Air China Wrongfully Dismissed Staffer Who Would Not Join Smuggling Ring

The airline was ordered to pay nearly $50,000 in compensation.

An Air China's Boeing 737-800 taxis on the runway, at the Beijing International airport, 11 May 2005. China Southern Airlines and its unit Xiamen Airlines said they have signed agreements to buy 45 Boeing aircraft in a deal worth up to three billion dollars. STR/AFP via Getty Images

New Zealand’s Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ordered the local subsidiary of Air China to pay almost $50,000 to an Auckland-based staff member who claimed she was fired for refusing to participate in a cigarette smuggling ring.

Miao Wang, a former customer service representative, was dismissed in July 2020 for alleged “repeated misconduct and refusal to follow reasonable instructions.”