‘Minimal rest time’: Cathay Pacific cabin crew union warns rostering changes could impact Hong Kong flagship carrier’s service, safety
- Union says it has received ‘numerous fatigue reports’ amid staff shortages and additional workload at airline but
- ‘You never have enough time to recharge and carry out premium service and safety-related checks,’ union vice-chairwoman Grace Siu says
Cathay Pacific’s cabin crew union has said less rest time during layovers and changes to rostering could impact the Hong Kong flagship carrier’s service and safety as staff have been left feeling exhausted.
The airline’s management has pushed back against the safety claims but promised to improve personnel schedules in future.
The Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants Union, which counts about 3,000 airline cabin crew as members, on Thursday warned the carrier’s flight schedule allowed for “minimal rest time” during overseas layovers and the organisation had received “numerous fatigue reports”, adding there were staff shortages and an additional workload.
“It is not our intention to ask for more when the company is recovering. We want no more than reasonable patterns, reasonable manpower and reasonable pay,” union chairman Ken Chang Kam-yuen said in an open letter to airline CEO Augustus Tang Kin-wing.
“We no longer want any explanations; we want to see tangible actions.”
