THE RPTR DISPATCHER BELIEVES THE COMPANY ERRS IN SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS BY REQUIRING THE DISPATCHERS TO WORK MORE THAN 10 ACFT PER SECTOR.

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AS A DISPATCHER FOR AN ACR AIRLINES; I LOST OPERATIONAL CTL OF THE FLTS IN MY SECTOR. FLTS WERE OVERDUE; NO TIMES; IN SOME CASES; AS MUCH AS OVER 1 HR; UNTIL I HAD THE TIME TO LOOK INTO IT. SOMETIMES I HAD NOT FLT FOLLOWED ANY OF MY FLTS FOR AS MUCH AS 3 HRS. ALSO; I FELT I HAD NOT GIVEN THE PROPER WX BRIEFING TO ALL OF MY FLTS. THE STATE OF FL HAD 2 LINES OF SEVERE TSTMS; CONVECTIVE SIGMETS; GND STOPS; RADAR OUTAGE AT MCO. MANY OF MY FLTS LEFT WERE NOT SAFE BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO BRIEF THEM ALL ON THE WX AND OTHER CONDITIONS IN FL. I HAD 2 FLTS DIVERT DUE TO LOW FUEL AND MCO CLOSED DUE TO A STORM; AND I WASN'T TOLD UNTIL AFTER THE FACT. IN ADDITION TO ALL THE SEVERE WX IN FL; I ALSO HAD 2 BROKEN AIRPLANES TO DEAL WITH; ONE OF WHICH TURNED INTO A MAINT FERRY FLT TO JAX. I HAD FLTS RUNNING 2; 3; 4 AND EVEN 5 HRS LATE. I COULDN'T KEEP UP DELAYING THEM DOWN LINE. I COULD NOT PROPERLY AND SAFELY KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING IN MY SECTOR OF 13 AIRPLANES. I'VE BEEN DISPATCHING FOR 10 YRS; THIS WAS THE WORST! THE PROB -- THE MGMNT HAS RECENTLY DOWN-SIZED THE MANPOWER IN DISPATCH; THUS INCREASING THE WORKLOAD PER SECTOR. EACH HAS 12 AIRPLANES; ONE HAS 13. WE; THE DISPATCHERS OF ACR; HAVE ORALLY AND IN WRITING TOLD THE COMPANY THAT ANY MORE THAN 10 ACFT PER SECTOR IS JUST TOO MUCH FOR 1 DISPATCHER; THEREFORE; NOT SAFE. BUT THE COMPANY DECIDED TO ELIMINATE 1 SECTOR ANYWAY. I GUESS THEY CARE MORE ABUT A DOLLAR OR TWO; THAN THEY DO ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THEIR PAX. SOLUTION -- ACR NEEDS TO HIRE MORE DISPATCHERS SOON AND GO BACK TO 5 SECTORS INSTEAD OF 4; AND GO BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL AGREEMENT OF NO MORE THAN 10 ACFT PER DISPATCHER. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THERE WAS A COMPANY PROVISION TO CALL IN BACKUP DISPATCHERS IF NEEDED; BUT HE SAYS THIS NEVER HAPPENS. THE RPTR STATED THAT; EVEN THOUGH OTHER CARRIER DISPATCHERS HAVE AS MANY AS 15 AIRPLANES AT A TIME ON THEIR SHIFT; IN THESE CASES THE FLTS ARE LONGER PERHAPS 2 OR 3 HR FLTS. HIS FLTS CAN BE AS SHORT AS 30 MINS AND AVERAGE ABOUT 1 HR.