Cathay Pacific crews threaten holiday strike

A union representing flight attendants of Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific on Tuesday threatened industrial action over a pay rise dispute, just weeks before the holiday season. The airline announced on Friday a two percent pay rise for its employees in 2013, falling short of the five percent demanded by the 6,000-strong Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, sparking protest from members. "We will mobilise all our members to join in the industrial action," union vice chairman Julian Yau told reporters, after calling the rise "totally unacceptable" due to the high cost of inflation. He urged the airline not to "force its workers to carry out actions that would be harmful to all", and said the union, which has not ruled out the possibility of a strike, will decide its next course of action in a meeting on Monday. Responding to the threat, Cathay said the two percent adjustment, along with a discretionary one-month bonus for 2012, is a "fair, reasonable and competitive offer in view of the extreme challenges the airline is facing". "I trust most of our cabin crew are considerate and understand the challenging situation the company is in," Cathay said in a statement. The airline fell into the red in the first half of the year with a HK$935 million ($121 million) loss, partly due to high fuel prices.