KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand's Shanghai-based flight attendants are paid a quarter the salary of their NZ colleagues - less than the legal minimum wage here.
The Chinese attendants - who work side-by-side with New Zealanders on flights between Auckland and Shanghai - are also paid only a third of the allowances given to their Kiwi counterparts while they are working away from home.
Six Chinese Air NZ flight attendants told the Weekend Herald there had been "growing unhappiness about money issues" among staff.
One described the situation as "staff being disgusted at being treated like monkeys and being paid peanuts".
She and the others, who have all asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, say there is increasing resentment over the pay gap between Chinese staff and their Kiwi counterparts.
A former China-based attendant, Crystal Zeng, said: "I remember feeling the pain when I see the others being able to go out to party, while we don't even have enough money for movies and McDonald's."
Air NZ, which is 76 per cent-owned by the Government, said last night that the Chinese crew were employed by a company in China, and it was unfair to compare the salaries.
NZ flight attendants have a starting base salary of at least $24,000 a year.
A source said crew also got $170 for each day they spent overseas, plus other flight allowances, which could add up to $15,000 a year.
The Chinese have an annual wage starting at $6240 and a daily away allowance of $55.
One Chinese air stewardess said her monthly base salary was $520 and she got an extra $4.30 for every hour of flight time. This totals much less than New Zealand's legal minimum wage of $11.25 an hour.
Air NZ said it did not have to pay the minimum wage because the staff were on secondment from a Chinese company, Fasco.
But each has a New Zealand work permit giving Air NZ as the employer.
"We were led to believe that we will be working for Air NZ, then after we are successful, they drop the bomb telling us we are to sign a contract with a Chinese company and will be employed under Chinese terms," one air stewardess said.
Another, a NZ resident who completed her education here and applied for the position in New Zealand, thought it was just "bad luck" that she had a Chinese passport. She said: "If I were Kiwi, I would have been paid a lot more for the same work I do."
Air NZ's group general manager, Ed Sims, said it was unfair to compare salaries of the Chinese crew with the locals on an hourly-rate basis because the wages were set based on "local market relativity".
"Anyway, we don't set the pay, Fasco does, and our contract is with Fasco and not the individual," he said. "I believe Fasco has set salaries based on the market relativity in China."
The Department of Labour, which oversees immigration, said it was aware that Fasco was the employer of the Chinese staff, but would not say why Air NZ was shown as their employer on the permits.
A department official also refused to comment when asked if this would set a precedent for companies wanting to flout New Zealand employment laws or avoid paying the minimum wage.
Ms Zeng has engaged former immigration minister Tuariki Delamere in a bid to regain the work permit she lost when she left Air NZ.
The airline started hiring Chinese staff when it began flying to Shanghai in November 2006. It is seeking more for its flights to Beijing, which will begin before the Olympics.
Prime Minister Helen Clark last night referred questions to Finance Minister Michael Cullen. He referred the Weekend Herald to State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard. His office did not return our calls.
WAGE GAP
China-based flight attendants:
Annual base pay $6240.
Hourly rate (Herald calculation based on 40-hour week): $3.25.
Daily allowance on long-haul flights: $55.
New Zealand-based flight attendants:
Annual base pay $24,000.
Hourly rate (Herald calculation based on 40-hour week): $11.54.
Daily allowance on long-haul flights: $170.
