When Cathay Pacific ground staff went on strike over pay and working conditions
The three-day strike saw workers call for a pay rise of up to 20 per cent, saying HK$1,500 salaries lagged other airlines’ pay by 40 per cent
“Kai Tak flights go on despite strike” ran a headline in the South China Morning Post on June 18, 1981.
“Management staff of Cathay Pacific Airways and several other airlines [whose desks Cathay employees usually staffed] worked behind passenger check-in counters at Kai Tak airport as more than 1,000 Cathay ground staff went on strike yesterday,” the story continued.
“The Cathay staff, who belong to the Cathay Pacific Airways Local Staff Union, began the three-day strike at 7am in demand for higher pay, better working conditions and a better retirement scheme.”
Ground staff told the Post they were calling for a rise of up to 20 per cent, saying salaries at HK$1,500 were 40 per cent below those of other airlines.
Flights were largely unaffected, the Post reported. Cathay had mobilised staff “ranging from managers to executive officers to man the counters at the airport and other vacated positions”.