Strike storm looms over SAA

UNIONS representing the majority of South African Airways (SAA) ground and cabin crew are threatening to go on strike later next week after pay talks deadlocked.

It remains unclear to what extent SAA’s flights will be affected if 70% of ground and cabin crew strike.

SAA said that if the need arose it would activate contingency plans “to ensure business continuity”.

This week, the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and the United Association of SA (Uasa) received permission from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration to strike after a third round of talks deadlocked.

SAA offered a 6.23% increase in basic salaries, effective April 1 — up from the initial 6.02% offer.

Unions are demanding 7.5% on total remuneration, down from 9.5%, which includes salary, medical aid, housing and meal allowances. SAA increases for pilots and technical staff covered total pay, including all allowances and benefits, according to Uasa.

In a historic move that is ominous for SAA, Cosatu’s Satawu and Uasa are working together for the first time on possible strike action. They began balloting members on Wednesday, and should be able to say tomorrow if there is sufficient support for a strike. SAA would then have to be issued with a 48-hour strike notice.

“We hope to ballot all cabin crew by Sunday [today]. From the feedback we’ve received so far, members are overwhelmingly in favour of strike action,” said Willie van Eeden, Uasa sector manager: aerospace.

“When we couldn’t reach an agreement, SAA went ahead and implemented the wage agreement unilaterally and sent an SMS to all employees. They are trying to undermine the negotiating process and sow division,” Mr van Eeden said.

Satawu competes with the breakaway National Transport Movement (NTM) union. Up to 30% of SAA’s ground and cabin crew don’t belong to a union or are NTM members and so won’t strike.

Mr van Eeden said that despite this, strike action would have a “massive impact” on the airline.

But SAA, which got a R5bn government bail-out last year, said it had received “positive feedback and support from employees for the implementation of the salary increase in back pay to April 1”.

SAA spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba said: “These are the employees who understand that the airline made an undertaking to avoid any reduction in head count, and this salary increase is informed by such an undertaking.”

Mr Ledwaba said the national carrier was implementing the increase in the context of a weakened global economy and a severely distressed global airline industry.