Air NZ warns 400 airport jobs at risk

Air New Zealand has told unions the jobs of at least 400 of its 1675 airport workers are at risk if a fall in ground work for other airlines continues.

In a letter to unions yesterday, chief executive Rob Fyfe said the airport services business had lost several key contracts to provide ground-handling contracts for other airlines in the past year, which made up 45 per cent of the airport services' business revenue.

"At least 400 jobs will be lost if we can't arrest this slide, irrespective of what we choose to do with the services for Air New Zealand aircraft," Mr Fyfe said.

"My strong preference is to find an in-house solution for the future of airport services. However, to achieve that we need to make changes to the business so that it becomes internationally competitive and sustainable."

Last week Air New Zealand said it planned to contract out check-in and ground staff jobs at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch airports to international company Swissport, unless staff agreed to labour reforms.

In yesterday's letter, Mr Fyfe accused unions of giving "misleading or erroneous" information to media, The Dominion Post reported today.

He rejected claims by the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union and the Service and Food Workers Union that staff would take an average $15,000 pay cut under a new contractor.

Some staff would have their take-home pay cut, but others could get more under Swissport's proposal, he said.

Spanish-owned Swissport has said it could slash $20 million off Air New Zealand's ground work costs a year.

Service and Food Workers Union northern regional secretary, Jill Ovens, said that would amount to the 1350 fulltime-equivalent workers taking a $15,000 pay cut, mainly in overtime and allowances.

Meanwhile, unions representing the ground staff are consulting lawyers following reports the company may not have lost a ground handling contract for Qantas domestic flights after all.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union National Secretary Andrew Little said a report yesterday in The Independent Financial Review was completely different to what Air New Zealand had told him, both face-to-face and in writing.

In the report, an unnamed Qantas manager said Qantas had not terminated the contract for ground handling and the company was merely re-tendering it, as it had done two years before.

Qantas said it had given four months' notice now that the period covered by the tender was due to expire in February, so it wouldn't have to wait around if it did decide to change providers.

However, Air New Zealand gave the loss of the multi-million dollar contract as the reason for proposals to slash the payroll, Mr Little told NZPA.

"Air New Zealand is trying to make out the case for radical change, to airport services and the wages paid," Mr Little said.

"We need to clarify exactly what the situation is, and if it turns out they have been misleading us, to seek legal advice.

Air New Zealand declined to comment on the report.

- NZPA