National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) says it will embark on an urgent secondary strike that will bring the country’s aviation sector to a standstill.
The union together with its affiliate, the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) as well as South Africa Airways (SAA) have failed to find a solution to the strike at the airline.
NUMSA has criticised SAA management for failing to agree to some of its demands, including insourcing and an 8% wage increase.
SAA is offering 5.9%, depending on the availability of funds. NUMSA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says their secondary strike will include other subsidiaries of SAA.
“Both NUMSA and SACCA has resolved that the strike must be intensified, this is because the board together with some executive managers would rather see SAA collapse than deal with the rooting out of corruption. NUMSA is in the process of consulting workers for a secondary strike in aviation. We have begun this consultation with various entities. The Civil Aviation Authority, Mango Airlines, Safair, SAA Express, Airports Company South Africa, Swissport and Comair. This is a fight for survival for all workers in aviation.”
