KEY POINTS:
Air Nelson has won its last-ditch bid to stop workers from striking tomorrow.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) today withdrew its notice to strike after the airline applied for an injunction at the Employment Court.
The airline, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, argued the union's strike notice was defective . As part of an essential industry, the airline is entitled to 14 days notice ahead of a strike.
Air Nelson general manager John Hambleton said the airline took issue with the amount of definition and detail in the notice, and said there were also some issues around good faith.
Mr Hambleton said the airline had offered union members a three-year contract with a 3.3 per cent pay-rise in the first year, 3 per cent in the second and 3.4 per cent in the third, as well as individual adjustments for a number of staff.
A further 3 per cent incentive for all front-line staff would take effect from July 1 , he said.
EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said the court indicated today that it would grant an injunction, and gave the union a chance to withdraw the strike notice, which it had done.
The court had applied a very strict rule to the situation, but the real question was whether or not the withdrawal would change the union members' minds, Mr Little said.
"I'm pretty clear about whether or not it has changed their minds but we'll wait and see whether another strike notice is served in the next day or so.
"If all the employer has done is to delay the inevitable, I'm not sure what they've got out of it.
"We still hope there's an opportunity to fix the real issue which is getting a decent agreement."
Mr Little said union members wanted a two-year contract with a 5 per cent increase for the first year and 4.8 per cent for the second.
- NZPA
