Flying Kiwi,
I confess to being out of date, as it was a few years ago, but guess what? The last time I had dealings with the local IFALPA rep. he was also a big geezer in the HKAOA.
Well meant advice to consult the local IFALPA rep, I have no doubt, but possibly not too fruitful.
An anecdote.
Many years ago, when Air Hong Kong was still independant of CX, AHK had its own union, and received a rather pompous invitation to affiliate with the HK AOA. One of the "privileges" of this affiliation was the responsibility to support, with industrial action, if so mandated, any action that the AOA might take against CX management.
When the AHK union (LDACA if I recall correctly) enquired if the AOA would similarly take industrial action in the event of an LDACA dispute with AHK management, no-one was surpised when the AOA indignantly replied that of course they could not jeopardise the careers of their memnbers by involving them in a dispute by which they were not directly affected.
Of course the players were different, and the AOA did not then have the benefit of the advice of a someone who, if rumours are correct, was the number two man of the leader of the most spectacularly unsuccessful industrial action ever undertaken in the UK, if not the world.
It is fashionable on this site, as on most FG sites, to put down the CX aspirants. How many times have you seen slurs implying that the poster of a message was bitter because clearly he was not as good as the CX pilot insulting him, or threatening him with a lifetime ban with any airline whose employees were in any way associated with IFALPA, if he dared to accept a job with CX in spite of the AOA ban?
I sat back for a moment and wondered why I bothered to make this long winded post.
I was lucky. The Queen trained me and it didn't cost me a penny. I even got paid. But I vaguely remember how as a youth how keen I was to be a pilot and was amazed when I made it. If you want something that much, you don't allow some supercillious ignorant bully to get in your way.
So to the job seekers, I say if you want a job with CX, and are offered it, take it.