the CEP captain won't because he/she didn't suffer any setback. All guys on expat housing deal will participate, but what does the company do? Give CEP's overtime, tolerate the sick out until they deem it union activity and then fire you (since it's illegal to participate in union activities in hk).
if the same CEP captain is also on expat housing (let's say the deal is that CEPs get full housing as captain), as you are, and company tries to reduce housing to 24k. This time, union has a fit, and everyone will participate in the sick out.
Those CEPs who aren't captains yet will also participate because by having a reduced housing, it's reducing their future earnings. They will stand together with everyone else since they have something to lose.
I do apologize sirhcttarp, no disrespect, but I was on the floor laughing. I am not trying to start anything here, but the fact is that nearly none of the LEPs participated in the previous sickout when we had hard core issues at stake for the entire pilot body, such as rostering, salary, etc. What makes you think this time it will be different when most LEPs will regard the housing allowance as really an extra bonus.
You can bang your fist on NR's desk all you want, but the company is not going to increase the housing allowance budget, not for you and not for anyone. If his offer of $12k was genuine he would have offered it right now, but he wants to have it coincide with when the housing agreement is due, so that he can simply take a slice from the expats and give it to the CEPs, to be seen as genuinely caring toward the CEP cause, and at the same time he will have a further divided group, which will in-turn only benefit the company. Really, a win-win situation for management if we continue down this path.