28 March 2007

No threat to Air NZ jobs in outsourcing

Reports that 400 jobs would go if Air NZ decided to outsource airport services to Swissport are wrong.

Air NZ predicted that about 30% of its staff would choose to take redundancy and would not accept jobs with Swissport on lower pay and conditions. Swissport would replace these long-serving and experienced staff with new workers on lower pay and conditions.

Service and Food Workers Union Regional Secretary Jill Ovens says that is exactly what Air NZ plans to do if its "in-house proposal" is accepted.

The issue has always been about saving $12 to $20 million in labour costs, she says.

"Our members have successfully resisted the attacks on their Collective Agreement. It remains in force until 30 June and for another 12 months after that, or until we conclude a new Collective Agreement."

She says that Air NZ needs the more experienced staff who are members of the SFWU as the company cannot run Auckland International Airport without them.

Air NZ announced in its half-year results that the company had saved $63 million in "labour productivity gains" in the cutbacks in heavy engineering and corporate services.

"Jobs were lost in the case of heavy engineering, but since then, the company has been hiring new engineers on the cut-down conditions."

ENDS

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