7 April 2007

Air NZ Chief earns nearly $1 million a year

Intimidates workers for holding onto conditions

Air NZ CEO Rob Fyfe earns $950,000 a year, according to a NZ Business Herald Executive Pay survey released today [Saturday, 7 April].

This puts him in the top 20 earners among New Zealand CEOs.

SFWU Northern Region Secretary Jill Ovens says Rob Fyfe earns in a fortnight what many check-in staff earn in a year, and the revelation of his exorbitant pay has angered members.

Air NZ recently announced a handsome $109 million half-year profit which included $63 million in labour cost savings achieved mostly by cuts in overtime and conditions in heavy engineering.

The company announced last week that the total savings, including the latest labour cost savings in airport services, would amount to $320 million a year.

Ms Ovens says that money comes directly out of workers' pockets.

She says SFWU members are coming under sustained pressure from management as a result of their stand to resist cuts in their conditions at a time when their Collective Agreement is still in force.

"Over the past week, Air NZ managers have been approaching our members to either accept an individual agreement or join the EPMU.

"They've sent individual letters to our members' homes, and distributed 'change of detail' forms with an attached slip telling our members how they can resign from the SFWU."

The letters tell SFWU members that new team managers' positions will only be available to EPMU members or non-union members.

"This is completely false. They cannot discriminate against our members on the basis of their union affiliation."

As well, Air NZ has written to the SFWU signaling a change in members' roster patterns.

"It's all part of management's campaign to intimidate our members. But it won't work," Ms Ovens says.

The SFWU held a public meeting last Wednesday at which members of other unions and community supporters resolved to form a Solidarity Committee to help SFWU members defend their conditions in upcoming negotiations to renew their Collective Agreement.

"Those attending demanded an end to the discrimination and intimidation of SFWU Air NZ members."

END

© Scoop Media