Secondary SAA strike looms, unions face legal action for ‘safety’ comments

Domestic South African Airways (SAA) flights will remain grounded on Monday, following a weekend of strike action spearheaded by dissatisfied unions.

While the struggling national carrier managed to partially reinstate its international flight-plan on Sunday – with SAA 222 successfully departing OR Tambo International to Sao Paulo, Brazil – major disruptions resulting from strike action continues to leave the airline in limbo.

Secondary SAA strike: Unions redouble their efforts

The bitter wage dispute, compounded by SAA’s recently announced retrenchment strategy, has led to a complete shutdown of operations as the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) vow to intensify their strike strategy.

Union representatives and SAA management were unable to end the impasse despite intervention from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) on Saturday. Following the failed meeting, both unions released a damning statement, announcing that they would be initiating a secondary strike which would involve:

• The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
• Mango Airlines
• SAfair
• SA Express
• Airports Company South Africa (ACSA)
• Reshebile Security
• Morena cleaning
• Vizini, (maintenance company)
• Azda
• Swissport
• Bidair Services
• Comair
• Airchefs
• Food Direction
• LSG SkyChefs
• Dnata

The statement went on to warn passengers intending to fly with SAA, alleging that, in light of the on-going strike, safety protocols were being mishandled and ‘unskilled’ technicians were being employed to work on aircrafts. The unions said:

“We are warning passengers not to fly SAA because their safety cannot be guaranteed. Our members who are safety officers and technicians are on strike.

Learners with no flight experience, and temporary technicians are being deployed to fly on SAA aircrafts and act as safety officers. The temporary technicians with no work experience are being used to work on aircraft without having the relevant experience in maintenance and repairs.”

SAA threatens unions with legal action over ‘safety concerns’

SAA quickly hit back at the unions’ statement, with acting-CEO Zukisa Ramasia threatening legal action for the “untruthful and unfounded statements and allegations” regarding the safety of SAA passengers. Ramasia demanded that the unions retract their statement.

Numsa spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, has refused to back down, saying:

“We will not withdraw our statement. Every word of what we said is true. We are warning South African citizens who are flying SAA to change their flights because to fly SAA while we are on strike is to gamble with your life.”

As the strike looks set to intensify this week, Ramasia confirmed that extra security personnel were being deployed to airports to ensure the safety of working employees and passengers. The acting-CEO said that workers wishing to fulfil their duties at the airline were being intimidated by striking members.

Customers wishing to be refunded or attempting to rebook on future SAA flight have until 30 November to finalise their arrangements.