Air union stonewalls

Press, 13 September 1988, Page 1

Air union stonewalls

PA Auckland The airline cabin crew union, the New Zealand Airline Stewards and Hostesses’ Union, is filing a High Court injunction to prevent Air New Zealand promoting six hostesses involved in a sex discrimination inquiry. A union spokesman said promotion. of the women contravened a seniority document signed by both parties last November. The union also believed the promotions were badly timed, because the Equal Opportunities Tribunal decision on discrimination had not been released. Seventeen Air New Zealand hostesses who said they were restricted in their positions be-

cause of their sex are claiming $1.5 million from the airline. The union spokesman said the company was ignoring the seniority document in promoting the six hostesses. "We believe these girls are not due for promotion under the terms of the document,” he said. “It spells out what length of time a cabin crew member must spend in each rank before moving up — it ensures no-one gets an advantage over anyone else. “We have instructed our lawyer to file an injunction to prevent these promotions and we have informed the company of our actions.” An Air New Zealand spokesman said the hostess affair was a

“highly emotive” issue. “The airline has taken the best advice available,” he said, “and based on that, we believe we should move now on these promotions.” The union has several times called for calm among members upset by tribunal evidence of sexual harassment of stewardesses. The four-month hearing ended in March, when the tribunal chairwoman, the Auckland lawyer, Hannah Sargisson, said it would be several months before a decision was announced. The tribunal secretary, Sandra Pritchard, said yesterday she did not know when it might be made public.