Flying the [Union] Flag

 With 11 years company service behind her, Carol Ng, along with two fellow stewardesses, Sylvia Fung and Cynthia Leung have long felt that British Airways' Hong Kong-based staff desperately needed representation.  

After months of hard work, the history-making British Airways Hong Kong International Cabin Crew Association (BAHKICCA) was established on May 1, 2003. The new union has expressed its intention to affiliate to the both the HKCTU and the Hong Kong Flight Attendants Union. Union Action (UA) caught up with Carol, the union's chairperson, in between flights.
　

 UA: What made you decide to form a trade union after all these years?

 Carol: We have seen many changes at BA Hong Kong over the years. Some good, some not so good. We felt that one of the crucial factors missing throughout all the changes was staff representation. The fallout from 9/11, SARS and the war in Iraq meant that most of us have seen our take home pay fall by up to 33 per cent as a result of major changes to job rosters. This really brought home to us that while BA is a comparatively good company airline to work for, we still need representation.

 UA: So how did you go about forming the union? 

Carol: It's been hard work. But at the same time I can say that we have had lots of support. In fact I have never met so many good people since I got involved with the union. We met with officials from BASSA, the British Airways UK-based crewmembers' union who were really helpful and provided much-needed guidance. Here in Hong Kong, we have received support from HKCTU and also the Flight Attendant's Union whose members are mostly at Cathy Pacific. There has been so much to learn. For example, just finding the right name for the union was a legal minefield. We spent a lot of time talking with the Hong Kong Registry of Trade Unions to make sure we didn't infringe any regulations.

 UA: What about getting colleagues to join the new union? 

Carol: There are 115 BA employees in Hong Kong. We started off with just ten of us and now 86 have joined. We are confident we can get the rest to join. For historical reasons, trade union consciousness – or even an awareness of what a trade union does – is not high in Hong Kong. At first, many colleagues said "Carol if I join the union, does that mean I have to go on strike". We explained that the whole point of forming the trade union was to get our voices heard. This would help the company to get through a difficult period. We think that trade unions are essential to industrial relations and can improve the job as a whole through our collective voice. It's all about communication.  

 UA: Have you have received official recognition from British Airways yet?

 Carol: Not yet, but all the indications are that they will formally recognise us in the near future. It's quite encouraging. India-based BA stewards and stewardesses struggled for nine years to get union recognition. It's been a lot of pressure for us, especially as the nature of cabin crew work means we are often out of town and this makes communicating with members difficult. We have made good use of the Internet and email and plan to have our own website.

 UA: What are chief issues facing you now?

  Carol: From the union perspective there are upcoming elections to organise and setting up a health and safety committee. We are also preparing to talk directly with management. There is a lot of work ahead of us. In Hong Kong even finding a regular, inexpensive meeting place can be difficult. However, we are optimistic that we can work towards growing into an effective and democratic trade union. And anyway, as HKCTU's Elizabeth Tang said when we met with her: "once you get involved in union work, it never stops!"