Cathay Pacific union backs end to ‘skirt-only’ rule in Hong Kong

Female flight attendants at Hong Kong’s biggest airline have backed Cathay Dragon cabin crew in their challenge of the “skirt-only” rule for air hostesses in the city. The leader of the 7,200-strong union for Cathay Pacific Airways said it was time to do away with the “old-style” image of heavily made-up stewardesses wearing knee-high skirts. And she suggested her union could come out in support of any industrial action to that end. “The stereotype of the flight attendant is very old-style already: looking pretty, full make-up and wearing a skirt. It is a good time to have a revamp of our image,” said Vera Wu Yee-mei, chairwoman of the Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants Union. “It excites us, this idea, that we can think about this direction, so maybe we can do some joint action [with Cathay Dragon] and support them to fight for this issue all together.” All four of Hong Kong’s airlines require female cabin crew to wear skirts. The flight attendants’ union for Cathay Dragon, Cathay Pacific’s regional arm, recently sparked a debate over that stipulation, with its public request for female crew to be given the right to wear trousers. The Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Flight Attendants Association will meet airline management on Monday to talk about the request. Also on the agenda is the union’s demand of a 4% pay rise. Male cabin crew at both Cathay carriers last year won the option of wearing short-sleeved shirts to work, rather than long-sleeved ones, after a lot of staff feedback in support of the change.<br/>