Cathay flight attendants seek modest pay increase

Cathay Pacific flight attendants are asking for a cautious 5-percent salary increase next year, setting a much lower target than last year, in view of the airline's weak performance over the year.

Chairwoman of Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union Dora Lai announced the salary demand on Thursday, noting that 5 percent is "relatively low" but yet it is "the result of careful deliberation", taking many factors into consideration, including the performance of the airline in the first half of the year.

The Cathay Pacific Group reported an attributable loss of HK$935 million ($120.63 million) for the first six months, due to persistently high fuel prices and a sharp decline in air cargo demand.

"So far we have seen no significant progress," Lai said.

"The aviation industry as a whole has underperformed the overall market this year," she added.

Last year, the union demanded an 8 percent raise, and received an average of 5 percent after tough negotiations.

Pay raise pressure is just a small part of Cathay's troubles in labor costs.

The airline has adopted cost control measures to cope with a profit decline, including flight schedule changes, capacity reductions, a recruitment freeze and the introduction of voluntary unpaid leave for cabin crew.

Some of the airline's efforts to cut costs have hurt the income of flight attendants, arousing worries and objections.

Cathay Pacific is planning to initiate a "Cross Base Flying" trial, which, according to the union, is "outsourcing the flight attendant jobs outside Hong Kong".

The pilot scheme will allow locally hired foreign employees at Bangkok, San Francisco, and Singapore to fly more routes, which are currently served by Hong Kong flight attendants. The scheme is expected to be extended to all seven of Cathay's outport bases.

The union believes the scheme will not only affect the incomes of Hong Kong-based crews and their opportunities for promotion, but could also lead eventually to job cuts.

Kenny Cheung, an executive committee member of the union, explained that locally hired foreign flight attendants at outport bases are paid much less than Hong Kong based ones. "The salary of Bangkok crews is only one-fifth of ours," he said.

The union plans to urge management to cancel the scheme, during the coming year-end negotiations, in addition to asking for a 5 percent increase.

The union is also actively seeking government intervention on the contracting out issue. There will be a question at a LegCo meeting on November 28 on this issue.

The union also complains that flight schedule changes have caused rest deprivation and shrinkage of income for cabin crews.

For example, Cheung said, Cathay has reduced the flight frequency to Rome from seven to five every week, and shortened the rest time before return flights, from 52 hours to a little more than 24 hours. It will lead to about a 50 percent decrease in outport allowances for crews, which usually accounts to half the total monthly income for entry-level cabin staff.

The union expects a response from the airline in early December. Lai said that industrial action is not under consideration at this stage.