Flight attendants working on Air NZ flights to Australia (except Perth) and the Pacific are on strike/locked out for four days from Thursday 7 May.

Although they work on Air NZ flights, wear Air NZ uniforms and deal with Air NZ passengers their legal employer is a wholly owned Air NZ subsidiary, Zeal 320 Ltd. This outfit was set up when Air NZ started Freedom Air as a budget airline flying the Tasman. Flight crew working in the budget airline were all employed on massively inferior terms and conditions compared to other Air NZ staff doing the same work.

At the beginning of last year, Air NZ canned Freedom Air as a brand and returned solely to full service flights across the Tasman and around the Pacific. Some Freedom Air staff were put on terms and conditions consistent with standard Air NZ terms. But the flight attendants were left on their inferior terms, around 30% below what other flight attendants doing the same work get paid.

The difference now between a Zeal flight attendant and an Air NZ flight attendant doing the same work is literally thousands of dollars a year. The Zeal base salaries are lower. Zeal crew do not get overtime. They don’t get loadings based on sectors they fly. They get a reimbursing allowance to cover out-of pocket expenses and they have a unilaterally-imposed performance pay scheme under which the maximum reward is either $8000 or $10 000, depending on the grade they’re on. Last year, the crew were paid less than half the possible maximum performance pay.

The Zeal flight attendants would like pay parity with other Air NZ flight attendants. This would make for a huge jump in incomes and in cost for the business. In the course of negotiations the crew have moderated their demands. While they are no longer seeking parity, they are seeking a fairer deal than they’ve got at the moment. But Air NZ isn’t budging.

Justice and fairness

This is a very basic argument about justice and fairness in wages.

Even if Air NZ could justify lower wages and conditions for these crew when they were flying a budget brand airline, they can’t justify it now. These crew do exactly the same work, receive exactly the same training, use the same skills, discharge the same responsibilities and are required to meet the same quality of service standards as all other Air NZ flight attendants. Air NZ just thinks they should be paid thousands of dollars a year less.

Air NZ has said publicly that these crew are on incomes of between $41 000 and $60 000. This wrong. Base salaries start at $28 000 rising to $37 000 for a senior supervising flight attendant. They get a tax free allowance to cover the cost of meals, grooming, uniform drycleaning and other work incidentals – Air NZ  regards this as part of their income. Air NZ has also included the full value of its bonus scheme (either $8000 or $10 000) whereas only about 45% of it was paid last year.

Air NZ can afford to pay more. Although aviation, like all industries, is struggling, the fact is that Air NZ is still profitable and this year is forecasting a profit of $78 million.
Readmore at the EPMU, Facebook and zealgirl blog

Your support

These crew need your support. The EPMU is providing some financial hardship support, but of course more is welcome. Contact EPMU Union Support Centre 0800 186 466.

Crew will be picketing and rallying as follows:

Auckland (contact: Strachan Crang 027 590 0049)

• Thursday:  7-10am Fanshawe St opposite Air NZ head office, 12-3pm Auckland Airport International terminal
• Friday: 7-10am Auckland Airport International terminal
• Sunday: 12-4pm Auckland Airport International terminal

Wellington (contact: Glen Mitchell 04 387 4685)

• Thursday: 11am-1pm, Lambton Quay Holiday Shoppe

Christchurch (contact: John Kerr 027 584 6208)

• Thursday: 11am outside Air NZ Holiday Shoppe, Colombo St
• Friday: 8-10am: rally at the “totem” pole, last roundabout before entering Christchurch airport
• Sunday: 2-4pm rally at the totem pole (bring your mother)