Hong Kong 49ers obtain justice, at last!
 

Eight years ago, Cathay Pacific Airways management behaved disgracefully by arbitrarily firing 49 pilots; professionals, as it turns out.

Today, the High Court in Hong Kong mauled Cathay Pacific Airways for the abysmal way it treated these employees.

It may be a very old industrial dispute to many on this forum, but to those to whom it mattered, please visit the 'search' function on Pprune for a history of this sorry saga, or visit the Cathay Pilots Union website - the Court transcript of 'day 7' is a gem to read - to discover how these brave souls, or at least most of them, obtained justice, at last.

Alternatively, Google 'Warham Cathay Pacific' in 24 hours time for a 70 page indictment of the managerial practices of Cathay Pacific Airways.

'RM

Congrats to all for their determination. I look forward to reading! I feel so sorry for those who suffered mentally and physically during that time.

Likewise - and finally justice for JW and his colleagues

Yes, good news indeed, persistance pays off! :D

http://www.cathaypilotsunion.org/pro...CXJudgment.pdf

Justice served indeed :ok:

Associated Press

HONG KONG—A Hong Kong court has ruled that Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. unfairly fired 18 pilots amid a labor dispute in 2001 and ordered the airline to pay the former employees more than US$7 million.
The 18 pilots were among a group of 49 fired in July 2001 when Cathay's main pilots' union and management were locked in a dispute over wages and scheduling. The union launched a "work-to-rule" campaign, discouraging members from working beyond the terms of their contracts.
Hong Kong High Court Judge A.T. Reyes said in a ruling Wednesday the 18 pilots were unfairly dismissed and wrongfully terminated.
He said Cathay executives also defamed them by publicly accusing them of disrupting the airline's operations.
The judge awarded 17 of the 18 plaintiffs 150,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$19,350) each for unfair dismissal, a month's pay each for wrongful termination and HK$3.3 million each in defamation damages.
Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Carolyn Leung said she was still studying the ruling and had no immediate comment.

In my old job I flew with a 49'er and I can understand why he was fired - he was a Grade-A nutjob.
Were not some of the firings justified .... ?

Hey 18-wheeler - the court didn't think so, are you wise to take them on? :hmm:

Your opinion may or not be valid regarding the gentleman concerned but having read a good deal of the judgement and the transcripts it was plain that Cathay management were using the industrial dispute to sack those they saw as causing them the most grief, perhaps settling old scores at the same time, with the aim of scaring the remaining pilots into buckling under to the craven management's aims.

I dislike unions per se but recognise they are a necessary evil and have been a career long member of BALPA but I cannot help but feel the victimisation and intimidation and the loss of job and, for some, career was the action of a vindictive, unpleasant and downright nasty management. The judgement was fully justified but I doubt it in anyway fully compensates for what the 49ers went through. In the future I am sure many pilots will benefit from what they doggedly pursued all these years.

Well done them.

Well he refused to follow company SOP's, his method of getting people to do things was to shout at them, no-one wanted to fly with him, etc.
That enough?

doing the math...
 

Doing the math on this, I'm not sure the pilots were even made whole, much less punitive damages applied. If they got jobs immediately after being sacked then its a windfall, otherwise I dont see it as much as a win.

It seems they got 'closure' more than 'justice'

Justice is when they collect, expect CX to drag this out on appeal until the 49'ers are old and gray.

18 Wheeler, the issue at stake was not for what they were fired, but how and why they were fired. Also, some members of the Star Chamber that selected their fellow pilots for dismissal were also unpleasant to fly and simulate with. One, who is no longer with Cathay Pacific, is known as The Screaming Skull.

''Justice is when they collect, expect CX to drag this out on appeal until the 49'ers are old and gray.''


I'm not convinced they will. This is a landmark case in Hong Kong labour law - it's groundbreaking. I suspect that the deliberations over the verdict were discussed long and hard at the highest levels and the decision to award the case was not taken lightly. CX will realize that an appeal will proabably fail.

CX welcome the verdict
 

Maybe just dreaming here but wouldn't it be a great day for us all if management accepted the verdict or even welcomed it as a way of finally laying things to rest. An appeal would only serve to keep the wounds open.
I for one hope that they are man enough to recognise that the whole episode was a huge error of judgement.

Dream on...
 

Fly747

Nice thought but I seriously doubt that management would welcome the judgement. "A sign of weakness" is a phrase that springs to mind....

That said, maybe this will be the catalyst for a new phase of co-operation and negotiated deals that will benefit both sides - or am I dreaming too??

STP

Ok, so that's one individual out of 49. Any comment on the other 48?

No, as I have not flown with any of them nor am I aware of all of the history behind it. I understand there were some unjustified sackings, but in this case they got it right. The guy is not fit to command an aeroplane.

The case wasn't so much about if they deserved to be sacked, but if the correct ways of sacking people had been followed.

18 Wheeler;

[QUOTE]The guy is not fit to command an aeroplane.[QUOTE]

I admire your courage to post an opinion like that. It might well bite you.