Best Vote: 2 out of 3
Union accepts Cathay offer for sacked pilots Members reject increased dues to fund legal action, reversing earlier 'no' vote on airline's settlement
Cathay Pacific pilots have done a U-turn and voted to accept an offer of 10 -month payouts or job interviews for the group of sacked pilots known as the 49ers.
With weeks to go before the airline's May 16 deadline for the withdrawal of the offer, the Aircrew Officers Association voted to accept it - after narrowly rejecting it at a meeting two months ago.
The vote, taken at an extraordinary meeting of the union, effectively ends one of the longest disputes in world aviation.
The 49ers were dismissed by Cathay during a bitter 2001 dispute over pay and rosters, and have been supported by union members for the 31/2 years since.
The union, which backed the Cathay offer, warned members after the "no" vote in February that they faced a "very real membership crisis" if they continued to pay for costly court cases over the sackings.
But a majority of the 49ers wanted the union to continue supporting them and their legal actions, believing they could ultimately win more through legal actions in Hong Kong, Britain and Australia.
The union has been paying up to $ 25,000 a month to each of the sacked pilots since 2001, pushing union dues up to 5 per cent of salaries and leading to a sharp fall in union membership.
February's motion to accept the Cathay offer narrowly failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority after a bitter debate between rival union factions.
At a follow-up extraordinary meeting earlier this month, the union asked members to either vote in favour of a huge increase in union dues to continue the legal fight or to consider accepting the Cathay offer after all.
Members voted overwhelmingly against increasing dues. About 73 per cent of members then voted to reverse February's decision and accept the Cathay offer.
The vote represents a major victory for union leader Murray Gardner and fellow committee members who have been battling to stem a fall in membership numbers as a result of the dispute, and can now sharply reduce union dues.
But it is also expected to lead to resignations by hard-core members who believed the union had a moral responsibility to continue supporting the legal action of the 49ers.
Some of the 49ers are expected to refuse to accept the pay-offs or job interviews and to continue legal actions, but they will no longer be funded by the union.
The union - which had about 1,300 members in 2001 - now counts only 925 of the airline's 1,912 pilots as members.
Most of the 49ers wanted to continue with their legal battle, and supporters accused the union committee of bad faith for resubmitting the Cathay offer to members.
One of the pilots who voted 'no' to the Cathay offer said: "The 49ers and their supporters are very disappointed by this development."
A spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific, said: "This settlement will enable both parties to move forward together to grow a stronger airline."