DFO is Deluded

[Bo Wing]

"There is great awareness that the last pay deal for the flight crew community expired in May 2013. It is certainly not our desire to still be in pay discussions in November 2014"

This is the same man that unilaterally decided after an internal review that the pilots did not need a salary adjustment which led to the chain of events to where we find ourselves today! :ugh:

I wonder if he writes these missives himself or some other "spin doctor" does and he merely puts his name to it? Either way it's nauseating to read! :yuk:

[AQIS Boigu]

A ghost writer?

[Arfur Dent]

Hard to imagine that a DFO could be worse and more despised than the likes of Clemmow and Barley but the present incumbent has actually managed that. Only thing that he has Managed, mind you, except repeatedly defending the indefensible and 'spinning' truly woeful Leadership of a potentially valuable group of essential employees (ie The Aircrew). Even harder to accept that he was quite a good man years ago but has let his ambition lead the way and has lost any sense of integrity or honour. In war time, he'd be in the dock for treason!:mad:

[RusCo]

n war time, he'd be in the dock for treason!

No, sorry you are wrong, I think fragged is more like it.

[Just Do It]

Totally agree! This guys skin must be so thick, or he is inept in the art of perception and or simply pathological. What ever, the result is all the same.

After reading his letter I actually felt embarrassed for him. ( If you are trying to ostracise the Pilot community from the rest of the company at least send the letter out to every one - or would that be classified as harassment ?) What a transparent and desperate attempt to save his own arse. Well at least he acknowledges that we are expected to work beyond our contract to keep the wheels from coming off!

What has this guy actually achieved on his watch that you could say has been of benefit to the company? Anyone? Anyone?, Anyone Anyone?......

Well its not my train set!

[ACMS]

The EFB is good......


Oh wait.......:mad:

[Pucka]

EFB?....WTFIT?..it petered out half way across the big bit to LAX then that's been it..great investment by a shower of lunatics that Swire really ought to put down..if my dog gave me as much crap as this mob..he'd be on the table in Guangshou by now..

[missingblade]

Gents what you must appreciate is that these updates are written for the Swire directors - to show them what a thinking and engaging management team we have.
They know full well we will just laugh harder at every update and the complete nonsense it spews - its not meant for us.
Its meant to indirectly update the upper management on what a great job the pilot managers have done being reasonable and communicative to their pilots....

[monster330]

You're exactly right.

This is ass covering, and the Dfo is getting very concerned by the tone of it.

Management must be quite worried I think.

Interesting days ahead.

[arse]

“It’s time to complete the process and move on to dealing with the other issues that need to be addressed.”

Yippee! So, we can move on to getting shafted on RPs and housing and, …. and, … I can’t wait! Actually, … I can wait.

[Arfur Dent]

The brief is:- 'Keep that rabble of bus drivers (ie The Aircrew) quiet and pay as little as you can. Whatever you save will be shared amongst you as a bonus. It's your responsibility.'
So, CC is going to severely damage our gallant leaders' standing with the 'proper (ie The Businessmen) Managers'. Just do it and watch the panic set in. Then we'll see what they're made of (ie Not Much).
Remeber the Indian Mutiny of 1857, I think it was. The arrogant Brits pissed off the local soldiers once too often. Getting close to that now I'd say.
Play your card - lots of us are CC anyway - just need a lot more.
It's a strong card and they will not like appearing to have made (another) misjudgement. :ok:

[Hellenic aviator]

But the company expects us to maintain our goodwill, to provide them with material benefit, and then tries guilt, patriotism, threats and emotion to try and maintain that goodwill when circumstances push us towards taking it away.

FOP management spin these lies continuously and use the term 'professional' as the 'final line in the sand'. There seems similarities between the DFO's last letter and GMF's letter - one minute we're trusted with a three hundred million USD machine with hundreds of lives yet we are spoken to as a father speaking to a child or headmaster speaking at a school assembly.

What I find more annoying are the lies told to the HK media later, if things don't go the way management want - nonsense such as we hold our customers at ransom by disrupting the flights. I may be wrong, but I don't recall reading such lies when our cabin crew had their issues.

We follow our contract just as crew control, FCRM or anyone on the third floor will tell you, "It's in your contract", should you ask for something outside the agreement.

Goodwill is a 'two way street', just as respect is also. They want us to help, then they can help us when we are in need - pay raise, bases, overseas taxation issues, stable roster, medical, staff travel benefits, housing etc.

Clearly [historically] our management have dragged things out yet claim that they've presented the AOA GC offers on the condition that they (AOA) will strongly recommend it to its membership and in turn propose voting for it in an affirmative manner. The end result (in the world of management) is that the proposal is actioned and any further complaints later on is silenced by, "You agreed upon it and voted FOR it". Again - trusted with a multi million piece of machinery, yet advise us how to vote rather than read what is being proposed and decide on your own accord. What sort of archaic manner is this?
I'm glad that the GC can see through their nonsense.

.....yep, interesting days ahead.

*stepping off soap box*

[Shep69]

Delusional ain't quite right--unwilling to face reality and throwing out divisive propaganda maybe better. It's amazing the words that have been thrown forth which have worstened the situation and managed to tick off folks that were previously happy. Often taking the opportunity NOT to speak (or to speak small amounts of cohesive and well thought out encouragement toward finding solutions) is the right thing to do. Seems they haven't quite figured this out.

Those following the deal know that saying the 'offer' was 'recommended' is an absolute farce. It was recommended only because it was forced to be in order to be considered and voted upon at all. This by definition made any form of objective analysis impossible. The membership did the absolute right thing by rejecting an offer which, given its preconditions and deceptive/divisive nature, never should have been sent forward at all.

In this case, the pilot group is the one wanting to preserve the quality, branding, and safety record of the airline they love and prevent a group of self-serving folks from chiseling it away. Skilled labour costs money and is an investment just like fuel and airplanes--and is also subject to inflation adjustments. I wonder how the general public would feel about trying to have a bunch of fatigued rank beginners working long hours, multiple jobs, and living in a noisy crackerbox to make ends meet noodling around at the controls of the machine their lives depend on. Propaganda works in many directions and maybe it would be a good time to get out in front of what's really going on.

[Trafalgar]

"So it is doubly disheartening that we
have an employee group that is actively
considering practices that will damage all that is
valued by colleagues and customers alike".


That one statement by the DFO has GUARANTEED that I will press home CC with all my dedication and discipline. Thank you RH for convincing me that our cause is necessary and just.

[ColonelAngus]

How is adhering to one's contract a practice that will damage all that is valued by colleagues and customers alike?

The only reasonable conclusion to me is that the contract must be flawed, or ____________ (people, fill in the blank)

[crewsunite]

Quite right - some of those managers are holding this airline randsome with their Penny wise and Pound foolish ways. Let alone their arrogant, incompetent & condescending leardership styles.

We should think of ways to self manage ourselves & bring out our professionalism better than they would. Ie Rendering there methods even more futile. They way some of them leapfrog via stepping over each other to get into higher positions are origins of darker matter.

Good luck Crew - These few months will become what defines us.
Professional Pride!

[OK4Wire]

Shep said: Propaganda works in many directions and maybe it would be a good time to get out in front of what's really going on.

Couldn't agree more, in fact I have been saying the very same thing (obviously unsuccessfully) for 20 years.

We (AOA) should be taking our fight public with well thought out and written press releases. Everyone else in the world fights their fights in public, yet we bicker amongst ourselves on Pprune.

Hire a PR company!

[spleener]

I disagree, we'll never win a PR war against the corporate media. We should never give up the opportunity to just say 'nothing'.
A strategy,among many, lost on our erstwhile dfo.

[Pogie]

What was all that crap about there being a finite amount of money set aside for us, and that the amount was non-negotiable??? Yeah, whatever, Dicky!

[quadspeed]

What was all that crap about there being a finite amount of money set aside for us, and that the amount was non-negotiable??? Yeah, whatever, Dicky!

That is the core of what CC is about. CC is aimed to change old Dickys position on the matter of what is and what is not negotiable. We'll see that finite amount of money raised by a rather large percentage old boy, and that is also"non-negotiable". Which, we might conclude, leads us to the current impasse.

It seems the entire bargaining process has gone straight over his head, poor old Chap.

[The Management]

Chief Pilots, Flight Crew Relation Managers and Crew Control will gather names of whom they believe are in contract compliance. The names will be sorted with the Director's People, DFO, GMF, GMO, MLO, Chief Pilots with a presence from Scheduling and Crew Control.

Each name will we scrutinized and it will then be decided by the People's Director to who's contract will be terminated, position demoted or put on probation.

As the HKAOA escalate their position we will have no other choice than to protect "The CPG" and our bonus of course. We will, as the People's Director has done in the past, sacrifice some so the rest will fall into line.

The People’s Director will move to have tenancy contracts terminated, Banks informed to have mortgages called and credit card revoked of terminated employee’s.

The Hong Kong Judicial System is built to protect Businesses not Employees and if needed we will perjure ourselves. The Hong Kong Judicial System will protect us.

You can wage your war but as always, “The CPG” always has the bigger and better weapon to deal with this sort of action.

We believe the contract compliance will have no effect on our operations but will give us a chance to rid ourselves of unprofessional pilots. The HKAOA and pilots just put a bullseye on their back.

In the past most voted for Contract Compliance but never carry it out. What they say and what they do are two different things. Most don’t know how to carry out contract compliance effectively.

If I asked the question, what do you think CC is about? Is it short term or long term? If you don’t answer your phone, If you show up at sign on, If you don’t use discretion, If you have to call in fatigued, what does it do?

Passengers will still book with “The CPG” and the HKAOA say that CC will affect forward bookings. It will not affect forward bookings.

Good luck in your war, you will lose and you will sacrifice some of your pilots. I hope it is worth it.

To My Bonus
The Management.

[Arfur Dent]

Absolutely!;)

[crwkunt roll]

will gather names of whom they believe are in contract compliance
Good luck with that.

[Trafalgar]

...haha. I realise it's all tongue in cheek, but look at the previous comment: " will gather names of whom they believe are in contract compliance". Please, add MY name....!! That would confirm I am complying with my contract. I'm sure there would be some bonus from management for doing so. In any other business the owners would be ecstatic that their employees are 'complying with their contracts'. You really can't make this up can you? Only in CX would actually complying with your contract be considered a bad thing. I can hardly wait for the inevitable court case when that is pointed out to the judge. Unbelievable. Lewis Carrol had nothing on this lot...and he only wrote 'Alice in Wonderland'...

[ColonelAngus]

-IV2UuwHrU0

[BlunderBus]

If merely complying with an employment contract is viewed as being behaviour detrimental to the company then surely, by their own definition, they're abusing it! Don't they realize how ridiculous,arrogant and 'threatening' that sounds. I've read several missives from the DFO recently regarding the company's stance on intimidation and have watched them apply severe intimidation over 26 years!!
It's a fascinating situation whereby they refuse to apply a black and white rostering system without the 'if,buts,maybe's,and 'under normal' circumstances' that would essentially remove the instability and crew discontent and yet remain unaware that it could so easily be fixed. The only people who are looking aggressive and behaving dishonourably in full view on the international stage are the folks managing this shambles. How on earth can you employ a group of new joiners..immediately renege on the employment promises..be sued in court and lose a large settlement..still be forced to employ them and wind up with employees that hate you from day one and still think you've done a great day's work...insane!

[Trafalgar]

....I don't know if I would use the word 'hate'. Sheer bloody contempt is more to the point. What they did to the Adelaide instructors was almost an insult to the word 'contempt'. We truly are managed by people of low moral character.

[bridgeport]

Another awesome management propaganda piece.

...many by now will be aware of HKAOA’s ratification of the Contract Compliance vote. Union action by pilots has not occurred in the Company for many years. I think it is fair to say that the broader Cathay community is disappointed by this outcome

The broader cathay community has not suffered renumeration reductions in absolute terms of roughly 50% in the last 20 years.
They also get increments in line with inflation.

For the last 20 years, our renumeration deals with management have been like playing snakes and ladders.... but without the ladders.

[Trafalgar]

...hmmm. As in the case of me not really caring what the 'general public' think, I am inclined to also not really care what the 'Cathay Community' think either. If they aren't a pilot, then their lack of understanding of what my career entails only highlights their own ignorance. In no way does that ignorance have any bearing on what my services are worth.

[bridgeport]

Our services are worth what someone is willing to pay for them, given the state of supply of pilots.

But so long as little boys keep dreaming of being pilots, and the AOA keeps dreaming of good faith negotiations with the company, then our salaries are always going to come under pressure.

[Kitsune]

It's also worth remembering that the only time we were really prepared to go on strike, in the Tucknott/Fern/Horsting era, the Co. folded like the bunch of spineless cowards they are... :cool: