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A new round of layoffs at Air New Zealand is a “dire situation” and comes at a time when trust between the cabin crew and the airline is at an all-time low, says a union leader.
The national airline is causing around 935 international cabin crew to be laid off, including 550 previously licensed employees, as New Zealand border restrictions continue to affect passenger demand.
The layoffs come at the same time that an international industry lobby group warned airlines cannot cut costs enough to offset severe cash burns to avoid bankruptcies and preserve jobs next year.
Air New Zealand’s chief operating officer, Carrie Hurihanganui, said the airline reduced its hours in September as a result of falling passenger demand on international routes.
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He consulted with his remaining international cabin crew on further staff reductions.
That consultation was completed and the airline confirmed that it would go ahead with the reduction of approximately 385 roles.
At the same time, it decided to close a licensing agreement that it had in place with around 550 international cabin crew who had not worked since July, causing them to also be fired.
“Our international hours are still largely limited by border restrictions and, unfortunately, there are not enough flights to provide sustainable rosters for the number of international cabin crew that we have,” Hurihanganui said.
Lawrence Smith / Stuff
Most of Air New Zealand’s international flights are operated with its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
To take action against the 385 layoffs, it had to liquidate the license agreement due to the terms of two different collective agreements for the international widebody crew, it said.
“We are working closely with our unions to see if there is a different way we can provide this crew with a way back to Air New Zealand.”
About 4,000 staff members have lost their duties since the start of Covid-19, including 550 international cabin crew on leave, it said.
E tū union aviation chief Savage said 85 percent of the international cabin crew working in the Boeing 777 and 787 fleets had lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic.
“The new staff cuts made at Air New Zealand are a dire situation given that it is a vital part of New Zealand’s international trade routes and has received hundreds of millions of dollars in public money this year,” Savage said.
The laid-off 787 crew would lose their jobs just before Christmas, he said.
Hundreds of crew members opted for the company’s leave plan, according to which, instead of collecting severance pay, they went on leave without pay in the hope that when they resumed the flight, they could return and recover some employment benefits , said.
“E tū has proposed using the extended license without payment options and extending existing reemployment clauses as possible solutions, but the talks so far have not resulted in any agreement.”
Confidence between cabin crew employees and Air New Zealand was at an all-time low and when Covid-19 hit and the 787 crew was seeking possible strike action after lengthy collective bargaining negotiations failed to address concerns about payment, he said.
“This is what we feared when we noticed in March that Air New Zealand was making good progress regardless of the damage it could cause to labor relations. The damage and the conflict created will simply make it difficult to rebuild the airline. “
Air New Zealand President Dame Therese Walsh at the company’s annual general meeting said her decision to reduce its workforce by more than 4,000 employees was vital to the airline’s survival through the coronavirus pandemic.
In June, Air New Zealand said its initial job cuts of 4,000 employees were expected to drive savings of $ 350 million to $ 400 million a year. He also said that reorganization expenses had cost the company between $ 140 million and $ 160 million.
In August, the airline posted a loss of $ 454 million for the year June 30, the first time it has been in the red since 2002.
The executive director of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, said a new analysis showed that the global airline industry could not cut costs enough to neutralize the severe burning. of cash to avoid bankruptcies and preserve jobs in 2021.
Recovery had been slower than anticipated due to new Covid-19 outbreaks and government-imposed travel restrictions, including border closures and quarantine measures.
Traffic for the full year 2020 was forecast to decline 66 percent, compared to 2019.
“The fourth quarter of 2020 will be extremely difficult and there is little indication that the first half of 2021 will be significantly better, as long as borders remain closed and / or arrival quarantines are maintained.”
Total industry revenue in 2021 was expected to fall 46% compared to $ 838 billion ($ 1.26 trillion) in 2019.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand continues to hold 58 Chinese nationals working from its crew base in Shanghai.
Hurihanganui said those personnel were hired by Air New Zealand through a government agency in China called Foreign Airlines Service Corporation (Fasco).
It was a requirement of the Chinese authorities that Chinese citizens be hired through this organization, he said.
“However, Air New Zealand regards and has always treated this crew as Air New Zealand.”
None of his Shanghai-based team has worked since February and is currently suspended on a license-type deal with Fasco.
The Shanghai flights were being operated by New Zealand-based cabin crew.
In September, Savage said there was no operational reason for Air New Zealand to maintain a crew base in Shanghai.
“The Shanghai base has always tried to underpay the crew and devalue the role of the cabin crew,” Savage said.
“Outsourcing is a barrier to raising standards in aviation and it must end.
“When work comes back, you have to go back to the Auckland-based cabin crew,” he said at the time.
