Wood said members had chosen one day of strike action, to occur this year.
He told Newstalk ZB aviation was deemed an essential service, so 14 days’ notice had to be given before the strike could happen.
Notice had not yet been provided, he said.
That would mean a strike would most likely occur some time from December 3 to December 17, as the week before Christmas was ruled out.
“Plainly the impact is really significant when it’s that number of cabin crew and across the whole network.”
Earlier today, he said during the action, international crew would be available to fly back into New Zealand so passengers were not stranded offshore.
“They worked through huge challenges, including job losses during Covid, and they deserve respect and a fair wage,” Wood said in a statement.
“Instead, they are not paid enough for what they do and the hours they work, with current guaranteed base salaries of around $60,000,” he said.
“Crew are expected to trade away hard-won conditions, while the company is in the middle of a $100 million share buy-back. It’s unreasonable, and our members have had enough.”
He said members were not asking for “executive salaries” but for a fair deal that reflected their skills, responsibilities and the real cost of living.
“Air NZ needs to come to the table with a proper mandate to settle.”
Wood said the union had hoped to avoid taking strike action by reaching agreement in ongoing negotiations.
“The best way to avoid any disruption is for Air NZ to sit down with us in good faith and negotiate a fair outcome, and we encourage people to send a message to the company showing their support for cabin crew.
“We’re ready to work hard in the coming weeks to reach a settlement and prevent any strike action. The company needs to do the same.”
Earlier today, Air New Zealand chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar said E tū told the airline there might be some industrial action.
“However, no formal notice of a strike has been received.”
Ravishankar said the airline was meeting with union representatives again this week.
He said meetings would aim to “progress efforts to reach a fair and sustainable agreement that recognises the important work our crew do”.
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