IMAGES of the perfumed picket line which cost Cathay Pacific Airways $240 million and its unblemished record, came to the fore again last week with the rumblings of another wage dispute between management and the unions.
But this time the stewardesses, who earlier this year abandoned their subservient image to wave protest banners and chant slogans outside Cathay's Kai Tak offices, may not go it alone.
With the airline entering one of its busiest periods, the Flight Attendants' Union (FAU), the Local Staff Union and the pilots' and flight engineers' body, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers' Association, joined together last week to publicly reject management's latest pay offer.
Together the unions represent the majority of the company's 7,500 workers.
They have requested negotiations for an improved increase and say they are not considering a strike at this point, but airline analysts warn that Cathay is extremely vulnerable to industrial action.
And nearly a year after the last highly publicised dispute, they say neither management nor unions appear to have learned any lessons in communication or negotiation.
The Lunar New Year strike was provoked by the sacking of three cabin crew who refused to ''step down'' and temporarily perform duties below their grade.