Cathay considering unpaid leave for staff to weather crisis
The deteriorating economy may force Cathay Pacific to relaunch unpaid leave among staff to save costs, a measure used during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003. 'We are conducting the budget for next year right now and unpaid leave is one of the things we are considering,' said Cathay spokesman Carolyn Leung yesterday. General manager for inflight services Charlie Stewart-Cox said on the company intranet on October 13 he was aware that crew members were wondering about the unpaid leave. 'I can assure you we will continue to monitor the situation and will adapt our plans if and when the situation changes,' he said. Last month Cathay posted its first drop in passenger numbers since Sars and predicted a further fall in demand. Chief executive Tony Tyler said on Saturday the airline was suspending all recruitment. In 2003, amid the Sars crisis, Cathay urged its staff to take three weeks' unpaid leave. By the end of the year, it had reimbursed staff.
Let small firms postpone tax for a year, industry lawmaker says
Legislator Lam Tai-fai, who represents the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, proposed the government allow small- and medium-sized enterprises to postpone paying provisional tax for a year. He also suggested the loan percentage guaranteed by the government under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme be raised from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. Mr Lam said he might not support the motion of thanks on last week's policy address because the speech had not put forward any measures to help SMEs.
Airline forms cost-control group
The Hong Kong arm of Taiwan-based China Airlines has formed a cost-control committee to closely watch each item of spending, general manager Michael Wu Chie-fuh said. Speaking after a press conference to promote Kaohsiung tourism, he said airlines might have to attract customers by cutting prices. Mr Wu said he was still optimistic about the company's profit in the coming year thanks to falling fuel prices, and said it was not under pressure to reduce staffing.
