The flight crew safety issue is an interesting one at CX. Have a look at the other large asian carriers. All have an excellent saftey record with the exception of Korean and China Airlines. Have wondered why the pilots think that, just because they work for Cathay, that they are "more saftey oriented" than others. The salary issue is also interesting, SIA is the largest carrier in the area yet generally pays less than CX, yet the employees there (including pilots) do exactly the same jobs and fly the same equipment. Why then, do the Cathay guys think they should be paid so much more?
And, consider the Cathay shareholders. They expect a reasonable return on their investment so, it could be argued that it is managements' duty to keep the flight crew salaries reasonable. To do otherwise, management would be violating their fiduciary duty.
And yet, the loudest complaints come from the CX pilots. Even the SQ guys don't whine so much.
Conclusion: The CX guys are the snobs of the asian aircarrier pilot fraternity. All it accomplishes is to make themselves look very foolish.