=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/02/24/f= inancial2208EST0325.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, February 24, 2003 (AP) Qantas and Air New Zealand staff strike in two separate pay campaigns (02-24) 19:08 PST SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Hundreds of fllight attendants at Australian flag carrier Qantas staged a 14-hour strike Tuesday, while Australian employees of Air New Zealand also walked off the job for half a day in separate strikes aimed at pushing wage claims. About 800 Qantas international flight attendants stopped work as part of= a campaign for a 7 percent pay rise. Flight Attendants Association of Australia Assistant Secretary Michael Mijatov said members were discussing their next step at meetings in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and could extend the strike beyond the slated 2 p.m. (0300 GMT) finish time Tuesday. Qantas, which was warned of the strike last week, employed contract labor to replace striking staff and said Monday all of its international flights would operate normally Tuesday. Domestic cabin crews are not involved in the strike. A Qantas spokesman was not immediately available Tuesday to give details of the strike's impact on passengers. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand's 90 staff members in Australia walked off the job for a half-day strike following the breakdown of pay negotiations between the Australian Services Union and the airline. Air New Zealand staff planned to rally outside the airline's Sydney offices and scheduled another half-day strike Wednesday. Australian Services Union assistant secretary Kristyn Thompson said Air New Zealand's Australian staff were angered by a leaked memo indicating the airline's managers will be given performance bonuses and pay rises. "Some of these managers have sat across the table from our negotiators a= nd insisted that workers who have not had a pay increase since 1999 take another 12-month wage freeze while they themselves are about to get a pay rise," Thompson said. "The hypocrisy is staggering." Air New Zealand management was not immediately available for comment. La= st week, an airline spokesman said the two half-day strikes would cause minimal disruption to services. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP