The whole "you are from HKG and shouldn't get housing allowance" is a little dated I would suggest.
That may have been the case when the cadet courses started as you had to have a permanent HKID card. The bar was shifted to those with Resident HKID cards meaning that we attracted a large bunch of Canadian/English/Aus cadets a large number of whom had never lived in Hong Kong (expats?). In true CX spirit the bar has shifted again - now you don't need any connection to HKG to join the cadet course! What is the argument for these guys not getting housing?
I too did my hard yards and joined as a DESO. I believe that Cadets should pay an apprenticeship for having their licenses paid for and arriving with little or no experience but that apprenticeship shouldn't last their entire careers.
Maybe call this a CEP allowance instead of housing. Would that make those worried about their own housing happier? I'm all for raising the standard of remuneration for a small group within our ranks. It can only bode well for the rest of us in the long run. CX's scare tactics, of we have a pot this large and everything must come out of it, is exactly that - scare tactics. They have much more in there pot than they ever imagined because they have suppressed our package for so long.
Come on guys - a group of our fellow pilots is asking for support and all they are getting is abuse. It's time to start looking at constructive ideas here instead of the childish bashing that goes on.
All those "old fellas" that were screaming discrimination just months ago should be putting their weight behind these guys too. You blokes should know firsthand what it feels like to be alienated as a minority group - get out there and support these guys by offering constructive ideas rather than "cannot."