Equal pay for equal work?

Competition for pilots is breeding unhappiness at pay disparities

Ho Chi Minh would be turning over in his mausoleum in central Hanoi. While industrial action by factory workers in Vietnam is relatively common, white collar staff disrupting business is almost unheard of… until now.

As the busy New Year travel season, the Lunar Tet holiday which fell on February 19, approached, state-owned national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) had a crisis on its hands. Some 117 of its pilots called in sick and a host of others said they wanted to resign. It was a pretty serious situation, considering the country’s Communist government regards work stoppages by cockpit crew as a defence issue. Not surprisingly, however, the disruption was the result of growing unhappiness among local pilots over their salaries and the fact foreign crew hired to fill a shortfall were getting nearly double the cash they were receiving.