Victory for Zeal320 workers

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, September 1st, 2009 - 7 comments
Categories: wages, workers' rights - Tags:

A good outcome from the Zeal320 dispute. The deal doesn’t quite close the gap between Zeal320 workers and other AirNZ flight attendants but gets a long way there.

It’s scary going out on strike, not knowing when you’ll be back to normal work and pay. AirNZ played very dirty. Zeal320 workers’ rosters were purposely organised to decrease their allowances and for maximum inconvenience. The Zeal320 workers were painted as traitors in propaganda to other AirNZ workers – turning the ‘Air New Zealanders’ workplace cult against them. To my mind, that was extremely short-sighted of AirNZ. They were revealed as bullies and damaged their brand.

Now, the workers will just be wanting to get along with their jobs and AirNZ will be wondering why they didn’t just offer a decent deal in the first place.

7 comments on “Victory for Zeal320 workers ”

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  1. rainman 1
    1 September 2009 at 10:36 am

    “AirNZ will be wondering why they didn’t just offer a decent deal in the first place.”

    Nah. They’ll be waiting, and planning how to screw them over next time, once everyone has forgotten about this issue.

  2. the fonz 2
    1 September 2009 at 5:41 pm

    ahem,
    rosters planned for maximum inconvenience???????? so the airline should plan rosters around when staff want to work rather than when paying passengers want to travel.

    incorrect a mundo

    • Daveo 2.1
      1 September 2009 at 6:00 pm

      What a fool. Where there is shift work in an industrial dispute companies can structure people’s roster to reduce their hours and their allowances in a way that massively cuts into their take-home pay. When you’re on a low wage you really feel that, especially in a protracted dispute like this.

      It’s not about giving people rosters to fit with when customers are travelling, they’d do that already. It’s about distributing rosters in such a way as to financially punish people for belonging to the union. That’s technically illegal, but very hard to prove in court.

      You’ve got no idea boy, but that’s typical from Tory elitists who’ve never done a day’s shift work in their life.

      • Swampy 2.1.1
        5 September 2009 at 11:23 pm

        There’s plenty of games unions and employers can play with each other and often do. Like it’s hard to prove a “health and safety strike” is not a sympathy strike when members of another union are involved.

  3. the fonz 3
    2 September 2009 at 4:34 pm

    so clever dick, you’re telling that air nz roster on cabin crew when there are no flights (training aside)?
    If you know this to be happening, say so. otherwise I think you’re just guessing and actually know nothing about this.
    rosters planned for maximum inconvenience, gimme a break.

    • Daveo 3.1
      2 September 2009 at 4:51 pm

      They used strike-breakers and non-union labour for the good rosters, then gave consistently shit rosters to union members, particularly targeting union activists and delegates to hit their incomes. None of it worked in the end of course, but it’s typical union-busting behaviour.

      It’s got nothing to do with whether or not planes flew. You clearly weren’t following the dispute at the time, now you’re just embarrassing yourself.

    • snoozer 3.2
      2 September 2009 at 5:02 pm

      owned, fonzy, owned.

      Simple false premise on your part.

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