You might be right. But sorry, I don't agree.
Discussing salaries may remain taboo in the minds of old folks, but the reality is that there are no secrets about salaries in any industry, and much less so in our seniority-based career where people are paid proportional to their years of service, just like the military, which also publishes its pay scales freely. Your neighbours already know all about your salary and housing assistance, and they don't really care because you (and I) are just not important to anyone out there who isn't already here or thinking of coming here.
Information or specifics about CX salaries, as well as those of just about every other airline, are available online for anyone who wants to find them. Ppprune is not an HK bar. Do you walk into bars and ask a suit what he thinks of the latest airplane crash, or BPP court case, or aircraft order, or staff travel, or so-and-so's new policy, or anything else relevant to your colleagues?
I feel just fine knowing that others know what CX has to pay for the pilots it wants to attract and retain, particularly when they are currently creating a disaster by degrading the package by 50-80% to attract very young, totally inexperienced, very immature and totally unprepared people who have never had a real job and/or any real flying jobs, and don't even care how much they are getting paid or how much they are damaging their future and mine.
Non-cx pilots who care know exactly how much you and I are paid. So does anyone else who wants to know.
There is a reason only 250-300 pilots have ever posted on the AOA forums, and only 1-2 forums are regularly used, compared to the usage at anonymous Ppprune. There is a reason pilots have a lively anonymous online forum but HSBC managers, Quality Health nurses and Macau ferry mechanics do not.
The more you try to hide something, the more it seems you have something to hide. I have no shame or pride in knowing that others are aware of what I am worth to my employer. If that bothers other people, it is not my fault or my problem.
Lastly, since this forum and word of mouth are just about the only ways to get the story out to ignorant prospective employees about what is really going on with the salary issues and housing assistance elimination and their significance, I have no problem letting readers know how it is and I don't care if some unskilled labourer, president, graphic artist or dentist doesn't like it.
All it takes is Google to find out what you might still think is a big secret.
Last edited by Iron Skillet; 14th Nov 2011 at 08:45.