Goonybird,
I am fully aware of what's happened there in the past 10 years thank you very much. In fact, I think maybe it is you my dear friend who needs some education.
If you were a relatively astute individual, you'd have picked up on the fact that I wasn't insinuating who started the fight. I was simply pointing out that the AOA has made some (IMHO) foolish decisions over the years, and that is at least part of the reason why they are in this predicament. Admittedly there are other circumstances beyond the AOA’s control.
If you can locate the book Flying The Line (Part 1), please read it. It’s the history of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in the United States. Back in the early days they did not have the sorts of laws to protect workers that they have today. It was much the same then as labour laws are today in Hong Kong. The labour laws in most western democracies support labour unions. The labour laws in Hong Kong do not.
Labour unions essentially force companies into providing a certain level of wages and working conditions. They do this by using the only weapon they have, which is of course the threat of strike. If that weapon is taken away or it is unable to function, then the union is essentially irrelevant. This is, unfortunately, where the HKAOA finds itself today.
The level of wages and working conditions for non-union workers is, for the most part, governed by supply and demand economics. As I said in a previous post, there are no shortages of pilots who are willing to accept permanent positions with CX. If the HKAOA wants to avoid imploding on itself, then I would suggest it consider a “180” in its tactics.
If all I get in response to this post is more ranting on about scabs and the like, then it is quite clear my learned colleagues from the AOA who write such nonsense have their heads so far up their A$$ that it’s a waste of my time to share these opinions.