Originally Posted by
flying_melon
In fairness, this is true in nearly all professions. On one hand, employers look for people (aka tools) to make them more money. On the other hand, employees often work for ****ty companies in exchange for money and/or future opportunities. Everyone says they love aviation, but how many people would be in this profession if it paid minimum wage? Would you? Can you honestly say your current employer sees you as anything more than a tool to make them more money? If a long-term drop in demand makes you redundant, you will still be cut no matter what an asset the recruitment manger said you were. You are special and useful until you aren't. There are better and worse employers out there, but you would be a fool to think any corporation really sees you as "family" as they like to claim. Cathay is, of course, no different.
Hmm... yes and no. They are still investing in cadets and to maximize return, they would want their cadets to stay for as long as possible. After all, it'll be cheaper than hiring foreign pilots and retraining them. That said, it's not like cadets are going to become captains anytime soon, so it's fair to say their approach is more like "wait-and-see" depending on how this 3-year deal with PolyU turns out and whether Hong Kong will return to its former status as an aviation hub.
I'm afraid you are wrong. There are many good companies out there who do not treat their employees the way CX did. Of course companies would want to hire the smart ones and use them to make money, that is completely normal, but what they also do is, they'll recognize the hard working individual, and they reward them with high and attractive salary package plus bonuses, while promoting healthy, ethical and "we listen" work culture, so that everyone can feel it as soon as they walk through the doors. I don't know much about you but I am certainly working for one, and I have plenty of friends who are in or out of the industry have the same experience as I do. So you cannot say nearly all professions.
But, Is that what we are seeing at Cathay? Hell No! First, they pushed through COS18, which is such a humiliation for all pilots across the board, (given how much effort and time they have invested in), then they folded Cathay Dragon without any signs, and now rehired them back in much lower salary package. 17 years Captain, one email, gone! Now, the experienced chaps have had enough of this, one by one, walking out of the door, and some genius at the management says, you know what, there is a huge demand in the local market, let's screw them, let's take advantage of them.
Afterall they are desperate, they are hungry, and they don't care much about what we do with the contract, with the standard, with upgrade time so on and forth, they will still keep knocking on the door. Don't hire the smart noisy one, hire the foolish, obedient one, often the quiet one, because they dare to say a thing. Still too expensive to train them? Let's take away their allowance for three years, so each of the individual has to contribute half of the fees. Never had I needed to contribute anything during my time at CX, except for the bond! That's the company has gone down to.
I tell you what, if each of one of them could hold back and say No and stop giving more oxygen to Cathay, CX will eventually have no choice but to be forced to improve the conditions, to improve the standard. They will finally wake up and realize..Nonononono. We can't screw them anymore. As I have been telling the younger guys, CX cadetship program is just one of the ways. With countries relaxing their immigration policy, one could easily take an advantage of it and build a successful flying career outside of the fragrant harbor. Yes it can be done and I have seen it in my eyes. Question is, are you willing to do the hard work.