate the impact this complicated and emotive issue is having and we welcome both the inclusion of childcare as an issue to be addressed as part of the MoD Family Strategy and the intent to produce a childcare policy. We believe firmly that there exists a direct link between affordable childcare and current retention, career management, future engagement strategies and spousal employment concerns.
For many RAF personnel the realities of our Whole Force and the change from ‘Large Scale’ operations to a more frequent, fast paced and potentially ‘bare base’ Operational Contingent requirement has meant for some unprecedented DWR turnarounds, an increase in Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) (and subsequent nights out of bed) and more time away from families. This high-end tempo of deployment and training for some squadron personnel and Force Elements is unrelenting, impacting both on those that remain fully deployable and those remaining non-deployable but invariably having to fill the gaps created. A common complaint is the short notice being given of a deployment and the concomitant impact on spouse employment, childcare and family life in general.
Public Sector pay restraint continues to cause resigned resentment, and seems to many of our personnel to be ‘out of pace’ as the private sector is perceived to be picking up. Whilst cognisant that there a significant difference between saying you are going to leave the Service and actually leaving – we have been struck by the numbers telling us they are thinking about it, especially amongst some engineering trades where personnel are very quick to compare themselves with their civilian counterparts, quoting the benefits on some stations of quite literally ‘crossing the hangar floor’. Finally, the new pension may be the best in the public sector but it is still influencing many people’s decision making about their future.
All of these issues – and many others – continue to place pressure on the feeling of value and morale of RAF personnel and their families – the principal reason still given for leaving the Service is the impact of Service life on the family, rather than the impact on the Service person themselves. Many Airmen and Airwomen have told us that they continue to accept (and in some cases relish) all that service life throws at them and demands from them. However, when it impacts on children, loved ones or their ‘home life balance’ this is often seen as breaking the moral contract that they feel exists between the service and themselves. Increasingly, our subjective assessment, based on anecdotal evidence alone, would be that family morale is not as good as it is amongst serving personnel. One RAF wife described herself to us as “feeling bruised by the system”, which seems to us to be a description that many other spouses and partners would recognise.
With so many people initiatives underway and the inherent, substantial change to the RAF and military offer, together with the backdrop of increasing air power commitments across an increasingly unpredictable globalised world, maintaining morale and the provision of effective support to RAF personnel families across the Whole Force has never been more important.
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www.raf-ff.org.uk w.raf-ff.org.uk
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