SAA strike: Numsa expected to announce 11th-hour wage agreement

As the impasse between SAA and trade unions, Numsa and Sacca, enters it’s seventh day, it is understood that there may have been some progress made in wage negotiations between the parties.

According to reports, Numsa is expected to announce a wage settlement that has allegedly been agreed to with SAA, after days of intensive negotiations.

#Numsa to announce possible wage agreement with SAA#SAAStrike #sabcnews https://t.co/FvVuONTEO9

— SABC News Online (@SABCNewsOnline) November 22, 2019

Numsa settles: What are the details of the agreement?

While Numsa is expected to hold a media briefing on the matter, reports from SABC News suggest that this is what is contained in the agreement between SAA and trade unions:

• SAA will most likely hold off on planned retrenchments;
• the airline has allegedly agreed, in principle, to establish a task team whose mandate will be to review employee contracts as well as to diagnose procurement issues; and
• establish alternative ways SAA can save money

It is also believed that both parties have settled on the counteroffer of 5.9% SAA initially made. However, it seems that this time around, it has come with the guarantee that it will take effect from February 2020.

The remaining 2.1%, it’s believed, will be hang on the work conducted by the task team. Should the appointed team find ways to shave off more unnecessary expenses, it will be at the airline’s discretion to institute the extra salary increase.

The latest SAA updates: Airline cancels JHB – Hong Kong route

While SAA has battened down the hatches and continued flight services, in a limited capacity, the airline has had to make sacrifices.

On Thursday, the airline’s spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, issued a statement noting that SAA has effectively suspended all services between Johannesburg and Hong Kong from Saturday, 23 November until and including, 14 December.

“The decision to suspend services to Hong Kong is regrettable, but necessitated by the current downturn in business due to the developing challenges in the region. By suspending these flights, we can concentrate on resuming more regional services at the earliest opportunity and make better use of all our resources,” SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer, Philip Saunder said.

Tlatli Tlali explained that the airline will implement a “re-accommodation policy for customers booked on services to and from Hong Kong, and will be in contact with customers at the earliest opportunity.”

This, he further reiterated, was a business decision led by a trend in the airline industry concerning the decline in air traffic at Hong Kong Internaitonal Airport.

“In recent months, several airlines have announced reductions in services and capacity to Hong Kong. These include the home-based carrier Cathay Pacific, as well as Air China, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, United Airlines and others.

“The impact of these reduced operations is further reinforced by a year-on-year decline of 13% in passenger volumes recorded at Hong Kong International Airport in October 2019,” he said.