Cathay Pacific is to stop negotiating with its Flight Attendants Union (FAU) over pay and conditions, calling it an “outdated practice” no longer relevant to the modern world. In response, the union, which represents more than 80% of existing staff, called the move its “greatest setback” in a decade. The airline’s management said it would engage with employees directly through digital communication platforms, adding it would no longer recognise the “old fashioned confrontational legacy practices” of the past. “The time has come to move on from outdated practices [of union-led labour negotiations] that were designed back in the 1970s, which are simply not right or relevant for the modern world,” Jeanette Mao, the airline’s general manager of in-flight service, said in an internal video. She also accused the union of working with outside groups to the detriment of the company. “I’m afraid recently we have seen the FAU be influenced by input from outside parties who are not Cathay employees, and who do not appear to have the company’s best interest at heart,” Mao said. The union accused the airline of disrespecting its members by scrapping its annual “year-end negotiation”.<br/>
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British Airways has apologised after upsetting Welsh rugby fans by wishing England luck in this weekend’s fixture between the two sides. The airline, which has a sponsorship arrangement with England Rugby, sent luck to England via Twitter on Saturday morning before their Autumn Nations Cup fixture against Wales in Llanelli later in the day. The tweet, which was subsequently deleted, read: “Good luck to the England Rugby team against Wales today”, and contained a short video. In response, the Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, tweeted: “Good way to annoy 3m+ potential customers.” The Labour MP Chris Bryant described the airline as “utter divots”, adding: “How is this right?” And the Welsh BBC News presenter Huw Edwards joked: “I love easyJet.” Meanwhile, the phrase “English Airways” trended on Twitter as some Wales fans suggested the airline should rebrand. YesCymru, the campaign for Welsh independence, tweeted: “To be clear, even when Wales becomes independent, it will still be a constituent part of the island of Britain. Your brand isn’t ‘UK Airways’, it’s ‘British Airways’. Regardless, we’ve had enough of this unequal, broken ‘union’.” BA, the official airline partner of England Rugby, apologised for having “strayed offside” with the message.<br/>