SAA asks CCMA to step in as strike takes off
Updated | By Sinethemba Madolo
The unions and SAA management met on Thursday afternoon for last-minute wage talks but to no avail.
South African Airlines (SAA) has approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in an attempt to break the wage deadlock with unions.
Workers belonging to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) will down tools on Friday.
This after the two unions could not reach a wage agreement with the cash-strapped national carrier.
ALSO READ: Unions confirm ‘mother of all strikes’ set to start on Friday
The unions and SAA management met on Thursday afternoon for last-minute wage talks but to no avail.
Some 3 000 workers will take part in the industrial action, leading to the airline cancelling all flights on Friday and Saturday.
SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali says the airline is set to lose R52 million each day it is not operational.
"We are monitoring the situation and we'll take one step at a time, operational decisions like these are not taken lightly.
"When you cancel flights per day, as we are suggesting, now you are looking at revenue exposure that will be lost at an amount of R52 million per day. That is an enormous amount of money and we are hoping that parties will be able to find one another as soon as possible.”
Tlali says a CMMA commissioner has been allocated to the matter and they are now waiting on the unions to come to the table.
"We have taken additional steps on the basis of what's happened today, where we have approached the CCMA requesting them to assist with mediation process.
"A senior commissioner has already been appointed. Because the process is voluntary we are waiting for other unions to consent to this particular mediation."
#SAAStrike | Numsa and SACCA have started gathering outside South African Airways (SAA) head offices in Kempton Park for a 'mother of all strikes.'
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) November 15, 2019
This comes after the two unions and the embattled state-owned airliner could not reach an agreement on wage increments. pic.twitter.com/Fe7wRs7lOZ
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