Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen described the action of the Air Line Pilots Association of Singapore to vote out their officials as a "very confrontational stance and very adversarial poise".

The pilots on Monday voted to sack all 20 officials, highlighting widespread dissatisfaction over the union's inability to fight management over steep wage cuts after travel demand plunged due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Sydrome (SARS) outbreak and the US-led war against Iraq.

"They have to ask themselves whether this is what they think will help Singapore as an air hub," Ng was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.

If Singapore loses its hub position, pilots and others would lose their jobs, Ng said.

"Baggage handlers, caterers, the infrastructure at Changi (Airport) and the whole industry that it supports will lose.

SIA, which suffered its first ever financial loss in the June quarter as travel was decimated by the SARS outbreak, laid off 26 pilots and 156 cabin crew as flight capacity was cut back by 30 percent.

In negotiations with management, the pilots' union agreed to a deal in which the salaries of captains were slashed by 16.5 percent and first officers by 11 percent.

The union also agreed that members would take up to two days of unpaid leave each month.

Disgruntled pilots however have have questioned whether the pay cuts and lay offs were necessary, and accused the union officers of failing to bargain harder.

Their dissatisfaction apparently boiled over when the airline announced a strong return to profitability in the September quarter. SIA booked a S$306 million (US$178 million) net profit for the quarter and has begun hiring again.

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