Human Rights Complaint Results in Plan of Action

MEDIA RELEASE
9 December 2004

Human Rights Complaint Results in Plan of Action

Six months after CCS lodged a class action complaint to the Human Rights Commission, as it believed Air New Zealand had breached the Human Rights Act, the airline presented a plan of action to address issues resulting from its lifting policy.

The plan included the trialling and, if successful, the introduction of new lifting equipment as well as staff training to ensure the consistent application of the existing policy. The plan will be implemented over a six-month timeframe.

Air New Zealand acknowledged that their lifting policy had affected more passengers than originally intended and will be taking measures to ensure that it is implemented correctly.

“I’ve been effected by this policy wrongly and Air New Zealand has acknowledged that. I look forward to working with them to improve the application,” said Rachel Mullins, a frequent flyer and wheelchair user.

CCS, Disabled Persons Assembly and Air New Zealand agreed that the meeting had continued well on the progress made since they first met and to continue informal discussions outside the forum.

“We should congratulate Air New Zealand on taking the step forward and we will be watching to ensure the plan is implemented with the disability community, “ said Viv Maidaborn, CEO of CCS.

ENDS

© Scoop Media