Air NZ aircraft cleaners may lose jobs

More than 120 people are facing possible redundancy as Air New Zealand considers outsourcing its aircraft cleaning.

The company is expected to announce on Monday whether it will outsource its aircraft cleaning at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The proposal would save at least $1.5 million annually and may affect 122 jobs, the airline said.

Any potentially affected staff would be given the opportunity to transfer to a new employer, or accept redundancy.

The bulk of the jobs are cleaners who service Air New Zealand and other airlines' aircraft cabins on the ground after passengers disembark, while planes are being readied for their next flight.

"The proposal to outsource the work is simply based on the fact that it would allow us to save more than $1.5 million a year. It is not a reflection on the quality of the work carried out by our staff," Air New Zealand airport services general manager Paul Reid said.

The airline had been consulting with unions since last August about the future direction of aircraft cleaning, he said.

It already outsourced cleaning of its own aircraft at overseas ports and had conducted extensive market research, finding that there was no common pattern to the way other airlines handled cleaning.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Air New Zealand engineers will vote next week on a union proposal aimed at saving their jobs.

The airline originally planned to send both aero engine and wide body heavy maintenance to offshore providers, axing 617 mostly Auckland-based jobs.

A counter-proposal by the union proposes that the wide body heavy maintenance work remain in-house, through a combination of job losses and labour reform.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said the aircraft cleaners were gearing up to fight plans to contract out their work.

He said the airline seemed determined to replace the specialist aircraft cleaners with outside contractors.

"Mediation to settle this dispute has failed," he said.

"The company appears to be hell-bent on replacing its loyal and hard-working cleaners with contractors -- probably as a cost-cutting move."

Mr Little said the union had lodged court action over the proposal.

"This proposal, to replace permanent services with contractors, is a breach of the employment agreement and previous undertakings," he said.

- NZPA