Cathay Pacific Airways has suspended indefinitely a new policy that restricts the swapping of shifts by flight attendants.
The airline said the decision, coming a day after the attendants' union threatened industrial action during the Easter break, was made because it did not want to disrupt the lifestyle of its crew.
The policy requires attendants to work at least 70 hours a month before they can swap flights with colleagues. The airline said this was because some 5 per cent of hostesses had abused the roster system and worked as few as 10 hours a month.
On average, crew members are rostered for 80 to 83 flying hours a month. Those who work more than 70 hours will receive additional pay of about HK$100 an hour.
Cathay Pacific attendants are guaranteed a minimum salary even if they work less than that. A spokesman said this was to ensure that its staff would not be undesirably affected during special circumstances, such as the outbreak of an epidemic, when the number of flights dropped.
'Our intention simply was to address the issue of an increasing number of cabin crew working below the minimum guarantee,' Charlie Stewart-Cox, general manager of inflight services, said in an email to employees yesterday.
