SIA to roll back pilot pay cuts, with full restoration by end-2022

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) is gradually reinstating pilots' basic pay following pandemic-era cuts, with the wage cuts to shrink every quarter until salaries are fully restored by the start of 2023, Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported on Tuesday (May 3).

This is in line with a fresh agreement between Singapore Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association – Singapore (Alpa-S), the union representing the pilots.

Under an earlier agreement reached in September 2020, additional cuts to pilots' pay were in effect from October 2020 till March 2022, on top of a previous 10 per cent cut in the monthly variable component (MVC) of their salaries.

From Aug 1 last year, Singapore Airlines reinstated the MVC component for all its Singapore-based staff. As for the additional cuts to pilots' pay, wage restoration began in April and will continue each quarter, according to information obtained by Zaobao.

For example, the wage cut for re-employed captains was reduced from 50 per cent to 26.3 per cent in April. It will shrink further to 17.5 per cent in July and 8.8 per cent in October, with full restoration from next January.

For captains and first officers, the reductions vary by salary band, and cuts to base salary will also be adjusted based on flight hours.

For captains, the range of wage cuts has shrunk to 7.5 per cent to 9.8 per cent as of April, down from the earlier range of 15 per cent to 18.5 per cent. For first officers, the range has decreased to 2.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent, down from 5 per cent to 8.5 per cent before.

In response to queries from The Business Times, Singapore Airlines confirmed that it had signed a new memorandum of agreement with Alpa-S, taking effect from Apr 1, which "will progressively reduce the additional pay cuts to the basic salaries of the pilots over a nine-month period" through Dec 31.

"Singapore Airlines is grateful to all of its staff, including its pilots, for their sacrifices over the last two years that have allowed the Company to navigate the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic," said an SIA spokesperson.

Pay cuts for senior management and board members remain in effect, said SIA. These stand at 15 per cent for senior vice-presidents, 20 per cent for executive vice-presidents and 25 per cent for the chief executive, while board members take a 30 per cent cut in fees.

Singapore Airlines Group, which operates SIA and budget carrier Scoot, employs about 2,700 pilots and over 7,000 cabin crew. As of March, about 95 per cent of pilots and 90 per cent of crew have resumed flying.

With the resumption of travel, SIA began hiring cabin crew in February, ending a 2-year hiring freeze. SIA has no plans to hire pilots for now, while Scoot is actively recruiting more pilots, cabin crew, and ground staff, said Zaobao.