A319 PLT REPORTS CONFUSING AND CONFLICTING CLEARANCES FROM COMPANY'S RAMP CONTROL.

Narrative

PHL RAMP CTL WAS BEING OPERATED BY A PERSON WHO NOT ONLY SEEMED OVERWHELMED BY THE TASK; BUT ALSO COULD NOT SPEAK FLUENT; UNDERSTANDABLE ENGLISH. THIS LED TO SEVERAL NEAR-INCIDENTS ON THE RAMP; MISCOM WITH PHL GND CTL; AND AT LEAST 1 GAR. RPTING FLT WAS UNABLE TO COMPLETELY CLR RWY 27R AT TXWY T BECAUSE A B757 THAT HAD LANDED IN FRONT OF FLT WAS STOPPED AT SPOT X; ATTEMPTING TO MAKE CONTACT WITH RAMP CTL. AS A RESULT; THE NEXT ARRIVING ACFT ON RWY 27R HAD TO GO AROUND. RAMP THEN TOOK SEVERAL MINS TO FIGURE OUT THE RPTING FLT'S POS. (FLT HAD TURNED EBOUND ONTO TXWY K TO AT LEAST CLR RWY 27R.) AFTER SITTING SEVERAL MINS AT SPOT Y; FLT WAS REPEATEDLY CLRED INTO GATE; EVEN THOUGH AN EMBRAER JET WAS STILL ON SPOT Y; ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT GND. RAMP KEPT TELLING DEPARTING ACFT TO CONTACT GND ON 121.65; WHEN GND REPEATEDLY CALLED RAMP ON THE PHONE; TELLING HIM TO SEND ACFT TO 121.9. AFTER THE EMBRAER JET HAD TAXIED CLR OF SPOT Y; RAMP AGAIN CLRED RPTING FLT INTO THE GATE. FLT CREW THEN NOTICED ANOTHER EMBRAER JET BEING PUSHED INTO THE ALLEY; WHICH WENT UNNOTICED BY RAMP; SETTING UP A POTENTIAL NOSE-TO-NOSE SITUATION IN THE ALLEY. THIS PERSON WORKING RAMP WAS CLRLY NOT QUALIFIED TO DO SO. THE RAMP WAS IN SHAMBLES; AND THE PHL GND CTLR WAS HAVING A CONNIPTION. FLT; OTHER FLTS; REPEATEDLY ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT RAMP; AND THEN HAD TO ASK HIM SEVERAL TIMES TO REPEAT HIS XMISSIONS; WHICH WERE UNINTELLIGIBLE. IN THE COMPANY'S ZEAL TO DO EVERYTHING AS CHEAPLY AS POSSIBLE; THEY ALLOWED AN INEXPERIENCED (AND UNDOUBTEDLY LOW-PAID) INDIVIDUAL TO PERFORM SAFETY CRITICAL TASKS FOR WHICH HE WAS CLRLY UNQUALIFIED. HIRE QUALIFIED PEOPLE AND TRAIN THEM PROPERLY; ESPECIALLY FOR SAFETY CRITICAL POS.