HKA: A Preferred Employer!!
From the SCMP
Airline Under Fire Over Sackings
Agnes Lam
Nov 25, 2008
Hong Kong Airlines is firing employees it accuses of unsatisfactory performance but is refusing to supply evidence to back its claims, former workers say.
The Confederation of Trade Unions said former Hong Kong Airlines flight attendants sought union help after 40 employees had been fired.
The company had fired one to three employees nearly every day this month, a former flight attendant said.
"The airline company has been sacking flight attendants in the past few months, saying these employees' performance has been unsatisfactory," one of the former flight attendants, identified only as Ms Lau and who appeared masked at a union press conference, said yesterday. "When the workers asked the airline company to provide evidence to prove their work performance had not been up to standard, the company failed to do so."
Ms Lau, who worked for the airline for more than two years, was laid off on November 14.
"The affected employees now have a hard time finding jobs, as their records don't look good with the company stating they were sacked due to poor performance," she said.
"As far as we know about 20 pilots and 20 flight attendants have been sacked. Of the 11 former Oasis employees the company recruited in May, nine were sacked, leaving one pregnant employee and another one who earlier was injured at work remaining," Ms Lau said.
Repeated attempts to contact Hong Kong Airlines were unsuccessful. However, Ng To-wing, for the company, told Cable TV in a phone interview yesterday that Hong Kong Airlines needed to cut down manpower, as business had dropped by 10 to 15 per cent with the economic downturn and because of a seasonal business low.
Mr Ng said it was also difficult to say if there would be further lay-offs at this stage and the company would make a decision depending on market conditions.
Chan Po-choi, general secretary of the Staff and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines, said his union had received similar complaints. He said the employees were in fear now, as they were worried that they might lose their jobs.