Talent & Tech Asia Summit 2024
human resources online

Cathay cabin crew votes ‘yes' to extend retirement age

閱讀中文版本

More than half of Cathay Pacific's 9,000 cabin crew have voted in favour of raising the retirement age from 55 to 60, the South China Morning Post reports.

In early August, Cathay Pacific asked cabin crew to take a survey consisting of one question only: “Do you support an extension of retirement age to 60 years of age?”

The Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants’ Union (FAU) announced yesterday (FAU), 5,007 of 9,032 cabin crew voted in support of extending the retirement age. 3,000 crew members did not vote and 1,000 opposed the proposal.

Following the result of the vote, the company’s working group will finalise details on the extension of the retirement age with management later this year.

In a post on the CX Secrets Facebook group, someone said people who voted yes or no are selfish. According to the poster, those who has voted no are short-sighted and are more worried about getting a promotion quickly than about the benefits of the cabin crew.

Additionally, a majority of the cabin crew voting against the union's will to extend the retirement age is a huge blow to the union.

Those who voted yes, he says, are older employees who have already enjoyed the most prosperous times of Hong Kong and now want to stay in their current jobs for as long as they can.

FAU called the survey result "encouraging", pointing out 81% of those who voted support the proposal.

Vera Wu Yee Mei, chairwoman of the FAU, told the post: "The survey is bound to generate different opinions, but the bigger issue is we have to stop age discrimination against cabin crew at the company".

In late August, just a few days before the 5 September deadline of the survey, The Hong Kong Cabin Crew Federation (HKCCF) criticised the survey, saying the current arrangement constitutes age discrimination and the company's decision to eliminate this shouldn't come down to a survey. Under the current policy, flight attendants must retire at 55, while pilots can retire at 65.

ALSO READ: Cathay Pacific to slash pilots’ compensation

Photo/ 123RF 

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

Related topics

Related articles

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top Human Resources stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's Human Resources development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window