Cathay Pacific accused of censorship
HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific was accused on Friday of censorship after it removed newspaper cuttings about a flight attendants' pay dispute from a union notice board at its headquarters here._
Management removed the clippings from the Flight Attendants Union notice board in the cabin crew lounge, saying staff must be given only “accurate and unbiased information.”_
The action comes ahead of a union-funded High Court case here on Wednesday when Cathay will be accused of breach of contract. _
Three flight attendants will claim Cathay unlawfully denied them automatic annual pay rises in a case which has implications for thousands of employees.
The victors want the judgment to be representative and apply to all affected flight attendants.
Flight attendants battling to recover unpaid annual pay increases from Cathay Pacific Airways on Friday won their class action against the airline.
Funded by their union, three flight attendants - Cruz Lajom, Santos Calleja and Dev Biaspal - started legal action against the territory\'s flagship carrier in April 1999 on behalf of 4,000 co-workers affected by the termination of the automatic promotion and the pay-rise system.
The ruling in the Court of First Instance could benefit up to 4,000 Cathay staff to the tune of HK$350 million. However, in his 51-page ruling, Justice Anselmo Reyes said: “I do not believe that my judgment can apply to any flight attendant other than Ms Lajom, Ms Calleja and Mr Biaspal.”
“The three flight attendants wanted the judgment to be representative\'\' and to apply to all those affected.
The attendants did not seek damages from the airline, but a declaration that attendants were contractually entitled to annual pay increases stemming from automatic promotions after finishing a full year of service.
Last month, the court heard this long-standing practice, in place since 1979, was dropped by the airline in late 1998, after the Asian economic crisis. The plaintiffs\' contracts provided for automatic advancement at the end of each year of service,\'\' Justice Reyes said in his judgment.
Once a flight attendant reached the final grade of the salary scale, there would be no further advancement, unless new grades were created.
The salary of a person on the final grade would only rise by any annual cost of living or other revision in the amount attributable to that last grade.\'\'
Counsel for Cathay Pacific Adrian Huggins argued that there were ``simply no words\'\' in the various contracts to indicate an intention that flight attendants would advance one grade at the end of each year.
Bob Nipperess, the airline\'s manager of cabin crew in the 1990s, told John Scott, lawyer for the flight attendants, that since 1991 the airline had tried to introduce a ``merit element\'\' into the company\'s promotion practice, rather than one based on longevity.
Speaking after the judgment, Flight Attendant Union chairman Becky Kwan said members were very happy. ``We\'re confident that Cathay Pacific is a very responsible company,\'\' Kwan said. “I\'m sure they will observe, honor and enforce the judgment made by the court of law.\'\'
Should that not happen, the flight attendants will take the airline to the labor tribunal, Kwan added. The union represents more than 4,100 people - roughly 70 percent of the airline\'s flight crew community, Kwan said.
Cathay Pacific Airways said: “We will be studying the judgment carefully in consultation with our legal advisers before deciding on any course of action. “In particular, it is not immediately clear how the judgment will impact upon the cabin crew generally, as opposed to the three individual plaintiffs.
“We continue to maintain that it is a fair and reasonable practice for the company to reward staff with increments based on performance and ability to pay, the individual contribution made by staff, competitive market levels and the Hong Kong economic environment.\'\'
Last edited by Turbo Beaver; 8th Mar 2005 at 02:06.