Cathay Pacific Pilots Union Plans Work Action

Source: WSJ

By JOANNE CHIU

HONG KONG—The pilots union at Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. has instructed its members to refuse overtime work beginning Thursday, a move that could impact the airline’s services, after the union failed to reached an agreement with the Hong Kong-based airline over salary adjustments.

The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers’ Association directed its more than 2,000 members to carry out the so-called work-to-rule measures. Member pilots at Cathay Pacific, who are based in Hong Kong, New Zealand and the U.S., will be performing “their assigned duties in strict conformance with their existing conditions of services,” the pilots union said Wednesday.

Work-to-rule is an industrial action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract, and follow safety or other regulations precisely, actions that could result in delays. Work-to-rule also means that employees could refuse to work overtime or on days when they aren’t scheduled to work.

The decision by pilots union ahead of the holiday season could risk disruption of services by the premium carrier, which has seen a pickup in demand.

The carrier in August posted a sharp rise in first-half net profit 347 million Hong Kong dollars ($44.8 million), compared with a first-half net profit of HK$24 million a year earlier, as more people flew.

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The pilots’ union at Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. has instructed members to refuse overtime work beginning Thursday after the union and airline failed to reached an agreement over salary adjustments. Above, two Cathay Pacific pilots walk in the Hong Kong International Airport in this Nov. 30, 2011, file photo. ASSOCIATED PRESS


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