SCMP
SCMP 30/1/05
Captain A, who earned $ ????? a month when he was fired during the dispute over pay and rosters in July 2001, has said "no" to a $ 1.45 million payout offer from the airline and is determined to carry on fighting his case through the courts if his union colleagues will support him.
Mr Biaspal, who earns $ ????? a month, has said "no" to a $ 6,000 payout offer from the airline and on February 23 will go to Hong Kong's High Court with two other flight attendants to fight for pay they say they are owed but never received.
Both Captain A and Mr Biaspal are indignant and defiant. Both have so far resisted considerable pressure to reach an out-of-court settlement because they believe Cathay Pacific is acting unfairly. Both are determined to have their day in court.
It is the high-profile and emotive case of the 49ers - whose salaries start at around $ ????? - that has so far dominated the headlines.
But the case being brought by Mr Biaspal and his colleagues on February 23 may have far broader implications for staff relations at the hugely successful Hong Kong airline. Mr Biaspal, who joined the airline eight years ago, took a job with Cathay at a time when flight attendants saw their salaries rise by a grade every year, giving them automatic pay rises of around $ 600 for each year they completed. If it had had continued, as he says he was entitled to expect it would, he would now be on a salary of $ 15,120. Instead he's earning $ 11,888 and with every pay cheque that goes into his bank, he is $ 3232 worse off than he believes he should be. He claims they now owe him more than $ 107,000 - and the figure is rising by the month. About 3,400 attendants past and present employed in 1996 under monthly contacts are losing thousands of dollars a month, according to its calculations. In a series of meetings aimed at averting next month's court case, Cathay first offered in December a one-off goodwill payment of $ 4,000 to flight attendants of Mr Biaspal's junior rank, along with a 7.5 per cent pay rise over three years. The offer was increased on January 6 to $ 6,000 for junior attendants, $ 8,000 for senior pursers and $ 11,000 for in-flight service managers - a one-off payout that would have cost the company a total of $ 24.3 million. By her calculations - which she admits take the highest possible permutations on behalf of cabin crew - Cathay should be offering significantly more than $ 24.3 million to settle the dispute. She believes that if the two-week court case goes against the airline, it could be facing a bill of as much as $ 350 million. It is a scenario Cathay - which says it has made a fair and reasonable offer to staff - dismisses, indicating the approach taken by the union representing 70 per cent of cabin crew fails to take account of Hong Kong's "economic situation and competitive environment". However, the fact the airline has fallen so far short of the expectations of a large proportion of its cabin crew and now faces a court hearing over alleged breach of contract points to an uncomfortably disparate view of the world between management and frontline staff.
If, on top of that, pilots vote "no" when the Aircrew Officers Association meets later this month to decide whether to accept what Cathay insists is its final offer to the 49ers before court cases proceed, the schism between management and staff is in danger of looking more like a chasm.
According to Ms Kwan and others, there is a strong sense among cabin crew the airline is not willing to give credit to its staff for Cathay's turnaround in fortune since the dark days of 2003, and sees any challenge over contracts as another union dragon to be slain at any cost.
Despite its vastly improved relationship with the leadership of the Aircrew Officers Association, Cathay will find relations with pilots back in the spotlight if association members reject the offer to 49ers at their extraordinary general meeting on February 15, eight days before the flight attendants go to the High Court.
It is impossible to know which way the membership vote will go, but there is ferocious opposition among the 49ers themselves, whose feelings will be made known to members after a poll due to be concluded on tomorrow.
If they reject it, the association will have to go against the wishes of the men they have supported for 31/2 years if the offer is to stand.
One senior association member, who asked not to be named, said pilots viewed the offer as "derisory and insulting". It was quite possible the offer would be accepted, he admitted, but he added: "If it doesn't go through they'll have a heap of legal trouble on their plate.