Airline reshapes employee relations

Press, 13 July 1989, Page 5

Airline reshapes employee relations

By

DAVE WILSON

Air New Zealand is advertising for a manager to control its newly-formed employee relations group, but the airline says the move is not linked to recent industrial disputes with its pilots or cabin crews.

An airline spokesman, Mr Chris Destrieux, says the management vacancy is part of the restructuring of Air New Zealand, under which employee relations would become more regionally based. Employee - relations units would be based at Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland rather than concentrated in Auckland, as at present.

Mr Destrieux said the idea was to place indus-trial-relations personnel closer to the employee groups.

“By nature that must provide for better communications and less bureaucracy,” he said.

The move had no link with recent industrial disputes involving the airline.

“Our land-based industrial awards have been settled satisfactorily. It’s just that we have two groups (the pilots and cabin crews) who are quite vocal and receive a lot of publicity, and who also have a lot of clout,” he said.