AUCKLAND, New Zealand—“Air New Zealand is ripping us off” was the message delivered loud and clear by 40 chanting flight attendants from Zeal 320 at a picket outside the main terminal at Auckland International Airport May 8. The action was one of several staged by workers as part of their fight for a contract, which would give them pay parity with cabin crew employed directly by Air New Zealand, the country’s major airline. The company locked out 240 flight attendants after their union, the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), gave a four-day strike notice.

Zeal 320 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air New Zealand. It was set up to supply cabin crew to Freedom Air, a budget airline also owned by Air New Zealand, at rates of pay and conditions considerably less than those paid to other Air New Zealand flight attendants. “We wear Air New Zealand uniforms and do the same job as Air New Zealand crew, but get between 30 and 40 percent less,” EPMU delegate Stratos Scanlan told the Militant.

Air New Zealand workers visited the picket line to drop off several boxes of donuts, along with a message that read: “To our brave Zeal crew. You are an example to all of us. One airline, one crew. Stand tall.”

—TERRY COGGAN