It's great to see that no longer do we wait for the Company to put forth a proposal , or a change to our conditions that will ultimately have the Pilot body pitted against each other...Now the AOA is doing the work for them!!!!
This whole argument stems from the choices that we make as individuals,, plain and simple.
I joined as a B scale DESO 14 years ago, but before I joined, I had a VERY good look at the conditions that were on offer, and compared them to what was on offer for a pilot with my qualifications in my home country. Simply put....they were better.
When I joined, I was NOT offered A scale Salary and benefits....do I have a valid arguement that as a Captain now, doing the same job as my A scale collegue next door, flying the same aircraft, to the same destinations, in the same wx conditions, that I should now be entitled to A scale Salary and Benefits??? Of course not. Because I know what I signed up for before I came here.
When I joined, I missed out on the Travel Fund offered to Expat Crew only a few months before....should I now ( after doing X number of years of service) be entitled to this Benefit???? As much as it would be nice....NO, because again, I know what I was entitled to under the Contract that I read, and signed, 14 years ago.
Could I have joined the Cadet Scheme as a NON HKID Card Holder at the time, and had my training paid for by CX, with a fairly reasonable chance of my first job being in the back seat of a -400, instead of an instructor on slave wages???? No, because I wasn't entitled to it! So...rather than whinge about what I didn't have, I MADE A CHOICE and I went through the process of gaining enough experience so that I could apply, on EXPAT terms with CX....and fortunately for me, I was accepted....ON THE TERMS THAT WERE ON OFFER AT THE TIME!!!!
I have friends who joined around the same time as I, who were Captains on Lears etc...doing .90 to Europe, Asia and the Middle East, at FL 430 ( passing the CX Classic underneath them) who were told that because they weren't Air Force, flying Twin Otters, or the lightning quick Cariboo, doing 180 kts, that they were only being looked at as potential S/O's, and not direct entry F/O's because of their previous experience....seem fair???? Probably not, but that was what they were being offered at the time. So they had choices, and they made their choices based on the position, pay scale, and benefits on offer at the time
We all have to make choices in our lives, and those choices come with consequences. Plain and simple!
Would I love to have been making A scale salaries, complete with travel funds etc all these years??? Of course I would, but I do not begrudge the guy next to me who has, because that was what was on offer for him.
Now, once we have made those choices, that is not to say that we don't want to protect what we have, and strive for better, but we have to do so wisely, and within reason.
In a war, it is never wise to try and take all the opponents ground in one move, but rather try to take that hill, bridge, river, port etc without EVER losing the ground that you have fought for in getting to where you are now. Try to take too much, and history shows that you are more than likely to not only be unsuccessful in gaining the ground that you were after, but you will most likely lose a part of what you had, and take heavy casualties along the way.
In an effort to try and gain some membership numbers, I believe that is exactly what the AOA is suggesting that the membership support now....rather than try to take the hill , bridge etc and then defend the ground that they have gained, they are suggesting that we throw all of our offence at this "discriminaton" arguement, whilst losing sight of the fact that the war is always won in the accumulation of the small "battles". The current move suggests "all or nothing" Those of us who have been in CX for more than just a few years have seen where that mentality has gotten us!
I fully understand the lack of trust that people feel towards Management who, many times in the past, have made promises, and then failed to deliver. Been there!!!
In this case, the company has said that they are willing to talk about the possibility of an increase in the CEP's "package" when housing talks take place later this year. Maybe you don't trust them...maybe you think the $12K number that has been bantered around is not enough....maybe you think that it should be offered to every CEP from date of joining....lots of things to talk about, but rather than going into the talks with the attitude that " we will push for the best that we can get" and then build on that in the future, the AOA is proposing that it's "all or nothing"
To people like Child Labour...think back to the choices that you made before choosing to join CX....as a Canadian, you could have chosen to pay for your own training, gone and got that instructor job, or float job, and built your hours up to the level required to get a job with CX as a direct entry SO, and therefore been entitled to EXPAT Benefits....but you didn't, you read the contract (presumably) and made a choice. Full Stop!
I don't think anyone at CX wants to see another "group" on lower conditions, but we need to remember the past, and what the outcomes have been using the "all or nothing" approach.
If its about a "cost of living"increase???, than insist that the AOA sells it that way, because no Court in the land is going to see this as discrimination...not a chance. They will say...."you made a choice" plain and simple!
Using your own logic, I have every right to go to Management and demand that I am on A scale Salary and Benefits immediately (as I have done a pre-determined number of years of service) and while your at it, throw in the Travel Fund too....seem sensible???? I made a choice, and I live every day with the consequences!
If, as you say, you would be happy with a "training bond" situation that would have you paying off the training costs over a period of time, in exchange for a "cost of living increase" after????.....than fight for that, and EVERYONE will support you, but continue down this emotive, and ill thought out "discrimination" road, and you will NOT get the support from your peers, the public, nor the courts...cause you made a choice.
History has shown us too many times that rightly or wrongly, the "package" offered to all the Crew DOES come from a Budget, and in my time in CX I have NEVER seen a situation where the "bottom" packages move towards the "Top"....its always the other way around. Always!
So you'll have to forgive those of us who have made calculated choices, based on the conditions on offer at the time, from trying to protect the "hill" that we are currently standing on!
The current move threatens to knock down the hill, and then....what have we actually achieved
You had a choice....I can use my HKID card now, or wait, and then use my Canadian passport...and you made your choice!
You cant have it both ways...
As for the ones who have had the contract changed after the fact, by virtue of their having a HKID Card??? I have personally never run across anyone in this situation, but ill take your word for it. That sounds like a fight worth fighting, and one that will garner support from all sides, including the public and the Courts.
Your arguement however????
Sorry Mate....suck it up, stop whinging ( and making a fool out of yourself and all the other CEP's/LEP's) and start trying to win the battles 1 by 1, and NOT the whole war in one fell swoop
And here come the well thought out retorts, full of constructive ideas and suggestions........
