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Maintenance talks on both sides of the Tasman
Both Qantas and Air New Zealand face testing times as talks continue with maintenance staff over the future of possible off-shore labour replacing home grown workers.
In NZ, day one of talks about the future of more than 600 Air New Zealand engineers ended with both sides still talking, says the union representing the engineers.
Air NZ and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) yesterday began four days of talks on the fate of 617 engineers, whose jobs are threatened by the airline’s plans to “outsource” heavy engine maintenance work overseas.
EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said the talks in Auckland had been convivial.
“We don’t want to say much while the talks are still going on unless we are well down the track,” Mr Little told NZPA.
“But we are satisfied with the talks after the first day and we are still talking.”
Meanwhile relations between Qantas and its maintenance workers are set to come under further strain today when the airline sits down with unions to discuss a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
AWU national secretary Bill Shorten said his union “got a clear mandate from our members” not to make any concessions to the airline.
“We’re not interested in a trade-off agenda,” he said.
The AMWU has warned it will not buckle to the airline’s “threats” of having to send work to Asia if it does not manage to cut the costs of its Australian operations.
“We are not going to capitulate to these threats,” said AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron.
Speaking from Beijing, Executive General Manager of Qantas Airlines, John Borghetti, re-iterated the line that as rising fuel costs continued to threaten earnings, the airline would continue to look for ways to cut maintenace and repair costs.
He said internal discussions on the subject with labour unions and other parties were expected to end in February.
“If we can achieve those goals with our own people, great.”
“If not, then we have to look at other options,” he said ahead of a news conference to mark the resumption of direct flights to Beijing.
Qantas has 6,900 engineering and maintenance staff – about 18 per cent of its 38,000-strong workforce.
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