'Cathay Job Cuts Will Push Other Firms To Follow'

The chairwoman of the Confederation of Trade Unions, Carol Ng, says Cathay Pacific's move to make 5,300 workers in Hong Kong redundant as part of a major restructuring will put pressure on other employers to follow suit, at a time when unemployment in the SAR is at a 16-year high.

Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme shortly before the cuts were confirmed, Ng questioned whether the airline had gone far enough to find alternative cost-saving measures.

"When Cathay, as an employer of such big size, they need to see whether cost-saving measures have been fully considered and fully deployed," Ng said. "But instead of these measures they go directly into redundancies.

"I think they are taking their own corporate image to such a bad level," she said, adding that the public was now asking whether it is necessary to cut flying staff rather than "those very high-paid directors or top management".

She said the redundancies had "badly hit" morale at the airline.

"I'm afraid that, once Cathay Pacific started this redundancy round, it will give a hint to other employers to follow," especially when the government's latest round of employment subsidies ends next month, Ng added.

"It's truly worrying given the huge pressure on the employment market."

As well as cutting locally based staff, Cathay has proposed making 600 staff overseas redundant, subject to local regulations. A further 2,600 vacant posts will be eliminated.

Cathay is also immediately axing its Cathay Dragon brand, asking cabin and cockpit crews to accept new terms of service and extending pay cuts for executives into next year. It will not offer pay rises or discretionary bonuses.

Government statistics released on Tuesday showed that unemployment had risen to 6.4 percent – the highest in about 16 years, with some sectors breaching levels seen during the Sars outbreak.

In the latest period covering July to September this year, the jobless figure for sectors relating to consumption and tourism surged hit 11.7 percent.