Cathay Pilots Union To Hold Talks Over New Contracts

Cathay Pacific's pilots union said on Monday that it will hold talks with airline management this week about new lower-paid contracts being rolled out, but it is keeping all its legal options open.

Thousands of jobs at Hong Kong's flag carrier were slashed earlier this month as part of a major restructuring to help the company survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Flight attendants and pilots who have been spared redundancy have been told to sign new contracts before midnight on Wednesday or they will be fired.

The Aircrew Officers Association's general secretary Chris Beebe told RTHK’s Money Talk programme that he hoped management would agree to extend the deadline.

"Cathay is operating. There are pilots and flight attendants who are out there, operating, away from Hong Kong for several days, not having the ability to have a discussion with their families and make a decision," he said.

"It’s an unrealistic timeline we have been dealing with, so certainly extending the deadline is a reasonable way of doing things."

Beebe also said the conditions in the contracts are going to be permanent and Cathay should respect its staff.

"There are core values that every corporation should have, including respect and integrity," he said. "I would ask are they respecting their staff by excluding and disenfranchising them?"

The association and Cathay’s Flight Attendants Union are planning a rally on Wednesday, outside either the airline's headquarters or Tung Chung MTR Station, pending police approval.