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Following is a question by the Hon Lee Cheuk-yan and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (November 28):
Question:
It has been reported that Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) is preparing to launch a "Cross Base Flying Scheme" (the new scheme), under which flight attendants based in Singapore, Bangkok and San Francisco are allowed to swap the routes they serve. For example, under the new scheme, Bangkok-based crew may work on flights between Hong Kong and San Francisco. It has been learnt that CX has all along recruited expatriates from abroad to serve as Hong Kong-based flight attendants and work on flights travelling to and from Hong Kong, but these employees are required to obtain work visas from the Hong Kong Government and reside in Hong Kong, and they are also entitled to housing allowances. Some CX employees have pointed out that the arrangement made by CX for non-Hong Kong-based crew to work on flights travelling to and from Hong Kong is tantamount to shifting local posts to overseas cities where staff costs are lower. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether non-Hong Kong-based CX employees are required to obtain work visas from the Hong Kong Government for working on flights which stop over in Hong Kong; if not, of the reasons for that;
(b) of any requirement in the regulations for the aviation industry that local airlines licensed by the Air Transport Licensing Authority should accord priority to local workers in filling the posts created by them; and
(c) whether it will take any measures to prevent locally registered airlines from employing non-Hong Kong-based employees to work on flights with Hong Kong as the operation centre, so as to protect local workers' employment opportunities?
Reply:
President,
In response to Hon Lee's question, we have gathered information from Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CX) about its "Cabin Crew Cross-Base Flying Initiative" (the new Initiative). According to the information provided by CX, the airline has established seven outport bases in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London, Singapore and Bangkok respectively to serve the routes between Hong Kong and these destinations. At present, CX has employed about 950 outport base crew, which is about 10.4% of its total crew. The new Initiative mentioned in the question only involves three outport bases, namely San Francisco, Singapore and Bangkok, and will last for one to three months. The new Initiative will be launched as a trial on a voluntary basis to roster those volunteer crew from San Francisco on the Singapore and Bangkok flights, and volunteer crew from Singapore and Bangkok on San Francisco flights. CX will gauge the feedback from participating outport base crew and review the result of the new Initiative in order to decide if the new Initiative will be applied to other outport bases.
According to CX, the new Initiative will only involve a swap of duties of relevant participating outport base crew on the destinations originally served by them. Neither the total number of flights served by the outport base crew nor the number of local crew serving these flights and their respective flight hours will be affected. The new Initiative does not involve creation of new posts or outsource of local jobs to overseas. The flying arrangements, salaries, allowances and promotions of local crew, etc. will not be affected by the new Initiative.
In response to Hon Lee's question, my reply is as follows:
(a) In accordance with Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, i.e. facilitation of international air transport by means of simplified procedures, all contracting parties are obliged to allow entrance of the operating flight crew members without visas if they can present the relevant documentation. The obligation applies to Hong Kong.
According to section 9(1) of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), where a person, who does not enjoy the right of abode or right to land in Hong Kong, arrives in Hong Kong as a member of the crew of an aircraft under an engagement requiring him/her to leave within seven days on that or another aircraft as a member of its crew, then he/she may land in Hong Kong without the permission of an immigration officer or immigration assistant and remain until the departure of the aircraft on which he/she is required by his/her engagement to leave.
Crew members employed by the airlines may enter and remain in Hong Kong for at most seven days according to the above provision and need not apply to the Immigration Department for visa for employment in Hong Kong.
(b) Among the various rules and regulations in regulating the aviation industry, including the policies and guidance published by the International Civil Aviation Organization and Civil Aviation Ordinance (Cap. 448), there are no specific requirements that priority must be given to local employees in filling the vacancies of a local airline. According to the requirements set out in Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) Regulations (Cap. 448A), an aircraft registered in Hong Kong must apply for the relevant licence from the Licensing Authority prior to its operation of scheduled journeys in relation to Hong Kong. The above mentioned Regulations have not specified that the operator should accord priority to local residents to fill the vacancies in relation to the provision of the relevant services.
In addition, Civil Aviation Department will issue Air Operating Certificates to airlines in accordance with relevant local aviation regulations and the standards and guidance as stipulated by Annex 6 to the International Civil Aviation Convention. The relevant civil aviation regulations, international standards and guidance have specific requirements in respect of the technical skills, professional ability and physique of the flight crew to ensure aviation safety. The nationality or origin of the crew is not a factor for consideration.
(c) To maintain its competitiveness and provide safe and appropriate services to the travelling public, an airline will take into consideration its operating needs, customer requirements and business strategies when deciding its human resources policies. Given the operational needs of the aviation sector, it is an industry-wide practice to employ crew members with different nationalities. There are no indications that CX is outsourcing its local jobs to overseas. We believe airlines will strike a balance between operational efficiency, legal compliances, service quality and staff requirements when making plans on resources deployment.
Ends/Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:01
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