Air NZ pay rates

The Herald reveals that Shanghai-based flight attendants are paid just one quarter of the salary of their NZ colleagues on board Government-owned Air NZ.

For staff actually working in Shanghai at check-in desks etc, of course they will be paid at local rates. But it does seem inequitable that staff on board the actual flights, doing the exact same job, get paid such a massive difference purely based on where they live.

Of course the cost of living in China is much much less, and I suspect even NZ$6,240 a year is a top tier salary in China. But the flight attendants also spent much of their time in NZ and have NZ work permits.

The incentive this gives Air NZ must also be to use as few NZers as possible on the Shanghai routes.

It will be very interesting to see if the rhetoric of the Government translates into any action.