Today, 9 July 2003, marks the second anniversary of the sacking of the CX 49ers
Today, 9 July 2003, marks the second anniversary of the sacking of the 49ers by Cathay Pacific management for “no particular reason” (FlexibleResponse).
Simon Parry of the SCMP reported this morning that the Hong Kong Government Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan is expected to meet Hong Kong Aircrew Officers’ Association president Captain Nigel Demery and other union representatives in the next few days.
The SCMP also reported that the union’s general secretary John Findlay said, “It has taken two years. We have been asking since 2001 for a meeting with government officials. It seems that in the past week, the government is starting to listen to people at last, with what has happened over Article 23.”
The union first requested its meeting with Mr Ip on June 6,asking to discuss a report issued in March by the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) calling on the government to intervene in the long-running dispute.
The ILO report appealed to the government to “take all necessary measures…to put an immediate end to all acts of interference, anti-union discrimination and intimidation against the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers’ Association and its members,”
The AOA will hold an EGM today to mark the second anniversary of the sacking of the Cathay Pacific pilots, at which members will vote to carry on paying contributions to the 49ers and their families.
(extracts from SCMP, 9 July 2003, Simon Parry)