I think the tax assistance is based on the fact both Hong Kong and France will tax you on income you gain while living there. The tax assistance is designed to basically have you pay about what you'd pay if you were stateside. I may be mis-reading this--anyone smarter on tax ramifications or the LOA can pipe in here.
As a guy who would not go overseas anyway I have two choices:
Option 1--support my union MEC and vote for this thing. The benefit to me is the bid gets here sooner and perhaps I can upgrade or get more senior in my seat. I show "unity" and support for the guys who worked this out. Realize with our current CBA the company doesn't have to offer anything anyway, so take what we can get.
Option 2--vote against it. After watching the whole "accepted fares" fiasco develop and seeing how our company can read any contract between the lines to their advantage, I have doubts about anyone getting the "full COLA". I also think the rent verses own thing is more than a little bogus. Why penalize a guy who wants to invest some of that money in foreign real estate? If the company pays the money--who cares how the guy or gal spends it? I think the travel to/from at coach is pretty scuzzy. As someone pointed out, with the great European train system, I think the 100 nm rule to keep you on the plantation is bogus as well. Lux City is an expat friendly place--but you can't move there under this LOA. All of these may have some input from the host country, but overall it seems to me the company is just trying to get all it can in concessions from the crew force on the cheap.
Of course--lots of folks will say "just don't bid it". Well...I'm not going to. For those of you seriuosly considering bidding these FDAs, my question is "how do you want ME to vote? and why?" I don't want to throw you under the bus with ZERO extra benefits if you go over there, but at the same time I think with a little resolve we might be able to get a better deal. Is playing poker and holding out for more with the chance of getting nothing extra what you want, or do you want me to ink it?
Honestly--I think the MEC's input is pretty much useless to my opinion at this point. I don't see anyone from that crowd going over there, so I don't think they are going to go to mat on this unless we throw it back. So--the 40k question--sign this thing or risk getting nothing on a better deal? So who is going to Europe or HK and how do you want me to vote?