Originally Posted by
Emma Royds
It's irrelevant if you are directly employed or are a contractor in an airline in Asia where the minority of the workforce are ex-pats, as the ex-pat will always be the first to suffer in the tough times. I would rather be with a contract agency, as at least there is an intermediary that you can liaise with. If you were employed directly, I doubt any local pilot union would be willing to make much effort to look after ex-pats who are on more generous terms and conditions, at the expense of their own peers.
partially agree with you, however, ‘local pilot unions’ don’t really exist, although the various associations like to think of themselves as unions, they have absolutely no pull. Fact of the matter is Asia lacks ‘local’ experience, expats will be required in Asian/ far eastern airlines for years to come. If you would rather work for an agency, so be it, but don’t complain when your contract is simply cancelled because you are no longer required.
we are getting away from the original question, unpaid leave HAS been offered in many far eastern airlines, and some have introduced salary adjustments, but none have handled their crew the way emirates has the past two weeks...