After days and hours of back-and-fourth negotiating, Cathay Pacific (CX) and its crew have agreed on amendments to the terms of employment that attendants were threatening to strike over.
About a week ago, the Flight Attendants Union voiced concern over pay, back-to-back shifts and a dilution of Hong Kong attendants on flights (see here), threatening industrial action if these were not changed.
Such action would have disrupted services at a very busy time of year, and affected many passengers. The threat forced CX to prepare contingency plans (see here).
But today the carrier announced that the disagreement has been resolved, and services will continue as normal.
The new terms include that a minimum of 50 per cent of overall flights on based routes will be operated by Hong Kong-based crew, and that for late night flights and specific patterns, CX will trial some new initiatives including service flow and enhanced rest times. There is no mention of the terms of pay.
“We are very grateful to the Labour Department for sponsoring these talks and keeping the parties focused on a resolution that protected the interests of the travelling public. We’re now ready to redouble our efforts to ensure a pleasant experience for all of our customers over the holidays,” said chief executive John Slosar.
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