Disruption unlikely to Easter flights

Press, 12 April 1979, Page 1

Disruption unlikely to Easter flights

PA Wellington Threats of further airport disruption during Easter were defused yesterday in talks between the Federation of Labour and the Inland Revenue Department. Notice of industrial action given by airport engineers — who have already struck before in Christchurch — expired at midnight. But the president of the Federation of Labour (Sir Thomas Skinner) said yesterday that he had recommended that there be no hold-ups at Easter. The engineers gave notice of action over the decision by the Inland Revenue Department to tax their travel allowance. They closed Christchurch Airport for four days last week and were set to disrupt Easter air travel nationally until an urgent meeting called by the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) last Monday set up meetings between the F.O.L. and the department

last Wednesday and yesterday. Yesterday Sir Thomas, the secretary of the F.O.L. (Mr W. J. Knox) and the Engineers’ Union national secretary (Mr J. Boomer) met the Commissioner of Taxes (Mr T. M. Hunt) in Wellington. They will meet again on April 23. Mr Hunt said the F.O.L. submissions tried to cast doubt on the legality of the department’s actions. “I was happy with the meeting to the extent that further material has been put forward as to whether the legal stand is the correct one,” said Mr Hunt. Air New Zealand domestic flights resumed yesterday after talks late on Tuesday evening aimed at resolving differences between international and internal pilots. More than 3000 passengers are booked on 38 flights out of Christchurch today, after the pilots’ strike ended yesterday. The first flight from Christchurch yesterday

was a positioning flight by a Boeing to Invercargill at 12.15 p.m. Normal scheduled flights were resumed by late afternoon. A spokesman for Air New Zealand in Christchurch said that a few seats were still available for flights today, but bookings were heavy. Former National Airways Corporation pilots went on strike on Sunday night in protest about lack of action by Air New Zealand in formulating an acceptable seniority grading list for the company’s pilots. A pilots’ seniority list, ranking highly-paid DCIO captains down to Fokker Friendship first officers, has been at the centre of a long-running row ever since the N.A.C.-Air New Zealand merger last year. Talks involving pilots, the Labour Department, and Air New Zealand continued until 2 a.m. yesterday, when it was announced that the parties had agreed to go before the Aircrew Industrial Relations Tribunal yesterday afternoon. Travellers booked to fly in the three days of the pilots’ strike have not been automatically booked for later flights. An airline spokesman said yesterday that these persons should telephone for new bookings if they still wished to make their journeys. Others who had booked from midday on, and during the Easter period, were still booked, but it would be a wise precaution for them still to telephone to reconfirm their seats. The pilots’ stoppage cost Air New Zealand an estimated $BOO,OOO in lost revenue — $300,000 on each of the first two days and $200,000 yesterday. But it saved the cost of fuel, as well as the wages of the striking pilots for the time they were off work. The company said last evening that there was no question of the pilots’ being paid for their strike time.