Dragonair is discriminating against locally hired pilots through policies that result in expatriate fliers receiving up to twice as much in their pay packets, its pilots' union claims.
The pay arrangements for local versus expatriate pilots are so different that it violates the company's own anti-discrimination guidelines, the Dragonair Pilot's Association claims in a letter sent to the airline's management and obtained by the Sunday Morning Post.
The letter was sent at the request of the airline, which has been locked in a long-running dispute with the union over the issue of local pilot remuneration.
While both local and expat pilots receive the same base salary, the union is unhappy that allowances paid to expatriates mean their packages end up dwarfing those of local colleagues.
'Despite being similarly qualified and experienced, direct entry first officers employed on local terms will receive less than half the overall remuneration of their peers on expatriate terms,' the letter claims.
'Even as captains [local hires] can still receive less than expatriate first officers.'
