Air New Zealand strike called off

  • 13/12/2018

Air New Zealand has called off next week's three-day strike.

The decision was made at 10pm Wednesday after three days of talks between the airline and maintenance and logistics workers.

But E Tū union head of aviation, who goes by the name of Savage, says there is a lot of work to do.

"We've got to go out to our members first and we've got to let them know what that deal is. They've got to vote on that deal - they might not agree to it," he told Newshub.

"Both of the unions involved will be endorsing the agreement that was reached."

The strike, which stemmed from pay and working conditions, could have affected 120,000 travellers right before Christmas - December 21, 22 and 23.

Savage says both sides have to be realistic.

"In any bargain, neither party ever comes out of it getting everything they want, but obviously we've reached a point where we're comfortable taking the strike notices away."

Savage said passengers were top of mind during talks.

"Anyone who was travelling on those three days I think can take some reassurance."

Air New Zealand said the negotiations were conducted in good faith by both parties, helping avoid an untimely strike.

"We know how important it is to our customers to get where they need to be, particularly at this special time of the year, and the negotiating teams have been working diligently to achieve this result," said chief ground operations officer Carrie Hurihanganui.

E Tū says the strike would have been a last resort. If members vote down the deal, industrial action could be back on.

Newshub.