Advertisement
Advertisement
Cathay Pacific
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Union chairwoman Dora Lai (right) promises members gathered outside the talks that she will not give up. Photo: Dickson Lee

Update | Signs of progress in talks but Cathay Pacific crew union vows strike will go ahead unless all demands are met

First of three issues resolved but union insists there can be no concessions and vows to go ahead with walkout unless all demands are met

Cathay Pacific's cabin crew union has vowed to press ahead with strike action in August if all three of its demands are not met - as talks ended yesterday with only one issue resolved.

"There is no room for concessions. We will not give up any of our demands," said Dora Lai Yuk-sim, chairwoman of the 6,300-member Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, which represents about 70 per cent of cabin crew at the airline.

The union has warned it will strike from August 18 to 31 if the disputes are not resolved.

The first outstanding demand concerns employees who have finished their initial three-year training contracts. Those who signed permanent contracts before April 2 got a pay increase from HK$144.70 per hour of flight to HK$176.80, but those who signed after April 16 would see their wages rise to only HK$159.30.

The union wants an hourly rate of HK$176.80 for all.

Secondly, it wants to reverse a cut in the lunch allowance for flight attendants in Melbourne, granting them A$60 (HK$372) per meal instead of A$35.

The airline did agree to the airline's other demand: the reinstatement of a legal protection clause Cathay deleted from its operational manual. The line states the airline will "cover all legal costs resulting from an incident occurring whilst on duty".

Speaking after a meeting at the office of the Labour Department, which is mediating, Lai said the airline had agreed to put the legal protection clause back in the manual.

A committee made up of representatives from both parties will ensure the clause is restored to the manual and the airline follows through for any staff member requiring legal support.

"We did not have time to talk about the discrepancy in hourly pay rates. We had some constructive exchanges on the [Melbourne] allowance, but there was no big progress," Lai said.

The airline previously said it would adjust the Melbourne allowance to A$55.

The union's vice-chairman, Julian Yau Chi-hung, said the airline did not offer a new figure yesterday.

Cathay's director of corporate affairs, James Tong, described the meeting as "constructive".

"I don't feel that we have not made a concession, otherwise both sides would not have had such a happy discussion today," Tong said. He added that industrial action did no one any good and he hoped the differences could be settled soon.

Tong did not clarify whether there was room for further concession regarding the food allowance and the hourly pay rate.

Downstairs at the Wan Chai Revenue Tower, where the talks took place, about 150 Cathay flight attendants gathered yesterday to show the union their support.

"If we do not come out and show our unity this time, I feel that we will be exploited further," said a flight attendant who joined the airline about a year ago.

An emotional scene erupted as union members walked out of their meeting room to greet their supporters downstairs.

"I am proud of all of you. I am here to promise you we will not give up," union chairwoman Lai said, as the members responded with a big round of applause.

Talks will resume today.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Signs of progress in Cathay crew disputes
Post