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.
Theodore McCaughley
says:Wow, imagine how selfish you would have to be to have every pilot refuse to sign the contract just so the whole airline would collapse and then everyone lost there jobs, and pilots who refused to give up their million dollar contract now have no job.
But I suppose even if the airline goes bankrupt they would still be fighting to get paid thinking they are bigger then the airline.
I would like to know, how come every other staff can survive in Hong Kong on local packages yet pilots cant?
Joel
says:I doubt the majority of their pilots are on million dollar contracts. Pilots are highly skilled professionals, with demanding lifestyles and almost unparalleled accountability and responsibility for what they do. This isn’t selfishness, it’s about placing a respectable value on their worth. How many other HK professions are being asked to make such a sacrifice? I would not be surprised if a number of them would rather walk away with their dignity intact than become bargaining chips for the survival of an airline. As always, time will tell.
Jeff
says:As sad as it is, the airline is finding every way to cut costs. They are wagering that most won’t sign the new contract but some desperate people inevitably will. They only need about 10% of their workforce at the moment and can slowly rehire people who are willing to accept the new terms from other airlines as a lot of the aviation industry is collapsing. That is the reality of what is happening and the harsh conditions set reflect this.
Jim Thorn
says:This is the modern day CCP at its duplicitous best. It has been working for months to ‘bankrupt’ CX and thus take it over in it’s entirety. The PRC has enough furloughed ATPLs to bring in to replace current CX aircrew, most of which are dreaded ’round eyes’. The FA’s are irrelevant and can also be easily replaced. I have been involved with CX since the seventies and find this beyond tragic. Goodbye CX and goodbye Hong Kong. The dream is over.
Ian Nakawa
says:This same case happened in Singapore many years ago where the pilots union demanded payrise and better rest time. Threatening the airline to protest and not to fly. Late PM Lee gave them an ultimatum,either he shut down the airline and restart without any hassle since they have built it well or the pilots listen and continue doing their job as it is. Since then SQ flourished. Millions of people lost their jobs due to this pandemic. We all didn’t expect it, didn’t ask for it nor we like it. Learn to adapt to change. Stop being arrogant and selfish. Slashing those million dollar lifestyle are ‘give and take’ during this tough situation and way better then being sacked and sent home. Tough situation requires tough measures. And i agree with Jim Thorn, piloting is not like last time, a rare specialist highly looked at career anymore, tonnes of experienced asian pilots are jobless and they will accept the new terms anyday hands down! FYI, CX pilots do get very high salary and perks. One of the highest, if not the highest in the world! And thats why they(the pilot recruitment) kept it exclusively within their circles. Time to treat all fairly and at industry standard. CX will flourish again!
Jon S
says:Are all other employee trained and tested constantly, shouldering over a billion dollars in liability and hundreds of lives when they go to work? Pay peanuts and get you know what… Get real and stop cheerleading the lowering of standards and renumeration.
Graham Haxell
says:It’s always those at the bottom of the rock pile that suffer first and hardest, so that the fat cats at the top can maintain their lavish life style. I see the hand of the PRC government in this and that’s even more sad.