Pilots will fly if Government calls in arbitrator from overseas union

Press, 11 April 1979, Page 1

Pilots will fly if Government calls in arbitrator from overseas union

Air New Zealand pilots will return to work if the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) arranges the appointment of an overseas arbitrator, says a spokesman for the Christchurch branch of the Airline Pilots’ Association (First Officer D. Offwood).

Such an arbitrator must be from the International Federation of Airline Pilots or from the United States Airline Pilots’ Association, he said last evening. “These organisations have a wealth of experienced people when it comes to settling the vexed question of seniority in mergers,” he said. The appointee would have a short time limit, perhaps one or two months, in which to make a judgment. "We would be prepared to accept that judgment as binding no matter how it came out,” said First Officer Offwood. There was nobody in New Zealand to whom the pilots could turn in order to get the question settled, he said. The Press Association reports that a meeting was in progress in Wellington last evening to try to get an agreement for the striking pilots to return to work. The meeting broke into groups after about three hours and the representative of the Airline Pilots’ Association (Captain J. W. Dickinson) was reported as saying that there had been no tangible progress. The pilots stopped work without warning at midnight on Sunday over dissatisfaction with the seniority issue. The 285 former N.A.C. pilots were dismissed as they failed to meet roster requirements but some have told Air New Zealand they are prepared to resume. Members of the Government and top Government officials are using Royal New Zealand Air Force planes, two of which brought leaders of the striking pilots to Wellington for last evening’s meeting. Each day since the stoppage began about 8500 passengers have been stranded. At the heart of the dispute is the question of seniority arising from the amalgamation of the

former internal National Airways Corporation with the foreign-going Air New Zealand. Pilots who fly the smaller planes on domestic routes want a seniority system that will give them an opportunity to move to the bigger planes on the international routes, with the much higher rates of pay. The Aircrew Services Tribunal, presided over by Chief Judge R. D. Jamieson, considered the problem and recommended a month ago that the issue be put to overseas experts whose decision should be final. No action has yet been announced on these lines. The Wellington meeting, presided over by the Secretary of Labour (Mr G. L. Jackson) was attended by leaders of the domestic pilots, the overseas pilots, and Air New Zealand. The pilots did not give the requisite 14 days notice of their stoppage as required in industrial law. They say that the lack of resolution of the seniority issue had caused a fall in morale of pilots to the point where it is a safety issue—not an industrial issue. In the opinion of the N.A.C. Council of the Airline Pilots’ Association, the strike was legal as the 14 days notice did not apply to strikes over safety, First Officer Offwood said. This point of view was supported by the Labour Department. When asked to explain what safety aspects had concerned the pilots, he said that this would involve explaining matters “going on behind the scenes within the company” which he was not at liberty to do. However, First Officer Offwood conceded that the issue was very much to do with the psychological effects of worry about the negotiations. “It has been having a serious effect on the morale and level of concen-

tration. It would be inappropriate for the good name of the airline to enlarge on that,” he said. The president and industrial director of the Airline Pilots’ Association had been present when the decision to strike was made, so the st’ike was neither wildcat nor illegal. The former N.A.C. pilots had been trying to get meaningful negotiations with the company for the last 15 months, but to no avail. Late yesterday, it was reported that the company had started withdrawing telegrams sacking the pilots. First Officer Offwood said that this action had helped greatly in getting the parties to the talks. Auckland branch members of the Pilots’ Association meeting yesterday afternoon “reconfirmed the principle and objectives of the current industrial action,” and said there would be no return to work until the terms and conditions of an independ-

ent arbitrator had been agreed on. The airline said it had made no decision on the superannuation of those domestic pilots who might be dismissed from 5 p.m. yesterday, and probably later re-employed. However, this undoubtedly would form part of the settlement discussions. Air New Zealand superannuation pay-outs can be substantia! — about $250,000 for a senior Boeing captain and approaching $500,000 for a DCIO captain with long service. | The Jamesair Company, based at Nelson, is reap- I ing the benefit of the pilots’ strike, says the Nelson reporter of "The Press.” Using three eight-seater j Cessna 402 twin-engined aircraft between Nelson ! and Wellington, the company flew an additional 10 1 return trips yesterday as well as the usual four flights it makes between the two centres. All flights were filled and passengers ! were being turned away.