NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Airlines

Air NZ and unions reprimanded by judge

APNZ
30 Sep, 2013 06:16 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Air New Zealand wants to outsource the upgrade of its Boeing 777 fleet, says the EPMU. There will be 180 jobs going at its Auckland maintenance facility. Photo / NZPA

Air New Zealand wants to outsource the upgrade of its Boeing 777 fleet, says the EPMU. There will be 180 jobs going at its Auckland maintenance facility. Photo / NZPA

Air New Zealand and unions which represent its staff have been reprimanded by the chief Employment Court judge for failing to attend mediation for a dispute over collective agreements.

It was disappointing to learn that after an opportunity had been given to the parties to engage in mediation during March, it wasn't engaged, said Chief Employment Court Judge Graeme Colgan.

"The Court expects its directions to mediation to be complied with," he said in his judgement.

"Mediation was court-directed and so is a relevant factor when it comes to costs."

The question before the Court concerned whether collective agreements governing the employment of union members constrained or prohibited Air New Zealand from restructuring its aircraft engineering operations.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The cases were challenges brought by the Aviation and Marine Engineers Association and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union to a determination made by the Employment Relations Authority last November, which found in Air NZ's favour.

Repeated and substantial under-estimates of the hearing time required meant the case was unable to conclude in the four days originally set down, Judge Colgan said.

"Even a doubling of that hearing time in the following week did not conclude the case."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the early 1990s, Air NZ restructured its aircraft engineering operations into different specialised workforces, each of which focused on particular aspects of engineering work on aircraft, the judgement read.

"As a result of recent and prospective aircraft fleet configurations, Air New Zealand now wishes to have again a generic aircraft engineering workforce in which employees can be allocated to work across a greater range of aircraft which now require less maintenance than their predecessors and to have an engineering workforce which can undertake all forms of aircraft maintenance.

"These range from minor inspections of and repairs to aircraft at terminals between flights (generally known as 'line maintenance') to what has traditionally been known as 'heavy' maintenance in which individual aircraft are taken out of service for long periods for substantial scheduled engineering refurbishment."

Until now, aircraft engineers covered by a collective agreement known as 'the Purple Book' have performed exclusively line maintenance of aircraft.

Discover more

Airlines

Anger at Air NZ foreign pilot push

25 Jul 08:00 PM
Business

Air NZ supplies Team NZ's Cup rivals

07 Aug 05:30 PM
Airlines

Qantas launches new Auck-Perth service

14 Aug 03:15 AM
Airlines

Airport flags flying start to year

21 Aug 05:30 PM

However, last August Air NZ presented its employees with a proposal to disestablish the specialist line maintenance positions in favour of a single generalised aircraft engineering workforce.

The company's proposal is that about 219 specialist line maintenance positions will be disestablished but about 186 new generalist roles created - covered by separate collective agreements.

The airline expects the new roles will be taken up by engineers who are currently line maintenance engineers operating under the Purple Book.

Evidence showed Air NZ had sound reasons for its wish to restructure its engineering operations, and it had been able to give some assurances that employees' incomes may not be affected adversely - at least in most cases, Judge Colgan said.

But the evidence also indicated there were real issues of rostering and other employment terms and conditions which may have significant repercussions for employees and their families, he said.

The plaintiffs' applications for compliance and injunctive orders have been adjourned sine die [for an indefinite period] to enable the parties to negotiate - if necessary with the assistance of a mediator - variations to the relevant collective agreements.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Airlines

Premium
AirlinesUpdated

Jetstar in top 10 as world’s cleanest airlines ranked

08 Jul 02:21 AM
Business|companies

Qantas cyberattack: Potential criminal makes contact with airline

07 Jul 11:00 AM
Airlines

'Toxic management': Air traffic strike causes mass flight cancellations

04 Jul 03:41 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Airlines

Premium
Jetstar in top 10 as world’s cleanest airlines ranked

Jetstar in top 10 as world’s cleanest airlines ranked

08 Jul 02:21 AM

Sardine-class seating and newest jets help cut emissions but will they win people over?

Qantas cyberattack: Potential criminal makes contact with airline

Qantas cyberattack: Potential criminal makes contact with airline

07 Jul 11:00 AM
'Toxic management': Air traffic strike causes mass flight cancellations

'Toxic management': Air traffic strike causes mass flight cancellations

04 Jul 03:41 AM
Pacific airlines team up, four countries sign new trade and food deal

Pacific airlines team up, four countries sign new trade and food deal

04 Jul 01:13 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP