South Africa Airways Strike Nears End With Pay Deal in Sight
South African Airways Strike Likely to End Today, Unions Say
A strike at South African Airways, which has dragged on for more than a week and grounded a number of flights, is likely to end Friday, with workers having agreed “in principle” to a revised pay deal, a senior union official said.
The deal will see workers get a 5.9% pay increase, with a further increment -- details of which are still being worked out -- paid at a later date, according to Christopher Shabangu, deputy president of the South African Cabin Crew Association.
“We have consulted with our members,” Shabangu said by phone from Johannesburg. “They seem to agree. We are still dealing with a few outstanding issues.”
The pay talks at the national carrier have been a key test of the government’s resolve to get its bloated wage bill under control and stabilize the finances of state-owned companies, which have been dogged by years of mismanagement and alleged corruption. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan declined to intervene in the wage talks and said the government didn’t have more money to bail out the airline, which has been unprofitable for the past seven years.
SAA initially offered a 5.9% increase and announced plans to fire 944 workers, saying it needed to restructure to continue operating. The cabin crew association and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, which together represent more than 3,000 SAA staff, demanded 8% and rejected any job cuts. South Africa’s central bank expects the inflation rate to average 4.2% this year and 5.1% in 2020.
The unions plan to hold a media briefing later on Friday. Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, a spokeswoman for the metalworkers union, earlier confirmed that the airline had tabled a revised offer and said it included shelving plans to cut jobs.
“The fact that they have indicated that they are taking something to their members is an indication that we are making encouraging progress,” SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net;Felix Njini in Johannesburg at fnjini@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone, John Viljoen
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