Striking Airbus engineers claim they're having to use foodbanks and sell possessions to pay the bills – Stuff

Airbus aircraft engineers at RNZAF Woodbourne are having to use foodbanks and are selling their possessions just to make ends meet, a union worker has said.
The union is in a long-running pay dispute in its ninth week.
The engineer, who wanted to remain anonymous, said there were about 100 unionised staff at the airbase who were taking strike action over pay demands as the cost of living crisis continues to hit homes and pockets.
“We’ve just renewed another strike notice, so we’ll continue on with that. It’s essentially around wages to keep pace with the CPI (Consumer Price Index) and inflation, because otherwise, essentially we’re all going backwards.
“A lot of our guys, like everybody else, are starting to hurt. We’ve got a number of people, particularly the younger ones who are reasonably new into mortgages, and with interest rates and the price of everything skyrocketing, they’re really starting to hurt now.”
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“A number of them have already gone out and got themselves a second job, and have got to the point where they’re having to sell things. It’s got pretty dire for some of our people.
“We’ve set up a foodbank where we’re donating food and bits and pieces so that we can help some of our guys out who are really struggling, and times have got that dire because this has dragged on for so long now,” the worker said.
Airbus engineers based at RNZAF Woodbourne maintain the airforce’s aircraft including a fleet of C-130 Hercules that are often used to transport aid supplies to regions around the world affected by disaster or conflict.
Another worker said the strike action had resulted in two of the C-130 Hercules being left grounded. The RNZAF’s entire fleet of C-130 Hercules consists of only five aircraft meaning only 60% are operationally ready.
“We have been in industrial action since the middle of July. This has included no overtime, no working away from base, and a few other things.
“After no movement from the company for several weeks now, we’ve ramped up the action again with the refusal to work at heights, on elevated platforms or in confined spaces (such as) fuel tanks.
“This will mean that unless the issue is resolved we have two aircraft in our hangar that won’t be departing,” he said.
Meanwhile, E tū Union Aviation Organiser Damon Rongotaua, who is leading the negotiations said the pay talks needed to be resolved as soon as possible, both for the workers and to enable New Zealand to play its part on the world stage.
“The biggest contract for our engineers at Airbus is the RNZAF, so our capacity for helping in the Pacific with aid and search and rescue is greatly reduced.
“Our members at RNZAF Woodbourne are the guys that make sure those planes can fly to the South Pacific to help out and drop off much-needed supplies post-hurricane, or go out looking for lost boaties and so forth in our territorial waters.
“I know full well that if there was another natural disaster or an emergency somewhere, then it’s more than likely to have the same situation again where they will have to borrow C-130 Hercules from Australia. It’s happened before,” Rongotaua said.
In 2019, all of RNZAF’s C-130 Hercules were temporarily forced out of action due to mechanical failures, which resulted in Australia having to take on the immediate disaster relief burden from New Zealand, following a deadly earthquake in Papua New Guinea.
At the time, the then Defence Minister Ron Mark said the situation was "embarrassing", and not reflective of the NZDF’s skills and professionalism.
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