A release from the SFWU this morning was riddled with errors that cannot be left unanswered.
Firstly, pilfering of baggage is not common at European airports where ground handling services are outsourced to multi-national providers.
Secondly, the implication that staff would not be entitled to overtime and allowances under the Swissport proposal is simply untrue.
Thirdly, Chief Executive Rob Fyfe did not say outsourcing was a "certainty" when talking to staff yesterday. He said there was an increased likelihood that outsourcing would occur given the SFWU and EPMU would not work together to achieve a comparable proposal to outsourcing.
Fourthly, Mr Fyfe said many staff who transitioned to work for Swissport would receive the same or higher pay.
Fifthly, a move to outsourcing will not see the workforce deskilled. In fact, the workforce would be upskilled because Swissport requires a higher level of skills for many jobs to meet its world-class standards.
Group General Manager People Vanessa Stoddart says the SFWU must remember that if outsourcing goes ahead, Swissport is committed to transitioning as many Air New Zealand staff as possible into its workforce. So when SFWU says that staff may pilfer from baggage, it is talking about its own members, and our current employees.
Outsourcing airport ground handling services is nothing new for Air New Zealand.
"We outsource the work at many of our regional New Zealand airports, all our Australian airports and other key offshore locations, such as Los Angeles and London," Ms Stoddart says
ENDS
Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs
NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.
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