Hong Kong’s largest Airline among its employees to offer support to the protests – and is bent so that the pressure from Beijing.
Since the beginning of June hundreds of thousands in Hong Kong for more democracy and against the influence of Beijing in the Chinese special administrative region to demonstrate.
The question of how companies in this confrontation between the population and the government’s position seems, at least for the Airline Cathay Pacific answered.
In the past week, a Pilot of the Airline had been arrested at a Demonstration, and the Union of flight attendants at Cathay agreed with the protesters in solidarity.
Chinese state media as “People’s Daily” began to attack the Airline and then threw her to support from the Chinese point of view “illegal protests”. On Chinese Social Media networks, calls to Boycott Cathay made the rounds.
No Thinking Rules
Cathay’s Chairman John Slosar defended his employee initially. “We employ 27,000 people in Hong Kong, which will make the wide variety of Work. Not in the dream, we would want to tell you what you should think,” said Slosar, according to the BBC.
Protests at the airport, Hong Kong on Monday, 12.8. – all flights were cancelled
However, China increased the pressure more. On Friday, the Chinese aviation authority CAAC, called on the Airline, “for security reasons, use the” flights by the Chinese air space, no staff, which supports the protests or take part in them. Cathay should submit to the authority, in addition, Information about his crew in these flights in advance.
Cathays chief Executive, Rupert Hogg assured the flight control immediately, to keep the same specification. Economically, he probably had no choice – much of the Cathay flights through Chinese airspace.
On Saturday, the Airline suspended the pilot, who had been arrested at a Demonstration, and announced two employees at the airport, which she accused of misconduct.
Clear Action Ban
On Monday, finally, a written notice of the Cathay-boss Hogg to his employees showed that the Airline management is now fully on Beijing’s line. “For employees who support the illegal protests or participate in, there will be diszipin to disciplinary action,” says Hogg, in Writing, of the existence of the DW. “The consequences could be serious, and also the notice include.”
The question of the DW, as these rates fit with the statement from Cathay-Chairman Slosar, to want the staff thinking, make regulations, let the company go unanswered.
On the Hong Kong stock exchange, the share price of Cathay Pacific gave way on Monday to more than four percent. How much of this is due to the harder course of the management towards the employees, is hardly discernible. Because of the protests, the Airline must also stress again and again the flights, at a cost to your business.
The majority shareholder of the Airline, the Swire Group based in Hong Kong, which currently holds around 45 percent of Cathay Pacific, followed by the state-run Chinese airline Air China is almost 30 per cent.