Numero Crunchero, jed_thrust, AnAmusedReader
Gentlemen,
I assure you my post was not intended to mislead but simply to highlight, in the public domain, the substantial difference between A and B Scales in HKG. I have a hardcopy of ALL payscales for all base areas and it is dated 'Effective 1 Jul 2000'. I assumed that this would accurately reflect any pay cuts in 1999?!
I think you will agree that even the corrected figures show how poorly the B-scale compares with the A-scale even in 2007!
I am certainly NOT advocating a cut in A-scale to bring it down to the B-scale level. This would be counterproductive and would leave none of us better off.
I don't subsribe to the theory of 'the rising tide lifting all boats'. In the 14yrs since the B-scale was introduced the gap has certainly narrowed but at the historical rate most of us will be 'six feet under' before they reach parity!
On a different tack, shouldn't we be pushing for some form of 'home currency protection' in our next round of 'negotiations', as have EK. I for one would need a 40% increase in salary overnight to achieve the same purchasing power that I enjoyed in 2001! (-25% currency, -15% inflation). This IS an EXPAT airline after all with only a minority of pilots making provisions for retirement in US$/HK$.
Same Seat, Same Pay, No Compromise!