Oh the narcotic effect of bait. Just when I thought I was out...they draw me back in.
EngineOut, the fact that cadets will not be half a mill out of pocket, unlike some expats, is undeniable. And as for the military guys, although their training is paid for, they repaid it back in dividends by serving their countries. Which, if we're talking about quantifying servitude rendered for achieving a flying ideal, would be pretty much near the top. But never in this lifetime will I use that as a valid caveat to justify that anyone who risked their lives defending their countries is more worthy of a CX/KA position than someone who joined flying pencils in the outback for years and years having to use burning tyres for runway lights (although I'm sure some would beg to differ!). The basis of my argument stems from achieving a certain standard to pass the thresholds that all of us have to pass, be it the interview, the induction, the STI, the QL, the 3 bar check and so on. I think this is especially pertinent to the LEP captains, though as I have conceded before, there are dues to be paid by anyone coming out of ADL in their initial years of service. But by the time that anyone becomes a captain, they will have been through a damned good dose of the CX/KA system to merit equal terms as their counterparts. Surely 10+ years of being paid half is enough to warrant that, regardless of whether they had 10 years experience prior to joining the airline. If the argument that X number of years prior to joining the airline will always be used as the set standard from which the comparison must begin, then in effect that is saying a local captain who starts commanding from year 1 is essentially still X years behind an expat who starts commanding at the same time. And with little trepidation, I would say that the same basis would go for expats and locals who pass their QL at the same time. Isn't egalitarianism a good thing?
The birthright thing...ngggyeahalright...that could spiral into anything from I was born in the Sudan to I was born in the back of a Tristar so a bit shaky to make any argument from I suppose. Just luck of the draw so I concede that one to you. But unfortunate nonetheless that HKG presents no opportunity for locals to get a flying job of any sort...not even washing the Zlin that GFS just got.
Dear pill, there is something that stops locals from leaving and getting a job elsewhere on expat terms. CX/KA is one of the few places where the housing benefits are structured in such a way that, if you don't piss it all away at the gayviator, allows you to build equity...whereas the benefits provided by the sandstirrers and bugolgi boxes do not because the benefits agreements do not permit contribution towards a mortgage....rent only, or provided accomodation. In essence that would mean despite the rent free living overseas, a chunk would have to come out of basic salary to pay off a place back home (here in HKG for locals) with no opportunity to accrue assets in the foreign country that we would work in. That's the same as staying here....really. I could be wrong now since I haven't been keeping up with jobsearch and haven't looked into expat packages elsewhere for a few years now, but I'm all ears if someone corrects my position.
True that guys on a base do not do not do not do not do not get anything, not even 13th month (which is really sick). But it must be nice to retreat to large open spaces, clean air, a proper house with a tiled roof and garage, kids having time to play and not doing homework till 11:30 at night. And while we're on the subject of living standards, what sort of human being wouldn't want the same for the guys and their kids working right next to them on the assembly line? Is it that awful a thought to imagine a local family being afforded the same living space as an expat-on-base? Sadly it would take more than an expat A scale package to afford in HKG what some can afford in their domiciles, but locals aren't asking for that. Just something that can help them live the same as the guys who live here alongside them. Is that so unfair a proposition?
The worms in the can keep crawling out. Can the lid ever be closed?
Last edited by Mullah Lite; 25th Feb 2009 at 05:47.