In a letter to several U.S. Senators and Representatives, ALPA asked the U.S. Congress to raise the dispute with Hong Kong Government officials. It further questioned Cathay Pacific’s consistent disrespect for accepted international labour conventions and the Hong Kong Government’s subsequent failure to intervene and end the impasse, now the longest running labour dispute in Asia’s history.

"The United States has always been at the forefront of pursuing improved rights and protection for workers. This is not limited to employees in the United States, but around the world as well. Consequently, ALPA is attempting to draw U.S. Government attention to the deplorable situation happening in Hong Kong at the hands of Cathay Pacific Airways. We believe that our government should be gravely concerned about a situation that is, in effect, serving to erode the standards for workers in the aviation industry throughout the world and in the U.S. We have urged Congress to help put an end to these shameful practices," said Captain Duane Woerth, President of ALPA.

Cathay Pacific Airways’ major shareholder is the international Swire Group, based in England, which also has major U.S. interests.

To date, 20 international labour organizations, representing 27 million workers around the world, have urged Cathay Pacific executives and Hong Kong Government officials to resolve this dispute. The AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA) have each expressed their concerns to the Hong Kong Government by specifically asking the Commissioner of Labour to take action. Despite repeated inquiries by these labour groups the Hong Kong Government has ignored all such requests.

Cathay Pacific’s use of tactics such as unjust termination and unauthorized contract revisions are illegal in the U.S. and throughout much of the rest of the world. The unwarranted firing of 51 pilots last July resulted in 49 lawsuits in four countries: Australia, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States. The HKAOA meanwhile has repeatedly attempted to open the lines of communication with company management to discuss these issues, but has been rebuffed on each and every occasion.

"We are grateful for the support of ALPA and its attempts to bring this matter to the attention of the U.S. Government," said John Findlay, HKAOA General Secretary. He continued, "Sadly, the deck is very much stacked against employees in Hong Kong. Our lack of protection allows companies such as Cathay Pacific to operate according to any set of principles they choose. This is a worrying practice for a company that also seeks to gain further access to the U.S with developing international agreements. No matter how many times we ask management to come back to the negotiating table, we are rebuffed. Now with the possible involvement of U.S. Government officials, we hope that Cathay Pacific management will realize the international embarrassment that this is causing our company and Hong Kong, and finally agree to sit down to talk." 

Gina Mingoia
202-777-3539
Email: gmingoia@clsdc.com

Jennifer Myers
202-777-3504
Email: jmyers@clsdc.com