Jetstar pilots seek lunch compo
Jetstar pilots will ask the budget airline for ‘‘significant compensation’’ after years of missed lunch breaks, the New Zealand Airline Pilots Association says.
In 2014 Jetstar pilot Richard Greenslade won a Employment Court decision against Jetstar over meal and rest breaks, but the Qantas subsidiary appealed the ruling.
On Friday the Court of Appeal ruled that Jetstar had failed to provide its pilots with mandatory rest and meal breaks as required under the Employment Relations Act (ERA) before it was amended in March.
New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA) acting president Tim Robinson said the ruling would affect about 200 Jetstar and Qantas subsidiary Jetconnect pilots.
If Jetstar chose not to appeal the Court of Appeal’s ruling then NZALPA would be seeking historic compensation for missed meals on behalf of pilots.
‘‘Clearly we’ll be looking for some financial compensation for the fact that these rest and meal breaks haven’t been given to them since Jetstar’s been operating in New Zealand."
Jetstar launched trans-Tasman services in 2005 and domestic New Zealand services in June 2009.
‘‘Going without rest and meal breaks for that period is quite significant,’’ Robinson said. ‘‘I would imagine it’s going to be fairly significant compensation.’’
Robinson would not say how much compensation was being sought.
The association had asked Jetstar to compensate pilots for the past four years, bu the airline had refused the request, he said.
Jetstar spokesman Phil Boeyen said the airline was reviewing the Court of Appeal’s decision and was yet to decide if it would seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Robinson said NZALPA would also ask Jetstar how pilots were going to be compensated in the future.
Under amendments made to the ERA employers did not have to give rest and meal breaks if breaks could not reasonably be given.
However, employers must compensate employees for lost breaks.
Robinson said Jetstar allowed for a lunch break between flights, but pilots often had to use that time preparing for the next flight and many pilots ate lunch on the flightdeck.
Economists are upgrading farmgate milk forecasts after being surprised by the fastest dairy price increase in five years.
Prices soared 16.5 per cent at the GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight, pushing the index to US$2568 ($4037) a tonne.
The third consecutive increase after months of falls is welcome news to struggling dairy farmers, with further rises expected as production weakens.
The key whole milk powder price was up 20.6 per cent to US$2495 a tonne.
There were 186 bidders at the auction, with 36,050 tonnes sold, up slightly from the 35,865 tonnes at the start of the month.
ANZ hiked its forecast payout by 50c to $4.25-$4.50 per kilogram of milksolids.
ASB’s bullish forecast was already at $4.50, and rural economist Nathan Penny said the bank had revised it to $5..
‘‘We’d expected a strong one, but it’s on the strong side of what we’d factored in,’’ he said.
Penny said much had been made of Fonterra’s decision to cut back on auction volumes, which had played a part in the auction result.
‘‘[But] the main story in town is the fact that production is shaping up to be materially weaker this season,’’ he said.
‘‘As that information is firmed up, we expect prices to kick on.’’
A poor spring had resulted in belowaverage grass growth, with an increase in slaughtering also likely to lower production.
Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard said the result could mean a recovery in dairy prices was solid.
‘‘But at the same time we still have to be cautious because we are into the season now, and a lot of the product’s already been sold and forward contracted at lower prices.’’
He did expect the latest string of results to mean a bounce back in payout for farmers later this season, even if the GDT lifts continued.