Well another sleepless night as I think about the the week ahead and how my bills are building up around me, not a lot I can do about this at the moment.
I do remind myself there are crew in more hardship than me, one lady I have heard about is living in her garage and renting out her house to meet the mortgage payments, not trying to single out fellow crew but her story does give you a realistic picture of what we at Zeal are being faced with everyday, this particular woman is on admin duties due to injury so she is having to live on just over $1000 a month after tax.
Our contract and the way our pay scheme works is we get a low income base salary, for a junior it is roughly $28-29,000 a year and a manager is about $35-36,000 a year and for every hour your flying you get $4.87 tax free as a duty allowance so if your injured and can’t fly or off sick or on your annual leave you have to live on your base salary for that period of time.
There is no room for error or any unexpected bills, a lot of the crew rely on eating aeroplane food as they cannot afford groceries, if you don’t do any flying as a junior you take home just over $360 a week after tax that’s less than most peoples weekly out goings (for everything)
So when people like our bosses at Air NZ call us greedy for wanting a larger increase in our wages, most people tend to get around 4% and we’re asking for 26% it looks horrific in a percentage but when you take 4% of the base salary we’re on it still isn’t livable with a 24% increase that would bring us up to the equivalent of our domestic counter parts at Air NZ.
If I work a ten hour flight duty, 5 days a week, I get my $360 after tax and $48.70 for every day, that’s a totall take home pay of $603.50 per week keep in mind dry cleaning the uniform, a pair of stockings for work costs $8 so if you snag one of those thats 2 hours of pay gone… then theres make up and petrol all requirements for work. our Air Nz counter parts have allowances for these…for us it’s all inclusive in our $4.87 per hour.
Once you take out the work related costs, your rent and basic foods that’s it, it’s all gone! these are the numbers circling my head all night and the incoming doesn’t add up to my out goings all I need is one electrical bill or a phone bill to upset this balancing act!
stressed out Zealgirl
infused Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 2:54 pm
dont get my wrong… I know what you’re saying, but if the company is acting this way and giving you such crap pay, why would you want to work for them even if you do get something better out of them?
the sprout Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 6:46 pm
great work zeagirl, hang in there.
zealgirl Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Far enough why would i want to work for this company with such bad morals? Well it comes down to two things, first I am deeply passionate about my job and so are all the employees standing up with me and how many people say they love there job? not everyone has the privilage to do a job they love so much. secondly if I walk away now it’s going to be left up to the next person to stand up to these corprate bullies….when will it end?
Doug Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 9:54 pm
If you go on strike for two weeks you loose $1209.00 if you happen to get an increase, how long will it take to make up the loss in earnings? Hope you are not being sucked in by a Union.
zealgirl Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 10:09 pm
fair enough comment not everyone likes the idea of a union, but the lose of $1209.00 is not the point it’s about fair pay and working conditions. You need to see the bigger picture here…..
Asher Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Solidarity with you and the other workers, zealgirl! It’s great to read this blog and get more of a personal feel for the struggle you folks are having against Air NZ.
There’s plenty of people out there supporting you all over the country, and a bunch of us will see you all on the picket lines tomorrow!
raved Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Solidarity Zeal girl will get out to the picket tmrw pm
William Said:
on May 6, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Doug, they’re taking four days of action not two weeks.
But even if they were. Say you’re on $35,000 and you get a 10% increase because of your industrial action. That’s $3,500 extra for every year you work there.
You’d make up two weeks’ pay in a couple of months.
You also forget that it’s about dignity. Not all of us are willing to just roll over and accept shit treatment. Some of us, like the people at Zeal, have the guts to stand up for what’s right. Obviously you don’t.
Dina Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 9:33 am
Striking is not cool UNDER ANY circumstances! It is nothing but blackmail.
There is a recession on out there – be glad you have a job you LOVE so much and wait for better times when the economy allows for Air New Zealand to be more generous.
Salary comparisons are useless unless clearly defined – you get less than who? Long haul crew with many years experience etc, etc
Go to work
zealgirl Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 11:06 am
Striking is what happens when all else fails, yes we are in a recession….just days ago Rob Fyfe was being interviewed by Paul Holmes clearly saying “yes the company is profitable”…..so there no excuse! We want pay equivilant to Domestic Air NZ we work the same as them contractually we do even longer days…..We get paid thousands of dollars less than them.
We can’t go to work, Air NZ have LOCKED US OUT!
I understand everyone is entitled to there opinion but Dina you should do some research about the situation before you start telling us to give it up.
Dina Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I did not tell you to give it up. I said that striking is NEVER the way forward and that you guys should therefore go to work (when the 4 days are over) and stop threatening with yet more striking. Most people would gladly have a salary increase and it’s only fair that you are negotiating for one.
BUT a company being profitable does not equal a company that can increase salaries to the level staff deem necessary. Your industry is extremely volatile to world events and therefore an industry that need money in cash reserve.
The news have been full of stories on airlines (including Air NZ) having had to cut capacity dramatically over the last 6 months to balance demand and supply. Long haul crew were let go….no salary increase for them, not 4%, not 26%.
Victor Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Striking IS the way forward. And it is EXTREMELY COOL. Especially this group of workers.
If the “Dina-saurs’” of the world had their way, you know what?
We’d still have children working in factories.
We’d still have no holidays.
We’d still have no rights, no security and no unity . . .
(I know the National Party is trying desperately to get us back to the Bad Old Days)
These things weren’t handed out by nice men in suits. They were fought for tooth and claw by workers – the people who make the money for your precious corporations – and by unions and political action.
This is about sticking up for your class THE WORKING CLASS – not the “First Class”. The CEOs will continue to get paid millions no matter what. The “recession” is because this layer of parasites have wrecked the global economy through their greed and incompetence. Now they expect us to pay the price.
KEEP UP THE FIGHT! Congratulations. Don’t listen to the knockers – they will be happy to collect all the benefits that you win – but that’s just life.
Louise Said:
on May 17, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Good on you ZealGirl
And you are 100% right. We would all be living like they do in the 3rd world if it hadn’t been for unions.
Improving pay conditions for a large group of workers in the west has created a huge market of people with cash. Everyone wants to sell their stuff in the west where workers can afford to buy it. These corporates who try to reduce pay must realise surely that if workers cannot buy lthen they have no market. Idiots really.
This blog is very nice.
Dayle Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Oh Dina – the basic fact of the working persons life is that ultimately their labour is all they have to bargain with! It’s all very well sitting around a negotiation table for 8 months trying to make a big company be reasonable but when it comes to the crunch striking is a last resort. No-one wants to strike – but the way air nz is treating these workers is abysmal! They are constantly skewing the figures to try and make it look as though they are being paid more and then trying to con the NZ public into thinking they are asking for too much or being selfish by wanting better conditions. What a load of bovine excrement from Air NZ! As for the anti union comments – try and remember what happened in the 1990’s when unions were written out of legislation – we lost penal rates in many jobs, casual employment was rife and working conditions and pay relativity crumbled! We have a lot to thank unions for and it’s about time people stood up, joined a union and started showing a spine to improve their working lives! Good on you Zeal girl and your fellow union members – you deserve the same allowances and pay as your colleagues – AirNz are just trying to find ways of keeping you down. Good luck, solidarity and stand strong – KIA KAHA!
zealgirl Said:
on May 8, 2009 at 10:45 am
Longhaul had cut backs as they have a certain number of flight attendants for every aircraft in use…this is crew and the stand by crew needed per aircraft in use everyday….as a couple of 747 have been taken off the long haul fleet there was not need for all the surplus crew…..there agreement hasn’t been ratified yet and when it does they 10% pay rise over three years!
Nikki Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Dina – I’m pretty sure 7 months of negotiations prior to strikes is more than enough time for AirNZ to get themselves sorted.
I’m pretty sure you can compare staff that are doing exactly the same job but are employed in different ways that means that one can be completely exploited.
Recession schmession. That is no excuse for screwing workers… in AirNZ or anywhere else.
Keep rockin’ Zealgirl!
John A Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 2:21 pm
I went down to the picket for an hour or so today in Wellington and it was high energy and vocal with solid support from other unions visible. Good on you and your fellow workers for standing up for your rights. It’s in the interest of all New Zealanders to see this through to a win for Zeal staff!
JK Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Dina you’ve been fooled by Air New Zealand’s company spin. Air NZ made tens of millions in profit last year. Rob Fyfe’s 93% pay rise alone (from 1.6 to 3 million dollars) could pay each of the Zeal crew another $6000 each per year.
Even during this recession the company is swimming in money. Aren’t they just now looking at paying top dollar to redesign all the uniforms again?
Fact is they can afford to give these workers the fair deal they deserve but they’re refusing to. What other option is there but to strike?
You also talk of striking being blackmail. If that’s the case, what is the company’s lockout notice? And what was their (ultimately empty) threat to sack everyone and replace them if they went ahead with the strike?
Thankfully this kind of slave mentality is limited to just a few of the true believers at Air NZ who read the Koru Net as if it’s gospel. Try to think for yourself Dina, you’ll feel better for it.
Muzza Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 10:13 pm
I am sorry you feel hard done by, But if you do not like the conditions of your job, get a new one, You may be passionaye about it but if you are finding life so hard change jobs. I am sure no one held a gun to your head and forced you to sign an employment agreement. One wonders why the Labour Party President also know as head of the EMPU did not do something about it when Labour were in Power? Would it have caused them too much embarassment would it. I suppose that would not have been a good look, you know biting the hand of the mothership. I have always thought that the head of a union advocating a strike should forgo union pay for the duration as well. I mean you are on strike, he gets to look good on TV, and he is actually getting paid, and dare I say it a lot more than you.
If he really wanted to show solidarity he should forgo any pay as well for the strike period to give him greater motivation to settle or reach agreement.
zealgirl Said:
on May 8, 2009 at 10:32 am
Again I say you’re entitled to your opinion as we all are! You sound like you might be a corporate bully from the mother ship yourself……? No gun was held to any of our heads to sign your right…but we were told the only way to get into air new Zealand was through the Zeal contract…we were told zeal was an internal company name for the sectors we do, the public didn’t need to know about Zeal it was just for internal use…..anyway the agreement was not so bad until they changed our working conditions less trips away and more of there and back flights (double bangers) so our $4.87 per hour allowance was brutally decreased as the rosters changed into more slave labour hours….10hour flight 10 hours rest back to work to do it again up to 6 days in a row……
The HEAD of the UNION is paid to do a job! A job he is doing very well….as you said he looks good on TV
His pay is funded by our union fees; there is no need for ridiculous comments like that….
Stronger together!
Dayle Said:
on May 8, 2009 at 10:49 am
hey – Unions are about democracy – no union i have ever belonged to would go into any industrial action ,including a strike, unless the majority of members involved voted to do so. the union officer is only the mouthpise of the workers – they provide the employment relations expertise and support they certainly don’t advocate a strike! as i said before – noone wants a strike but when the only power you have is to withdraw your labour then that’s sometimes how it has to be. Good on you zeal crew – it’s not easy being locked out or on strike – I note the employer using similar tactics to other corporations by locking you out – so much for AirNz being an ethical nz company
William Said:
on May 7, 2009 at 11:24 pm
God Dina think for yourself for once.
JK Said:
on May 8, 2009 at 10:50 am
As Zealgirl will confirm the Zeal crew only joined the EPMU last year. This is their first negotiations as EPMU members and as I understand it their first since the AOC was transferred to Air NZ.
This has nothing to do with politics. The union hasn’t mentioned the government once. This is about standing up for a fair deal. Muzza you’ve obviously never been an EPMU member before, it’s run democratically and members make the decisions. What Andrew Little does in his spare time is his own business.
Dina Said:
on May 8, 2009 at 1:07 pm
As they say: when you have to get personal you have probably run out of valid things to say. Thanks for all the complimentary feed back.
I support the drive for you guys to get a salary increase but now that I realise that anyone who dares to not agree 100% with your ways must not be “thinking for yourself”, “blinded by corp BS”, “a corporate bully” etc, etc I’m thinking that the debate lacks maturity – have a look at the majority of views on the below link – more in line with your tones albeit not particularily supportive.
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2009/5/7/are-zeal-320-cabin-crew-getting-fair-deal-air-new-zealand/??c_id=113
Over and out
zealgirl Said:
on May 9, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I don’t know who said when you have to get personal you’ve run out of valid things to say……
just two things to keep in mind, you next time fly the tasman with us……if you ever choose to support Air NZ
1st if we dont get what we are asking for…..’to be equal to domestic’ it’ll go back to how it was 7 months ago…the average turn over of a zeal flight attendant in a junior role was 55 days now when you get on board remeber 3 of the 4 crew you have onboard will likely have less than 2 months experience each…now in an emergency I wouldn’t have much confidence in them…..it takes a good 6-12 months to have confidence in knowing what your doing!
2nd of all keep in mind over 50% of us have 2nd jobs so, we are tiered and exhausted having worked there first jobs all night and then come to fly you safely to your destination…they are probably slower if not asleep when it comes to being alert for take of and landing….this is called critical stage of flight majority of air accidents happen in critical stage……we’re either half asleep from fatigue if not completely asleep…and if it’s not the 2nd job doing this to them it’ll be the extremely long hours flying through the night with no crew rest that’ll do it to you our work conditions are absured……worked too death.,….it is looking that way!