I feel like your message would be better received by pilots aspiring to work at Cathay (at least DESO/DEFO's) if it was communicated more like this: "Don't apply to Cathay. We have been fighting for better working conditions for far too long now. We need more pressure on the company which is made easier if people stop applying. This is for YOUR direct benefit because once the resumes stop piling in for long enough, the company will have no choice but to raise the pay and improve conditions. At that point, you'd be smart to think about applying again because this company was and can be a great place to work if things are changed. The current pay and conditions make it difficult/borderline impossible to live in a 500 square foot apartment and the majority of the contract is amendable at the company's discretion, including pay and benefits which will no doubt be decreased. There is much room for improvement and you stand to directly benefit from not applying or at the very least not accepting an offer until a better contract is presented to the pilot group (unless you're scud running a 1900 in Mali getting bombed every night...)."
Start making it about them, not you, and you'll find much more support. I'm on your side, but you guys need to re-read your posts before you send them and to think about how it would have come across to yourself years ago when when you were applying to the airline. If you guys aren't willing to strike, the only thing you can really do to make things better is to try to convince people that working at CX shouldn't be something that's desirable. It shouldn't be that hard to do, but I'll take a wild guess that tons of people are still flocking to HK given that the company feels confident in offering COS18. The cadets are another story though. I wouldn't doubt it if, for a lot of them, COS18 is an upgrade in life or at least on par since most of them are just finishing high school/university. They don't have a ton of choices in HK aviation wise with no experience, and they do not have GA/regionals like in OZ, USA, Canada. Labour laws make it impossible to go to another country for experience unless they hold dual citizenship. I'd assume that most of them are applying to CX because they love flying, which I'm sure most of you did too at some point in your life. My guess is that the only way you could get across to someone like that is to tell them how Cathay has destroyed your love for flying in a relatable way, because it'll be hard to find sympathy from them when talking about how much you're paid.
Sincerely,
Someone who will no longer apply unless things are improved.