Diamond .. How can you explain that 52 pilots were sacked in one day "for not doing their duties" in the middle of an industrial action that involves nothing other than carefully checking company manuals and procedures? (Please note that four of these individuals were prominent union members, some were on leave, others were sick.) Surely this smacks more of intimidation?? I would hope that any corporation with a safety reputation as exemplary as Cathay would notice that 5% of their crew were incompetent.
Further, my understanding is that salary is not the major issue in this dispute. Rostering issues and practices, which the company has been promising to fix for many years (and has so far refused) is. You sound like an intelligent business owner. Can you imagine only finding out what your roster was 15 or less days (depending on where you are flying) before the next month and having NOTHING to say about it? Can you imagine never being able to plan a family event, attend your daughter's school play, or attend a friend's wedding? Can you imagine getting your roster and knowing that it is going to change anyway? Do you have any idea how much stress that causes in a person's life? The sad thing is that it doesn't have to be that way.
Going back to the salary issue, first of all, don't belive everything you read. If salary was the only problem Cathay Pacific was facing, why aren't they asking for across-the-board reductions from all their employees? Why isn't management taking a pay cut with the pilots? I believe that management gets the same housing and education benefits that the pilots do. How do you expect pilots to believe ANYTHING management says after forcing them to take a pay cut "for the salvation of the company" only to have the company post record profits?
Cathay has always hired the cream of the crop, and as we all know, the cream costs more. Ask yourself if you're willing to choose your doctor or surgeon based on cost. Aren't you more likely to choose your doctor based on experience and skill? When you need surgery, do you quibble about price? Every time you get in an airplane (or car - since you're hiring a driver) you are putting your life in someone else's hands. You would be foolish to hire on the basis of price.
Ask yourself also if the price of leasing aircraft wouldn't have gone a long way to meeting the pilots demands. When you have a staff of pilots reporting for work and being turned away, you must ask what management's agenda is. A lot of these searching questions are now being asked in the newspapers and the answers are not being answered very credibly by management.
Please keep an open mind.