Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - CX asking/requiring flight crew to take unpaid leave

It appears that CX has been asking, or requiring, flight crew to take unpaid vacations. This friend's husband is a CX 2nd officer who joined in the past year (apparently burned his bridges with his unnamed Canadian employer who paid a lot to train him). The CoL is so high in H.K. that she (the wife) has to come back to Canada to work.

Sorry... what is CoL...? Cost of Living?

I guess so, but obviously he hadn't been here long enough to work out that you can live in HK as cheaply as anywhere in the world if you wish. Even in the midlevels my local restaurant does a very filling three course meal including a drink for HK$42 (US$6) which is not a high CoL.

On a dependent visa his wife could have got a job in HK quite easily, particualrly if she could teach since many of the expat wives have caught the hysteria virus and left HK for the time being.

Those people might have overleveraged themselves with a car, apartment that they could marginally afford or whatever. I was surprised she couldn't get a teacing job in H.K. but there you go.