British Airways’ senior managers and sacked Hong Kong workers reach agreement after tense negotiations.
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Dismissed British Airways Hong Kong cabin crew and the airline settled key grievances on Thursday as axed staff were granted more time to sign termination agreements.
In crunch talks that went late into the night, representatives for Britain’s national airline flown in from London agreed to giving ...an extra week for flight attendants to sign off on leaving the airline in return for a severance package – a deadline of October 11. On top of that, BA agreed to provide a partial breakdown of the redundancy package on offer.
An earlier sit-in protest outside the airline’s downtown office in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island culminated in a two-hour negotiation between the airline and unions at the Labour Department offices in Kwai Hing.
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Asked how the meeting went when she emerged for a short break at 9.30pm, Carol Ng Man-yee, general secretary of the BA Hong Kong International Cabin Crew Association, replied: “Nasty.”
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At 10.30pm, all cabin crew waiting outside the mediation were invited in for a briefing. Several minutes later, dismissed employees walked out with smiles on their faces, happy with the outcome of the meeting.
“We believe a further extension of one week is sufficient for everyone to seek legal advice accordingly,” said Ng, who led the talks for her dismissed colleagues, signalling one of the big grievances following the redundancy announcement was overcome.
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On the calls for clarity on the payouts to staff, Ng stressed her members were not seeking more money, but rather transparency.
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In an emailed statement, a British Airways spokeswoman said: “We have listened to feedback from our colleagues, and in their best interest have agreed to extend the deadline.”
Among the offer to crew includes a “generous” redundancy package – in some cases worth up to HK$700,000. It was providing a financial breakdown of the lump sum payments to employees too.
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Initially, permanent staff were given until last Saturday – three days after being axed – to accept compensation terms. If they did not agree in time, they would only get the minimum required under Hong Kong labour laws.
As a backlash mounted last week, the airline said it would revise an ex gratia payment and extend the deadline for the attendants to accept the separation offer to Friday.