The stakes in the ten day old Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) dispute have risen with baggage handling workers and South Africa Airways (SAA) cabin crew walking off the job in support of the Acsa workers demands for a 10% wage increase.
Equity Aviation, the baggage handling company, previously known as Apron Services, last night lost an urgent application to stop the 24-hour action. Equity Aviation and SAA workers have started to walk off the job and it is anticipated that South Africa’s airports will come to a near standstill by late this afternoon.
Earlier this week Acsa workers rejected a revised management offer of 8%.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said the reasons for the rejection were clear, saying the added 0.5% increase being offered was to be paid for by a reduction in Sunday overtime pay at some airports.
According to Satawu the sole area of dispute was the basic wage increase.
Satawu is demanding an across the board wage increase of 10% on the basic pensionable salary while ACSA management was offering 7,5%.
The union is therefore demanding R3 300 per month for all newly appointed employees, while management’s offer is R3 225 rand. Satawu reaffirmed its position that the 10% demand is affordable.
“As one of the most profitable companies in South Africa and the most profitable airports company in the world, Acsa has no excuse in denying the reasonable increase. This is particularly in the light of the massive bonuses of 45% of annual package to be paid to executive directors of the company.”
Acsa communications manager Solomon Makgale said that the affected Equity Aviation and SAA have informed Acsa that they have contingency measures in place.
“We are obviously aware of the solidarity strike by SAA and Equity Aviation. Satawu has informed us that they are canvassing for support from these workers,” Makgale said.
He added that the solidarity strike was unlikely to affect the normal running of the airports after an agreement with the union that joining workers should also demonstrate in designated areas of picketing.
The union claimed that the ACSA workers and Satawu are being supported by the five million strong International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which has among its members 600 000 aviation workers based in 120 countries.
In a letter of solidarity to the union, the secretary for the Civil Aviation Section of the ITF, Shane Enright, called on both the South African government, as the chief stakeholder in Acsa, and Aeroporta Di Roma (ADR), the strategic foreign equity partner (SEP) in the company, to exercise their influence in order to get management to revise its stance.
The ITF has also condemned the arrest of workers in Cape Town last week.
Workers of Acsa, SAA and Equity Aviation are currently gathering near the taxi car park opposite the international departures at Johannesburg International Airport, in line with the picketing agreement reached with Acsa. – I-Net Bridge