ALPHA FLOOR
4th Aug 2007, 14:11
Not my work but I do agree with [email protected] the author, I quote from his email received this week.......
"..........*PLEASE READ & FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO ALL CX F/O's & S/O's ASAP*
Dear Colleagues/Friends,
As you are all aware, the Company and the AOA have been in talks over the last 2 months regarding the important issues of Pay, Retirement Age and Direct Entry First Officers. The talks are nearing completion and a proposal is expected to be put forward in early August.
What you may not know, is the seriousness the outcome of these talks and subsequent vote, to the rest of your career at Cathay Pacific.
The company has indicated that there is some money on the table for the pay talks. It’s how they plan to use this money that is of greatest concern. Let me explain by telling you what the likely proposal will contain.
<LI class=MsoNormal>Instantaneous extension of retirement age to 65. <LI class=MsoNormal>Any extension beyond age 55 will be on current pay scale. Ie A Scalers can work to age 65 on A Scale pay inclusive of yearly increments. <LI class=MsoNormal>Bypass pay for all officers affected by this extension who remain on COS99
Introduction of COS08 that includes:<LI class=MsoNormal>Retirement age 65 <LI class=MsoNormal>Waiving of bypass pay until an officer is extended beyond age 65
All new joiners and based crew will have to sign. (CX is claiming that due to local discrimination laws, based crew will be required to be on a contract that doesn’t discriminate against age)
DEFO pay to be introduced to pax and freighter fleets as follows<LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 1 – Freighter FO 1 pay <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 2 – Freighter FO 2 pay <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 3 – Freighter FO 3 pay <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 4 – Intermediate amount between Freighter FO 3 and Pax SFO 1 <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 5 – Pax SFO 1 pay
Yr 6 - Pax SFO 2 pay etc etc <LI class=MsoNormal>An insult of a pay increase, not much more than 5% over the next 2.5 years!
BEWARE - It will be advertised as something different, but if you look closely, its not.What does this mean to those of us who have not attained the rank of Captain, or are a relatively junior Captain?
Conservative estimates put the Average delay to command at 3-4 years<LI class=MsoNormal>That’s 3-4 years that you are not earning command pay, and this money (your money) is going toward the funding of extending A scalers on A Scale Pay!
This estimate is if the company continue to expand at the current rate. It will be longer if we have a downturn.
Bypass pay will be paid to those officers who remain on CoS99<LI class=MsoNormal>however, bypass pay never leaves the Captain Year 1 pay increment (have a look at the difference between SFO Yr 6 pay and Captain Yr 1 pay. There’s not much difference!) <LI class=MsoNormal>The company has indicated that they have already set aside funds to pay the bypass pay. They need age 65 and are willing to pay bypass pay, which is cheaper that slowing their expansion. <LI class=MsoNormal>Officers on CoS08 will not be paid bypass pay for over 55 extendees.
If an officer is on Cos08 and at the top of the FO seniority list and there is one extended Captain, then there is no bypass pay paid. If there are 2 Captains extended, and the top FO is on Cos08 and the next FO is on Cos99, then only one lot of bypass pay paid. If there are 3 Captains extended and the third FO is on CoS08, then there is still only one lot of bypass pay paid. So on and so on. Another saving for the company to help fund the A Scalers.
Delayed or non-existent based opportunities
Just think of the number of A scalers who have been planning to retire at 55, and have enough money to do so, now willing to take the pay decrease to take a base. It’s now just pocket money to them. Bases will become somewhere where the senior aircrew go to see out their days, not somewhere you can take your family after upgrading to captain.How is it possible that this proposal could even be considered by the GC, let alone put to us to vote on?
The GC is not representative of its members or the CX aircrew body. Here is the rough membership breakdown<LI class=MsoNormal>CX F/O's total - 1050 of which 520 are AOA members <LI class=MsoNormal>CX Capt's total - 750 of which 425 are AOA members
CX S/O's total - not exactly sure, but slight majority are members<LI class=MsoNormal>Approx 15 of the 22 GC members are A Scale captains
Only 2 F/O's currently on the GC!Who stands to benefit from this proposal?
<LI class=MsoNormal>100 of our 1000 odd members (Approx 100 A Scalers are members) <LI class=MsoNormal>200-300 A Scalers who are non members.
CX. They get to solve their self made problem of not having enough Captains to fulfil their expansion plansWho stands to lose from this proposal?
<LI class=MsoNormal>YOU!
Including those of you who are NON HKAOA members!! Join Now to vote!What can we do?
Of course voting NO is an obvious way of showing your disgust at your future being sold down the toilet for a bunch that have had it good for so many years already, at the expense of US, the junior officers.<LI class=MsoNormal>The chances are, the company will just introduce age 65 anyway, as they have done with the extension of C & T Captains already.
BUT, if we can get everyone to vote and have a say, to show the company and the AOA that the VAST MAJORITY of the aircrew body thinks this PROPOSAL STINKS, then we have more of a chance to deflect this attack on OUR future.
Write to the AOA in mass numbers, demanding that they fight for pay and conditions for the majority of the membership, not just a small few. Demand that they tell the company, in no uncertain terms, that the B scale pilot body is not going to fund the solution to the company’s own mess. It is our future, and we must do everything we can to protect it!
FORWARD THIS EMAIL ON to ALL of your CX F/O and S/O friends and colleagues, members or not.
JOIN THE AOA and VOTE. If you are not a member of the AOA, JOIN NOW. There is still time for you to join and have your say. Don’t look back in a few years time and say “I wish I had of spent a couple of hundred dollars to have my voice heard”. Join now by emailing [email protected] (mhtml:{CD7BFD9C-9B85-412B-8B5F-21B43AAD9EF9}mid://00000004/!x-usc:mailto:[email protected]) This is no time for finger pointing and blaming anyone else for what we are about to be presented with. This is a time where we need UNITY. We all have the same objective – TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE.
Please forward this email on to you friends and write to the AOA now at [email protected] (mhtml:{CD7BFD9C-9B85-412B-8B5F-21B43AAD9EF9}mid://00000004/!x-usc:mailto:[email protected]) demanding they accept nothing less than a fair proposal for all.
Thank you for your time..........."
"..........*PLEASE READ & FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO ALL CX F/O's & S/O's ASAP*
Dear Colleagues/Friends,
As you are all aware, the Company and the AOA have been in talks over the last 2 months regarding the important issues of Pay, Retirement Age and Direct Entry First Officers. The talks are nearing completion and a proposal is expected to be put forward in early August.
What you may not know, is the seriousness the outcome of these talks and subsequent vote, to the rest of your career at Cathay Pacific.
The company has indicated that there is some money on the table for the pay talks. It’s how they plan to use this money that is of greatest concern. Let me explain by telling you what the likely proposal will contain.
<LI class=MsoNormal>Instantaneous extension of retirement age to 65. <LI class=MsoNormal>Any extension beyond age 55 will be on current pay scale. Ie A Scalers can work to age 65 on A Scale pay inclusive of yearly increments. <LI class=MsoNormal>Bypass pay for all officers affected by this extension who remain on COS99
Introduction of COS08 that includes:<LI class=MsoNormal>Retirement age 65 <LI class=MsoNormal>Waiving of bypass pay until an officer is extended beyond age 65
All new joiners and based crew will have to sign. (CX is claiming that due to local discrimination laws, based crew will be required to be on a contract that doesn’t discriminate against age)
DEFO pay to be introduced to pax and freighter fleets as follows<LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 1 – Freighter FO 1 pay <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 2 – Freighter FO 2 pay <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 3 – Freighter FO 3 pay <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 4 – Intermediate amount between Freighter FO 3 and Pax SFO 1 <LI class=MsoNormal>Yr 5 – Pax SFO 1 pay
Yr 6 - Pax SFO 2 pay etc etc <LI class=MsoNormal>An insult of a pay increase, not much more than 5% over the next 2.5 years!
BEWARE - It will be advertised as something different, but if you look closely, its not.What does this mean to those of us who have not attained the rank of Captain, or are a relatively junior Captain?
Conservative estimates put the Average delay to command at 3-4 years<LI class=MsoNormal>That’s 3-4 years that you are not earning command pay, and this money (your money) is going toward the funding of extending A scalers on A Scale Pay!
This estimate is if the company continue to expand at the current rate. It will be longer if we have a downturn.
Bypass pay will be paid to those officers who remain on CoS99<LI class=MsoNormal>however, bypass pay never leaves the Captain Year 1 pay increment (have a look at the difference between SFO Yr 6 pay and Captain Yr 1 pay. There’s not much difference!) <LI class=MsoNormal>The company has indicated that they have already set aside funds to pay the bypass pay. They need age 65 and are willing to pay bypass pay, which is cheaper that slowing their expansion. <LI class=MsoNormal>Officers on CoS08 will not be paid bypass pay for over 55 extendees.
If an officer is on Cos08 and at the top of the FO seniority list and there is one extended Captain, then there is no bypass pay paid. If there are 2 Captains extended, and the top FO is on Cos08 and the next FO is on Cos99, then only one lot of bypass pay paid. If there are 3 Captains extended and the third FO is on CoS08, then there is still only one lot of bypass pay paid. So on and so on. Another saving for the company to help fund the A Scalers.
Delayed or non-existent based opportunities
Just think of the number of A scalers who have been planning to retire at 55, and have enough money to do so, now willing to take the pay decrease to take a base. It’s now just pocket money to them. Bases will become somewhere where the senior aircrew go to see out their days, not somewhere you can take your family after upgrading to captain.How is it possible that this proposal could even be considered by the GC, let alone put to us to vote on?
The GC is not representative of its members or the CX aircrew body. Here is the rough membership breakdown<LI class=MsoNormal>CX F/O's total - 1050 of which 520 are AOA members <LI class=MsoNormal>CX Capt's total - 750 of which 425 are AOA members
CX S/O's total - not exactly sure, but slight majority are members<LI class=MsoNormal>Approx 15 of the 22 GC members are A Scale captains
Only 2 F/O's currently on the GC!Who stands to benefit from this proposal?
<LI class=MsoNormal>100 of our 1000 odd members (Approx 100 A Scalers are members) <LI class=MsoNormal>200-300 A Scalers who are non members.
CX. They get to solve their self made problem of not having enough Captains to fulfil their expansion plansWho stands to lose from this proposal?
<LI class=MsoNormal>YOU!
Including those of you who are NON HKAOA members!! Join Now to vote!What can we do?
Of course voting NO is an obvious way of showing your disgust at your future being sold down the toilet for a bunch that have had it good for so many years already, at the expense of US, the junior officers.<LI class=MsoNormal>The chances are, the company will just introduce age 65 anyway, as they have done with the extension of C & T Captains already.
BUT, if we can get everyone to vote and have a say, to show the company and the AOA that the VAST MAJORITY of the aircrew body thinks this PROPOSAL STINKS, then we have more of a chance to deflect this attack on OUR future.
Write to the AOA in mass numbers, demanding that they fight for pay and conditions for the majority of the membership, not just a small few. Demand that they tell the company, in no uncertain terms, that the B scale pilot body is not going to fund the solution to the company’s own mess. It is our future, and we must do everything we can to protect it!
FORWARD THIS EMAIL ON to ALL of your CX F/O and S/O friends and colleagues, members or not.
JOIN THE AOA and VOTE. If you are not a member of the AOA, JOIN NOW. There is still time for you to join and have your say. Don’t look back in a few years time and say “I wish I had of spent a couple of hundred dollars to have my voice heard”. Join now by emailing [email protected] (mhtml:{CD7BFD9C-9B85-412B-8B5F-21B43AAD9EF9}mid://00000004/!x-usc:mailto:[email protected]) This is no time for finger pointing and blaming anyone else for what we are about to be presented with. This is a time where we need UNITY. We all have the same objective – TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE.
Please forward this email on to you friends and write to the AOA now at [email protected] (mhtml:{CD7BFD9C-9B85-412B-8B5F-21B43AAD9EF9}mid://00000004/!x-usc:mailto:[email protected]) demanding they accept nothing less than a fair proposal for all.
Thank you for your time..........."