Following legal advice, Cathay Pacific’s pilots union has informed its 2,200 Hong Kong-based members not to sign the new employment contracts offered by the airline amid mass layoffs, which will see pilots’ salaries and allowances slashed.
On Wednesday, management gave pilots just one week to agree and sign new contracts, or risk immediate termination.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA) has now told members it will work to defend existing contracts, which the airline sees as inflated and excessive.
“In terms of the broader legal strategy, our lawyers are considering any and all angles, including any injunctive relief for actions taken by the company. All options are on the table at this stage,” union chairman Tad Hazelton said in the message to members.
An earlier memo to pilots advised them to “refrain from making a commitment” until more substantive legal guidance was received.
On Wednesday, Cathay announced it would be cutting a total of 8,500 positions, as well as shutting down its regional offshoot, Cathay Dragon, with immediate effect.
At that time, the airline also revealed its intentions to move all remaining Hong Kong-based pilots and cabin crew onto cheaper contracts, that bring their remuneration “in line” with overseas competitors, and redundancy will be off the table for those who do not agree to these new terms.
Critics have noted that the high cost of living in Hong Kong makes it unreasonable to bring remuneration in line with overseas competitors, where the cost of living is cheaper.
The changes made to remuneration and allowances would standardise terms and conditions across the board for the first time, a feat that airline managers have attempted to achieve for years in order to cut down allowance costs.
Notably, the new contracts also remove the “last in, first out” policy, which could see older and more experienced, and thus expensive, pilots in the firing line in the future.
Under the new terms, Cathay’s most experienced pilots are facing total salary cuts, including allowances, of up to 60 per cent.
Pilots who agreed to the new terms within one week will reportedly be allowed to keep a bulk of their accommodation and education subsidies for two years, while those who sign within two weeks will keep the benefits for one year.
Staff who refuse to sign the new contracts will be terminated, not made redundant.
Chris Kempis, Cathay Pacific’s director of flight operations, told pilots on Thursday that if they declined to accept the contracts, the official reason for their termination would be the “absence of consent to the new terms offered”.
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific’s flight attendants union has also taken a stand against the airline enforcing new, cheaper contracts.
The flight attendant’s union has threatened to mobilise its members for collective action should the airline refuse to postpone the one-week deadline for accepting the new contract, which will see cabin crew wages slashed by up to 40 per cent.
Cabin crew have also been threatened with termination should they not agree to the new terms.
