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Welcome to the Flight Attendants & Related Services Association
NEW COLLECTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT PLANNED FOR NZ'S NEWEST AIRLINE With the recent news of Jetstar's growth in New Zealand, FARSA has itself been in growth mode with new Flight Attendants being employed at Jetstar signing up for membership. Already we are seeing issues arising, in particularly with duty time limitations and standby. However, acknowledging that the airline is new to the NZ market, it is understandable that there would be employment matters to be clarified. The negotiation of a Collective Employment Agreement is the best medium to clarify expectations and General Secretary Pete Bentley indicates that such expectations should be clearly defined and detailed to avoid problems in the future. When such expectations are clarified and therefore less susceptible to unilateral manipulation, employment problems are minimised. We reflect this practice with our new staff and delegates through the 'FARSA Faith Agreement' where we acknowledge everyone's individual difference in reasons for performing their roles and their differing expectations from us as their employer. We therefore manage them by exception with a view of gaining mutual trust. The rewards of this include engagement, loyalty and retention and when we complete performance reviews, the expectations of the Association as an employer is discussed and modified to suit the employee or delegate as well as the usual reviews of their own performance. This is the same attitude that we will take with any 'greenfield' Collective Agreements like Jetstar's except those expectations will obviously surround legislative compliance, health and safety in employment and fair working conditions with a view of developing the type of relationship of mutual benefits from the outset. Trying to achieve this with our existing Collectives is proving difficult as such expectations have not been clarified, and traditional manipulative practices exist in certain sectors.