Flight attendants are threatening to stop smiling, in protest at Cathay Pacific's plans to scrap their automatic pay rises.
The airline, which employs 5,500 attendants, is demanding employees fly an extra eight hours a month to win a 3.5 per cent rise. Other options are to work the same number of hours for the same money or take a voluntarily severance package.
As a form of industrial action against the airline that promises 'warmth and friendly service straight from the heart', cabin crew are considering refusing to smile at passengers for one hour on each flight.
Becky Kwan Siu-wa, who chairs the Flight Attendants' Union, representing three-quarters of cabin crew, said not smiling was one way to express dissatisfaction.
'Our contracts do not say we have to smile,' she said, adding that other types of action were being considered. 'We won't jeopardise passenger safety or inconvenience passengers. And we will fulfil contractual duty as cabin attendants.' The starting package for flight attendants, including allowances and overtime, is about $12,000 a month.
The union says Cathay, which recorded a $175 million loss to the end of June last year - its first in 35 years - is seeking to exploit the economic downturn.