Hundreds demand Cathay rehire fired staff

Hundreds of people gathered in Hong Kong to demand that Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. rehire workers who left the troubled carrier after supporting the city’s pro-democracy protests, in a case that has raised fears about dwindling free speech in the former colony.

A crowd convened yesterday afternoon in the city’s Central business district, not far from the headquarters of Swire Group, the airline’s largest shareholder, to push back against the commercial and political pressure Beijing is putting on companies over Hong Kong’s ongoing unrest.

The gathering, organized by the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, is the latest demonstration in 12 straight weeks of sometimes violent protests, which began in opposition to a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

In recent weeks, Cathay Pacific – which has lost at least seven employees in the turmoil and saw chief executive officer Rupert Hogg resign abruptly to take responsibility for the airline’s troubles – has come to symbolize the danger that firms in the city face if they fall afoul of Beijing. What’s happened to Hong Kong’s flag carrier has raised concerns about whether companies that want to do business in China are upholding their employees’ rights to free speech and assembly as citizens of Hong Kong.

“Suppressing people’s freedom of speech through their employment, that is unacceptable,” Carol Ng, chairwoman of HKCTU, said at the protest. “The airlines have kowtowed and bowed down completely.”

“We fully support the upholding of the Basic Law and all the rights and freedoms afforded by it,” Cathay Pacific said in a statement posted to its website responding to the HKCTU assembly. “At the same time, we are also required to adhere to all of our regulatory duties, including those prescribed by the authorities in mainland China. The airline must do this; there is no ground for compromise.”

The union has previously protested the dismissal of Cathay employee Rebecca Sy, former chairwoman of the flight attendants’ union of Cathay Pacific unit Cathay Dragon, over a social media post. The company said her departure had nothing to do with her union leadership or union work, and reiterated in its statement yesterday that it does not in any way discriminate against union members or their activities.

At the gathering, Sy said her dismissal – particularly given she was a prominent union leader – was a clear warning to all Hong Kong citizens as well as local and international companies in the city who might face pressure.

“What I’ve been doing is supporting freedom of speech and democracy,” she said. “If they can defeat me, that means it’s so easy for them to destroy everyone else as well. But we don’t want to see that happen, so I have to tell everyone ‘You’re not alone. We are now standing together.’” MDT/Bloomberg