Two of Hong Kong’s biggest aviation unions have announced they are to join forces to fight against Cathay Pacific’s controversial threats to dismiss pilots who don’t quickly accept new working conditions.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA) and Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union (FAU) have said they are seeking “greater consultation, fairer treatment of its membership and an extension of the termination deadline”.
Last week, 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. Significantly though, management also gave remaining pilots just one week to agree and sign new contracts, or risk immediate termination. Some reports said this could result in pilots taking a 60 per cent hit.
HKAOA chairman Captain Tad Hazelton said the unions are “formally making it known” that they are working together.
“Cathay Pacific is forcing our pilots and FAU cabin crew to make a career and life-defining decision in an unreasonably short timeframe,” said Hazelton.
“Many of these employees are currently working on Cathay Pacific’s active flight routes and have been away from home for a long period of time.”
FAU chairperson Zuki Wong Sze-Man added, “Thousands of people’s careers have been destroyed after years of loyal service, and many others have now been asked to sign the new contract with permanent pay cuts.
“The company expects passenger traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels in a few years. It is only fair that this new contract be valid for a certain amount of time and not be made permanent.
“This restructuring was presented to the FAU and HKAOA with zero notice and zero involvement. We had been trying to establish a channel of communications with Cathay Pacific in the past week.
“Finally, on the last day of deadline for signing, Cathay Pacific agreed to have a meeting with us and the Hong Kong Labour Department this morning. The company however is not directly responding to our requests. If it has to be a permanent change, it will be a permanent fight.”
Last week, Cathay 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”.
