Reach for the sky: one woman’s journey from flight attendant to pioneering union leader
Carol Ng gave up working in a bank because she wanted a fun job – now she’s the leader of Hong Kong’s largest cabin crew union
It was no surprise that Carol Ng Man-yee was feeling emotional as she hobbled her way into the Hong Kong Labour Tribunal in April 2004 to confront British Airways for the first time over a dispute on wages.
Not only was her baby boy due in a week’s time, she was also grieving the loss of her father, who had died six months earlier.
“I could only hold back my tears to do what I should do. My father loved me very much and he was my spiritual pillar. I had never felt such pain in my entire life. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep. It was a tough time,” the BA Hong Kong International Cabin Crew Association chairwoman says.
Heavily pregnant, she summoned her inner strength and entered the tribunal, scoring the association’s first victory in just two days over a dispute that stemmed from the airline’s decision to cut one-third of Hong Kong cabin crew’s 13th-month salary.
Little did she expect that the case would be the first of many tug-of-wars with the airline in the years to come.
In 2007 her association even took the airline to court in the United Kingdom for race and age discrimination. At the time, UK-based crew could retire at 55 years old while those based outside of the country, including the crew in Hong Kong, had to retire at 45.