240 flight attendants employed by Air New Zealand subsidiary Zeal 320 Ltd began four days of industrial action yesterday as part of their campaign for fair pay. The cabin crew gave notice of strike action and the employer responded by issuing a lockout notice for the same amount of time.

A series of pickets took place around the country yesterday. Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) national secretary Andrew Little said in a press release that the dispute is about addressing the unfairness that sees Zeal employees earning tens of thousands of dollars a year less than crew employed directly by the Air New Zealand doing exactly the same job.

The only people who are employed by Zeal 320 are these flight attendants because the company exists solely to exclude them from the terms and conditions other crew enjoy. Even their managers are directly employed by Air New Zealand.

The union also placed full-page advertisements in each of the country’s major daily newspapers to explain the situation to the public. The Standard has noted that last year, Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe got a 93% pay rise of $1.5 million, taking his annual salery from $1.6 million to $3.1 million. “It just so happens that 240 times $6,000 [the increase flight attendants need] is just under $1.5 million. So, if Rob Fyfe gives back his pay rise, 240 of his employees can get a fairer deal.”

Air New Zealand is certainly not short of money to pay their staff. A New blog by one of the Zeal flight attendants has been lanched to keep track of the pay dispute, and presumably to counter some of the misinformation being spread by Air New Zealand.