Rightchoice Threshold Increases V Payrise

[Triangle Man]

OK, so the Rightchoice limits for dependant's surgery have gone up in Rightchoice 08 by the following amounts:

Room & Board per Day - from $2100 to $2300 = +9.5%
Doctor/Specialist per Day - from $2100 to $2300 = +9.5%
Major Surgery - from $70K to $75K = +7.1%
Intermediate Surgery - from $35K to $40K = +14.3%
Minor Surgery - from $17.5K to $20K = +14.3%
Non-surgical hospital - from $27K to $30K = +11.1%
Maternity Threshold (semi-private/ward)- $60K to $75K = +25.0%
Maternity Threshold (private)- $85K to $100K = +17.6%

So, why have these thresholds gone up by so much, when according to CX the cost of living in HK has not risen by enough to justify more than 3% at the end of year? Would seem to me that the increase in these limits/thresholds are a reasonable proxy for inflation, albeit simplified. Further, these are just the increases this time around - I haven't been with CX long enough to know what previous increases have occurred since our last payrise in 2001. Perhaps someone can provide a little insight on that....

TM:confused:

[Busbert]

Don't worry mate, the ground staff and hosties are paying for your improved medical through the co-pay.

You just sit back comfortably and enjoy the rewards :ugh:

[Triangle Man]

Interesting....I fail to see the "improved medical" you mention. Having to pay 25% more for maternity on a 3% payrise does not sound like a great deal to me. Sure, the limits have gone up for surgery, etc., but I doubt they have increased more than the cost of medical services have since the previous limits were set - hence at best the status quo has been equalised to when the previous limits were set. Given what seems to be huge increases in mediacal costs in HK, I would take a stab and say that everyone is going to be further out of pocket if they are unlucky enough to require medical attention.

The intention of my post was to highlight that CX seems to argue that there is negligible inflation in HK when negotiating payrises, yet I would consider the increase in medical costs that are highlighted by higher limits to contradict that. I made no comment on the Rightchoice implications to ground staff and cabin crew - personally, I think it also sucks and support whatever action is taken. It is a shame, however, that you are so antagonistic toward flight crew - when was the last time ground staff and hosties had a payrise? This is a genuine question, as I really do not know, but I would hope that you have had more success than flight crew have had since 2001.

TM

[BlueEng]

The last time the rightchoice was upgraded..never. The curent levels were set 10 years ago when the scheme was introduced. Many people were complaining that it was costing too much and they were always exceeding limits. My guess is that the rise has nothing to do with inflation, but more aligning now for the lack of activity over the last 10 years to ensure that we are all a little more protected, and if that costs $30 for each drs visit, why not? I don't know any other country where medical is totally free. In my mind, all CX staff (expats, gnd and crew) should pay a nominal fee, and not just gnd staff. Why should crew not pay anything?

[slapfaan]

BlueEng

The main point here is NOT about the HK$30 (reduced from HK$100) that ground and cabin staff must pay now. Our cabin crew have many issues, and management simply refuses to communicate with them..

ANY deduction, ESPECIALLY without consent from crew, boils down to a REDUCTION of benefits and a pay-cut!!

CX is constantly trying to erode more and more from crew,pushing to see how far they can go and testing the tolerance level of it's workforce...

Congratulations! to Becky and her team on a better-than-expected protest turn-out in Admiralty today..and she promised more in store over xmas:D

Whilst the USELESS AOA cannot even organise a piss-up in a brewery, Becky and her team showed today that they will NOT take any more bull:mad: from management:ok:

"It's the little things (or the lack thereof!!) in life - that moves you"