Cathay Pacific's cabin crew to start 'Work-to-Rule' campaign over demands for roster improvements

The cabin crew union of Cathay Pacific will commence a "Work-to-Rule" campaign from 19 January, requesting roster and salary improvements. Meanwhile, the union has also applied for an assembly outside Cathay Pacific City on 18 January.

This comes after representatives of Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union (FAU) complained that despite the tough working conditions, the company still cut staff and reduced employee allowances. One of the representatives said there was one occasion where only 12 staff of Cathay's cabin crew were on board to take care of over 300 passengers. 

In terms of roster arrangements, the representatives said the airline refused to set a minimum number of rest hours. FAU also complained that its meeting time with senior executives had been slashed and that its labour concerns were not taken into consideration. The union demanded fair roster arrangements, guaranteed minimum layover periods on overseas outports, regular meetings with the airline, more staff on flights and contract reviews.

However, FAU said on Monday on Facebook that since the management had failed to reach a consensus with the union on workers’ concerns and meet them as requested, it will launch start a "Work-to-Rule campaign". Its members should strictly follow the airline’s policies and standards, including refusal to work on days off.

The union announced the “golden rules” of the campaign on Facebook, stating that their actions should be enforced at all ports and members must all be tolerant with each other on the repercussions caused by the drive. The rules include "fly only when you are 100% fit"; "do not accept any request to operate on rest days"; "everybody must carry out the Work-To-Rule together and must not try to discourage anyone"; "Work-To-Rule is to be enforced in all ports" and more.

Furthermore, FAU plans to stage an assembly on 18 January. The Hong Kong Police said that it is dealing with its application for assembly. Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific told HK01 that it will ensure flight services will maintain and it has been communicating with cabin crew and listening to their demands. It also said some of the roster arrangements have been adjusted. 

According to a report by SCMP, Cathay Pacific said its management team had met with FAU twice in December 2022, exchanging views for seven hours, and had invited them to meet again in February.  Many of the rostering issues had been resolved for the January schedule and it would continue to improve in February, urging cabin crew to be patient.

Regarding pay, Cathay Pacific said eligible Hong Kong-based staff would get an increase of 3.3% in average basic salary as well as the equivalent of one month’s pay as an ex gratia payment in January, according to the report. The airline also said it was setting up a focus group in January to make the roster system more transparent for employees, while special allowances would be given to staff working on Christmas, New Year’s day and Chinese New Year. It added that flight services would continue as scheduled and there were no safety issues. Back in August 2022, Cathay Pacific said it aimed to recruit more than 4,000 frontline staff in the next 18 to 24 months.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Cathay Pacific and the police for a statement.

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