PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - To scab or not to scab in Cathay, that's the question !
Old 6th Aug 2001, 17:02
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Kaptin M
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Sorry to disagree, Amos, but "scabs" are never 'embraced'. They ALWAYS remain an ODDITY - individuals who are never accepted unilaterally, but who carry the stigma of their actions, not only by their fellow workmates, but also by their family. Unfortunately for them, it is an issue that will ALWAYS be raised when tempers flare within the family circle....as supportive of their actions as their family may have seemed at the time for a quick resolution to the pressure!

The QF International pilots (to my knowledge) have never, EVER, "embraced" these people. Remember that QANTAS went through a strike in the '60's which say the (few) scabs then, ostracised to the extent that even when the son of one of "them" drowned, NOT ONE QF pilot felt the compassion to support that pilot at the funeral. Certainly a hard decision in my mind - but then the act of "scabbing" similarly requires no LESS heartlessness, when one considers the consequences that the company intends to be reigned on the employees and their families, by the utilization of scab labor.

To scab, or not to scab - whether it be Cathay, Continental, Ansett or whomever is next - requires a CONSCIENTIOUS DECISION by those who decide to do the act, that they will promote their own future at the the expense of several others. In the short term, the company will use one scab as a replacement for 3 or 4 workers - hence the term "scab"...a temporary cover (crust) that has a limited period of application!
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