Cathay Pacific pilots overwhelmingly reject airline’s offer, meaning five-year industrial dispute will linger on
- Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association members rejected 78 per cent to 22 the deal negotiated by the union with management
- The snub is a blow to Cathay’s latest attempts at restructuring and cost-cutting
Unhappy pilots have overwhelmingly rejected Cathay Pacific Airways’ offer of improved pay, perks and conditions as the company failed to settle a five-year industrial dispute for the second time. The margin of rejection this time around was greater.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA), which negotiated a deal with Cathay Pacific put a vote out to rank-and-file pilots earlier this month. Of the 2,276 members who voted, 78 per cent rejected the deal, with 1,775 against and 483 in favour. The turnout was 96 per cent.
Hong Kong’s biggest airline had backed down on cutting expensive housing contracts, which was a key pillar of its cost reduction, in favour of discouraging industrial action on some of the most delicate pilot issues – in one case, for up to 10 years.
The rejection highlights a divide among members and union animosity, which may play into the hands of the airline as it works through its ongoing restructuring.
Making savings from pilot expenditure formed a key part of the airline’s three-year cost-cutting effort to direct the business back to profitability. The airline had sought to cut HK$4 billion in costs by 2019, with HK$1 billion – or 10 per cent – of pilot costs trimmed.
The airline’s unionised pilots voted on a fresh set of proposals, which include offering its most experienced pilots an extension on their expired HK$900 million (US$114.9 million) housing package – worth up to HK$110,100 a month – until September 2029.