Cathay Pacific has prepared "comprehensive contingency plans" in case of employee strikes, said chief operating officer for Cathay Pacific Ivan Chu at a press conference earlier today. He also expressed a belief that flights would remain unaffected even if industrial action were to occur.
This followed a comment revealing that the airline had been unable to come to an agreement with staff over their pay increment grievances. "Twenty-twelve has proven to be a challenging year with an extremely difficult operating environment. Our two per cent salary increment and the discretionary 13th month payment have already taken into account a number of factors and is the most reasonable and the best we can offer amid the challenging business environment we are in," he said.
The Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, which represents more than 5,800 cabin crew, has been threatening industrial action since the end of last week, taking to a policy of work-to-rule on Tuesday (see here) where duties were conducted to the minimum standard required by contract.
"Union members are part of Hong Kong and we are confident that they will not take any action to affect the travelling public, damage the reputation of Hong Kong or cause any inconvenience to passengers," Mr Chu added.
Alex Andersson
