The Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) says its staff at Air New Zealand are being pressured to leave the union and it is seeking urgent mediation.
SFWU Northern Region secretary Jill Ovens said Air New Zealand managers were threatening staff with dire consequences if they did not
leave the union by Monday.
Air New Zealand was urging members to join the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), which also has members at the airline, she said.
EPMU last month reached an agreement with the company, accepting pay cuts and 300 job losses, after Air New Zealand had planned to outsource 1700 ground staff jobs.
SFWU did not participate in the negotiations, opting instead to wait for the expiry of its own collective employment agreement in May.
Ms Ovens said SFWU members had been threatened with a lock-out and told they would not be able to apply for new team manager positions if they stayed in the union.
But Air New Zealand spokeswoman Tracey Palmer said the company had acted appropriately, in the best interests of its staff and it would not do any act that was unlawful.
Ms Palmer said some of the comments made by the SFWU were not correct, but would not comment further.
- NZPA
