Airline calls for talks to avert strike

Press, 13 April 1989, Page 6

Airline calls for talks to avert strike

By

GLEN PERKINSON

Air New Zealand has called informal talks with the Air Line Pilots’ Association, giving hope that tomorrow’s 10hour strike will be called off.

The association’s vice-president, Captain Geoff Ogilvie, welcomed Air New Zealand’s initiative last evening but said the strike, planned for 5 a.m. until 3 p.m. tomorrow, was still on. If Air New Zealand’s initiative was to return to formal negotiations then the industrial action would be called off. The talks, at the association’s Auckland headquarters, will begin at 11 a.m. The association had given employers a deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday to come up with a better offer in the stalled award talks. The pilots want an industry award rather than individual company agreements. Meanwhile, in Sydney thousands of domestic and international air passen-

gers had travel plans disrupted for the sixth night in a week. Overtime bans by air traffic controllers closed Sydney airport last evening after the air traffic controller’s union voted to defy an order to lift the bans. The air traffic controllers want more staff. The employers’ order to stop industrial action said it was reasonable that air traffic controllers worked seven hours overtime each fortnight. On Tuesday more than 4000 passengers had their travel disrupted. Many aircraft were diverted to Brisbane Airport where its air transport services manager, Mr Bob Davies, said conditions were “chaotic and like a supermarket car-park.”