Police Thwart Plan For Rally Over Cathay Contracts

A Cathay Pacific staff union has decided to give up its plan to hold a rally near the airport on Wednesday to voice discontent over new contracts offered by the airline, after the police refused to give their approval.

The struggling carrier has offered new contracts with substantial pay and benefit cuts to remaining staff, after sacking around 5,300 Hong Kong-based workers and axing its Cathay Dragon subsidiary last month as part of a restructuring plan to survive the pandemic.

Employees have been given until the end of Wednesday to sign the new contracts or they will be fired.

The Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union had applied to hold a public assembly on the day, either at the entrance of Cathay Pacific City, or an area outside Tung Chung MTR Station.

But the police have banned such a demonstration, citing social distancing rules and an injunction order banning the disruption of normal airport operations which has been in place since the anti-governments protests last year.

The union said it would not appeal against the ban due to the limited time available before the contracts deadline, and it would arrange other events to voice members' concerns.

Another union meeting would also be held on Tuesday over the contract issue, it said.

Civic Party lawmaker and pilot Jeremy Tam criticised the police's decision, noting that the proposed sites for the rally are far away from the airport.

He said it is unreasonable that the authorities keep using the pandemic to restrict public gatherings.

Tam also questioned why rival lawmaker Michael Luk of the Federation of Trade Unions, who chairs Legco's manpower panel, has still not arranged a meeting on the Cathay issue.

"His party supposedly represents labour rights... the deadline is Wednesday and you could not even arrange a meeting beforehand," he said.