Labour Court to hear Comair strike application on Thursday
Comair will approach the Labour Court on Thursday to obtain an interdict against the looming strike action by members of metalworkers union Numsa.
The union issued the airline with a 48-hour strike notice on Tuesday.
Airport ground staff represented by the union are expected to down tools on Thursday and remain on strike through the busy Easter weekend.
The trade union says the strike relates to wage disparities at the company, which operates Kulula and British Airways in South Africa.
"We have been engaging with Numsa for a good couple of months and the two parties disagree on two issues. Comair obviously believes that the matter of the 21 salary anomalies is a matter that needs to be dealt with in terms of the Employment Equity Act and that should follow an arbitration process,” says Comair's Wrenelle Stander.
“Numsa, on the other hand, believes that it's a matter of mutual interest and believes the recourse to be strike action. So obviously we disagree on that so we will get the Labour Court to make a determination on that. Our conversation up until now has been to work with Numsa to see how we could resolve these issues within the mechanisms that we have available. So that's basically the basis for the matter being referred to the Labour Court.”
The airline proposed that the high earners should be denied wage increases until the salaries of other workers catch up.
This proposal was rejected by Numsa, with the union saying it cannot allow the violation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in the workplace.
Stander says they remain open to ongoing engagement.
"We are planning on meeting with them again today (Wednesday) or tomorrow (Thursday) depending on the availability of the parties. So from the businesses side we will continue to engage with Numsa to find sustainable solutions. We won't give up until we try to find some common ground."
Stander has also assured travellers that contingency plans are in place should workers down tools.
"Numsa... they are in a position to strike from tomorrow at 1 o'clock. We have contingency plans in place to deal with that eventuality."
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