Tea-Towel,
That comment was more so directed to Mediums because he eluded to the idea that he would take the job no matter what they offered him. Which, unfortunately if there are enough people like that will cause market pressure that further lowers the compensation package for new joiners.
To be clear, I don't think it's fair that the company pays two groups of people differently when they are doing the same job. On the contrary. What I am saying is that they will take advantage of locals and pay them less than foreigners and get away with it because locals are willing to take lower pay, and I don't think that's right. Not many foreigners will not come to Hong Kong for those terms, especially once they find out how the lifestyle compares to their home countries. I don't think it's fair that locals should get paid less than foreigners.
Let's look at the state of things prior to the new iCadet scheme:
A "local" Ab-initio cadet joins without any housing allowance, and also does not receive other significant benefits, other than "training costs."
An "expat" joins and gets full housing and other benefits.
In the long term, it's not fair because the "local" will cost the company much less.
What happened next was an argument along the lines of:
Local: "Hey, this isn't fair, they're getting paid more than us!"
Company Management: "Ok, we'll fix that..."
Company Management to Finance Department: "Lower the expat pay and benefits until it matches the locally employed package."
Company Management: "Are you happy now?"
Local: "Yeah, much better." (Ok, I'm using some satire here.)
Is that really what the local HK people had in mind??? Who would agree to that? Wouldn't it be better if the pay was increased to match the pay of the expat pilots?
The issue is there are market drivers that cause Hong Kong people to accept lower pay across the board - in the Banking industry, the Real Estate industry, and the Aviation industry. So, even if the company can afford to pay higher wages, why would they if they have people begging to work for them on the cheap? Maybe racist is not quite the right term for what I'm talking about... What I'm trying to describe is how employers exploit employees on a cultural and socioeconomic basis. In Hong Kong they have a "captive audience" begging for jobs. But, they can't find enough locals who have the right stuff, so they need to recruit elsewhere, too. But, those who come from elsewhere have the kind of experience I've had once landing in Hong Kong - it's NOT an easy place to live. And a good standard of living is expensive here. What the locals should be saying is "DAMN RIGHT, and WE want better compensation TOO!" I think that many locals may be scared to lose what little they have instead of realizing they have only to gain by pushing back against unacceptable terms. The company likes a divided pilot cadre because special interest groups will just feud against each other and never make any real headway, all the while the company is reaping the profits of cheap labour. If everyone is singing the same tune, and actually ACTS on it, real change will happen. My suggestion? ALL who have been given an offer to join Cathay should contact the HKAOA to negotiate their Conditions of Service and compensation, BEFORE they sign any contract. There would be a SIGNIFICANT change in how things are done if that happened. And, Mediums, as long as you survive the gauntlet of interviews, tests, and flight grading that make up the selection process, I would fully welcome you to the big leagues, where you get big league pay, not $5000hkd per month.