Cathay Pacific Layoffs︱ Management shocked by Qiqiyou, Employees Sacrifice for Federation of Flag Workers Lu Songxiong Rejects Union Witness ｜ News ｜ Real Time ｜ 20201109

Cathay Pacific fired CUHK last month and forced surviving employees to sign a new contract by layoff. The flight attendants union has repeatedly asked the government to intervene in the incident, but the contract period has expired. The Legislative Council’s relevant affairs committee has only convened a joint meeting this morning to discuss layoffs in the aviation sector. And the development of countermeasures, the union was not invited to participate. Democratic Congressmen bombed Cathay Pacific to “get fat and lose weight” and called for permanent pay cuts for employees who signed new contracts, while management slashed their pay for a year. However, Cathay Pacific representatives denied the double standards, arguing that under the terms of the new contract, as long as the number of flight hours increased, employee salaries could return to last year’s level. Asked whether she would prioritize hiring Hong Kong people to fill vacancies in the future, Cathay Pacific declined to promise, saying only that if the aviation industry recovers by the end of next year, there shouldn’t be. be layoffs.

The Federation of Trade Unions Lu Songxiong refuses to testify from the union

The Committee on Human Affairs and Economic Development of the Legislative Council held a joint meeting. The Cathay Pacific union wrote to the chairman of the commission and the Federation of Trade Unions Lu Songxiong asking to attend the meeting. However, Lu declined to invite workers to attend the meeting on the grounds that the meeting discussed aviation industry policies rather than individual events. The “privatization” of the union letter was not distributed to the members of the inspection committee. Cathay Pacific President He Yili and CEO Deng Jianrong were invited to attend.

Democrat Lin Zhuoting pointed out that Cathay Pacific requires employees to sign new contracts to accept a permanent pay cut, but management only needs to cut their wages for one year. “If 90% of employees are” willing “to sign contracts, it would be unpleasant and disgusting,” criticizing Cathay Pacific for receiving $ 27 billion in capital injections from the government. Yuan squeezes employees, “get fat and lose weight.” The Democratic Party, Yin Zhaojian, also criticized Cathay Pacific for taking advantage of the fire. “Whenever Cathay Pacific’s management has an accident, (for example) it scrambles for oil, it does it on employees.” The time limit for signing a new contract is only 14 days. Speculation is not profitable. “

But He Yili denied the double standard of wage reduction and made it clear that the reduction in the salary of flight attendants was from 0% to 29%, with an average reduction of 15%; the lower level salary reduction was 30%. He estimated that the aviation sector is expected to recover in the second half of 2021. As long as flight attendants’ flight hours increase, i.e. 90 hours per month and 21 hours per week, their salary can return to the level of 2019 and so does the salary structure of the management will be at that time. We will review again. However, looking at the information, under the terms of the new contract, the basic salary and hourly wages of all ranks of flight attendants have been “limited”, and even after the industry recovers, they will not have the opportunity. to raise their salary.

Cathay Pacific: There is no need to lay off staff if it recovers next year

Asked about Cathay Pacific’s current financial situation, He Yili pointed out that the company has saved 500 million yuan a month after layoffs and wage cuts. The current monthly net expenditure is between 1.5 and 2 billion yuan, but the situation is unsustainable. In the future, it will introduce unpaid leave and improve transport capacity. Including the use of passenger aircraft to transport cargo by air to save Cathay Pacific and increase revenue. He stressed that after the reorganization of Cathay Pacific and the opening of the debt market, liquidity is stable: if the aviation sector recovers as expected next year, it will be enough to cope with the crisis and no further layoffs. As for the concern of the New Democratic Party Ye Liu Shuyi, if Cathay Pacific ticket prices rise in the future, Deng Jianrong stressed that the price is determined by the market, but it is guaranteed that it will be reasonable.

Cathay Pacific announced last week that around 90% of pilots and flight attendants have signed new contracts. The Minhao Tam Civic Party is concerned if Cathay Pacific’s recruitment will be based on the Hong Kong people principle before filling the remaining 10% of vacancies. Deng Jianrong refused to make a promise, saying labor laws don’t allow it. Employers “discriminate on the basis of nationality”, but Tan countered that many foreign pilots have been granted work visas by the Immigration Department to come to Hong Kong on the premise that the local job market has no similar talent. . Tan Wenhao filed a non-binding motion at the meeting, demanding that the Bureau of Transportation and Housing consider whether airlines prioritize Hong Kong people recruitment as part of its policy when assigning air traffic rights in the future . The motion was passed and approved by more than half of the members.

Bureau of Transportation and Housing: to guarantee the state of the air hub “no errors are allowed”

At the meeting, neither the Office of Labor and Welfare nor the Office of Transport and Housing sent responsible officials to attend, and the two heads of the office were challenged to shirk their responsibilities. Civic Party Yang Yueqiao questioned that Cathay Pacific used the layoff to force employees to sign a new contract, cutting wages and reducing benefits, which violated the spirit of the contract. “Can other companies cook?” But Li Baoyi, the Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, refused to respond positively and followed the draft the whole time. He claims he will not publicly comment on the Cathay Pacific cases. If an employer needs to change the contract, they must first obtain the employee’s consent. The duration of the contract consideration depends on the individual circumstances, but the modification of the contract period cannot be regarded as the cancellation period.

Yin Zhaojian criticized the two directors for missing and shirking their responsibilities, and the government, as a shareholder of Cathay Pacific, stayed out of its layoffs. Liu Jiaqi, deputy secretary general of the Bureau of Transportation and Housing, denied being a shareholder of Cathay Pacific after the government capital injection. He argued that the government’s purchase of Cathay Pacific’s “preferred stock” was just an investment to secure Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub. He described “no mistakes” and the goal is to preserve strength. Become one of the fastest rebounds in the aviation industry. When asked if he would inject capital in the future, he said: “I can’t talk about it for now.”

As to whether Dragonair’s navigation rights will necessarily be taken over by Cathay Pacific? Liu Jiaqi said he wasn’t certain, pointing out that navigation rights are public goods. After the government reclaims the navigation rights, they must be assigned according to established guidelines to encourage healthy competition. All local airlines are eligible to apply.

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