Listen EMB Bras,
I have news for you, there are actually more airlines out there in the world than Cathay Pacific, even if you are coming from Australia, which most of the people complaining about the ban seem to do. I have had several airline jobs myself, and let me tell you this, saying no to one airline doesn’t mean that you will never get another airline job. And it doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t get hired by that specific airline later.
I do feel sorry for people who applied to Cathay before the ban came into place, and who have now been offered a job. It’s at tough decision to say no, but to be a professional pilot you have to play by the rules, if you don’t say no you will be ruining it for every one else and I don't just mean the Cathay pilots. The pilot job market is a very global one, when the pilots in the US fight for a pay rise it’s going to affect pilots in Europe and Asia as well, so it’s not just a few Cathay pilots that gets their lives affected when the management makes changes to the contract. More people posting on this forum need to realize this and look outside their own little belly button.
A recruitment ban may not be the best solution to put pressure on Cathay management, but the problem is the weak Hong Kong labour law. A lot of people don’t understand why the Cathay pilots don’t just go on strike. Well, you could do that in civilized places like Europe and with very good results (just look at the one day strikes at Lufthansa), but in Europe you are protected by labor law, so the company can’t fire you for going on strike, they can make a lock-out but not fire you. This doesn’t apply in Hong Kong, where very simply said you are allowed to strike but the company is then in its full right to fire you. I hope this clarifies to you what very delicate situation the Cathay pilots are in.