Cathay Pacific snubs union over pay talks and says it will contact staff directly

Cathay Pacific is to stop negotiating with its Flight Attendants Union (FAU) over pay and conditions, calling it an “outdated practice” no longer relevant to the modern world.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 “The time has come to move on from outdated practices [of union-led labour negotiations] that were designed back in the 1970s, which are simply not right or relevant for the modern world,” Jeanette Mao,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/>