Cabin crew 'to clean planes'

A union leader says Air New Zealand is training cabin crew to clean its planes - a claim denied by the airline.

Air NZ wants to outsource its plane cleaning, but says all 113 workers will be able to keep their jobs on the same terms with a new cleaning company.

Andrew Little, national secretary of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, (EPMU) said yesterday that the airline had been trialling the use of aircraft cabin crew to clean its planes.

An airline spokesman said this was not true.

Air New Zealand said that all affected staff would be given the choice of transferring to the new employer on existing terms and conditions or accepting redundancy.

Auckland-based cleaners account for 70 of the workers, with 13 in Wellington and 30 in Christchurch. The EPMU, which represents them, has taken a legal challenge against Air New Zealand, saying it has breached their employment contract.

Three cleaning companies had been spoken to by the airline, which says it expects to soon make an announcement on a successful tender.

General manager of Air New Zealand Airport Services Paul Reid said the airline had been talking to unions since August last year about "the future direction of aircraft cleaning".

"We have been open, honest and fair in our dealings with the unions and we will vigorously defend any legal challenges," said Mr Reid.

The union had made a counter-proposal, but this would not deliver the kind of savings required.

It is the second bitter fight between the EPMU and Air New Zealand, as a crucial union vote looms over the plan to send heavy aircraft maintenance overseas.

Members are due to vote on a proposal this Thursday and Friday, with a final decision on the future of wide body aircraft to be announced next Monday.

One worker has told the Herald that many engineers had already elected to take voluntary redundancy, with at least 100 of the 500 workers already deciding to move on. He said opposition to the union-proposed plan from Christchurch engineering staff had been behind last week's decision to delay the vote.