MorningCoffee, another fairly tepid management "hail mary" from you. Trying to suggest that leaving for Qantas isn't a great idea....yea, ok. At least those of us who are planning on leaving for QA can rest happy knowing we are living back home, and enjoying working for a company that is subject to a semblance of legal sobriety. Oh, and one more thing...you should know by now that nearly every Aussie under the age of 45 (and not a few over I might add) are already in the QA system, interviewing, confirming course dates and counting the days until we've left this most toxic of airlines behind us. But you keep at it my boy, take another one for the management team like the little cubicle dweller that you are.

(.. interviews sometime last month had 12 CX pilots there on the same day....but who's counting)

MC, I must say with the greatest respect but you do come across as a guy who is scared of the dark, probably henpecked by your wife and incapable of seeing the wood for the trees.

May I sugest you harden the Fu3k up. You Sir, are pathetic.

MC actually makes some very interesting points. The individuals truly in control of the airline group WILL have layers of planning in place for multiple contingencies. They will have both offensive and defensive game plans (we've largely seen the former so far due to the employees' lack of offense) and they will have hired some expensive, ruthless and talented help to make sure that they prevail and protect their cash. The problem with the Unions is that they're populated my emasculated amateurs (no offence!) most of whom are too exposed and/or scared and/or intimidated to do the necessary (part of the Swire plan of course) and who can blame them? Being reasonable humans, these amateurs are too easily seduced by 'good faith' etc. The unions play by gentlemanly rules but the company does not.

So...

The unions need to work together, pool resources and instruct professional negotiating and legal teams to battle on their behalf. Once the committees are one step removed then the level of threat against them is reduced. The company will resist this of course; it would much prefer to bully an employee directly.

The article is a lesson in history. Those that fail to remember the lessons are bound to repeat their mistakes. The company won't be that foolish so why should we?

Just finished having dinner with a good friend, a senior Captain. He would like to join training, but will not while the ban is in effect. These lowlifes that have taken the job now have usurped better people, who (at least in the case of my friend) are more senior and would get the position if applied for. I hope they choke on their extra pay, hope it is worth the career staining shame it will coat them with. Disgusting.

What we need is a team of professional negotiators. You provide them with a brief then stand back and let them loose. Give them 7 days and they report back with an offer to accept or a strike vote to take. Simples.

Not so, simples.

The company doesn't have to negotiate with anyone, let alone a third party. Been there, done that.

I hate to say it, but MC is correct. That clause that had everyone so worked up was a placebo for the company. That, and all the "negatives" of the previous deal had zero real impact on what we could or could not do.

Been there done that NEVER has been tried. Years ago the AOA did try to have it's general secretary sit in on negotiations and the company walked out because they had not been informed in advance, which was correct procedure. Labour laws ( such as they are in HKG ) now encourage third party ( professional ) negotiators to represent workers groups. Ironically this law was introduced by Beijing. CX cannot refuse to negotiate with elected representatives or their nominees. There are numerous UK and USA based negotiating firms, manilylinked to huge unions like Unite and The Teamsters. For a fee they gather the information, listen to the clients aspirations, formulate a strategy, negotiate a deal and hand the offer back to the members to accept or not. Job done in 7 days. Do you really think the likes of the JellyFish and Boss Hogg think their own strategies out ? Why all the adjournments during the negotiations ? It's so they can consult with their team of suits sitting in back rooms.
FFS wake up and treat your careers seriously.
And by the way the FAU does exactly this, employs professional strategists, not wet behind the ear, amateurs like the HKAOA GC.

Usurped better people ?
 

Sorry ATY however here is the truth.... CX walked away from "better people" many years back. The days of a Meritocracy at CX are dead and you only have to look at the past 15 years of loosing lawsuits, lawsuit payouts, Fuel hedging, etc etc etc with the latest being what you have read in the SCMP every day for a week now. Do they have the "best" in charge of our IT dept or another Swire Prince from some pompous UK university with a Masters Degree geology or pollywog genetics ???

And if you think Merlin the Magician will fix this; we now have an Inclusion and Diversity dept with most everybody receiving Unconscious Bias and diversity training.

#YouDecide