The pilots have carried out three 24-hour strikes since August, resulting in losses of NZ$2.2 million for the airline (NZ$1.00=US$0.52). The Australian airline Qantas, which had been considering buying Ansett New Zealand, if it cut costs and replaced "unsustainable" employment contracts, has now shelved those plans.

Ansett, the smaller of the two main airlines flying New Zealand's domestic routes, is demanding these concessions as part of a $4.7 million annual cost-cutting plan. Already there have been cuts in staffing levels of ramp workers and flight attendants.

In response to the lockout notices, pilots began calling in sick, forcing the airline to cancel around 200 flights in the first seven days.

On September 3 government Transport Minister Maurice Williamson stepped into the dispute, suggesting that overseas pilots be brought in to fly the planes and offering to assist with their immigration procedures. "If the pilots are unwell they must be left in peace to convalesce," he said sarcastically. Ansett had earlier threatened to bring in such strikebreakers on three-month contracts. The International Federation of Airline Pilots has now placed a ban on pilots taking the Ansett jobs.

The proposed contract, which includes a NZ$12,000 signing bonus, has no written limit for flying hours. Ansett has said it wants to increase hours from the current 85 per 28 days to the Civil Aviation Authority limit of 100.

The September 13 strike date coincides with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in Auckland, for which thousands of police and support personnel are being flown in. The Airline Pilots' Association, which represents the pilots, is now planning a legal challenge to the lockout, and a fifth strike has been called for September 17.

The pilots' strikes follow a number of other actions around the country in recent weeks. On August 2, some 1,500 workers employed by appliance manufacturer Fisher and Paykel nationwide went on strike for 24 hours over their pay claim.

Five hundred nurses at Tauranga Hospital struck for two days September 1 over pay and staffing levels. Their counterparts at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton struck for three days in March. These strikes highlight the growing crisis in the public health system, with a nationwide shortage of nurses and consequent deteriorating levels of patient care and safety.

In mid-August 200 medical laboratory workers in Auckland went out for three days, demanding a 3 percent pay raise against the laboratory company's offer of 1 percent. A planned second strike was called off when they settled for 1.5 percent. Around the same time, 100 boatbuilders employed by Sensation Yachts struck for 24 hours for a collective contract. The company, which makes luxury superyachts, has grown from a workforce of 50 to 350 in 18 months. The workers, who picketed on the off-ramp of the nearby highway, are considering further action if their claims are not met.

Eight workers at an Auckland textile company forced their bosses to negotiate after two weeks on strike in August over a contract that would cut sick pay, bereavement pay, and jury service leave, and give only a 2 percent pay raise. The other 20 workers in the plant are working on individual contracts, which have been pushed on many workers in New Zealand since the passage of the 1991 Employment Contracts Act.

In Wellington, morning commuters watched as an armada of 30 small commercial fishing boats from around the North Island steamed up the harbor and docked downtown August 25. The fishers, members of the Federation of Commercial Fishermen, then marched on Parliament and confronted Minister of Fisheries John Luxton, protesting growing costs which, according to Federation executive member Dennis Wells, are forcing small operators out of business and costing jobs.

Meanwhile, the opposition Labour Party's September 7 announcement that it will repeal the anti-union Employment Contracts Act if it wins the coming general election was described by Employers Federation chief executive Steven Marshall as bringing alive employers' worst fears.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley has warned in recent weeks of a "unions' swing to the left" and that this, combined with plans to repeal the Act would be "bad news for New Zealanders." Labour plans to replace the Act with a slightly modified "Employment Relations Act."

Felicity Coggan is a member of the Engineers Union in Auckland.  
 
 
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