Operations at five major South African airports might be disrupted on Thursday following an announcement by the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) that it will embark on a strike after wage negotiations with Equity Aviation (EA) collapsed.
The protected industrial action would take place at Durban International, Johannesburg International, Cape Town International, Port Elizabeth and East London airports.
Satawu said the strike would start at 8am and a notice of the strike was served on Wednesday on the EA, a ramp and baggage handling company.
The union is the sole representative trade union at EA with a membership of 1 000.
Satawu national aviation sector coordinator Evan Abrahamse said the wage talks reached a deadlock at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
The company was offering a six percent wage hike on condition the union agreed to an increase in working hours, from 40 to 42 hours per week.
The Satawu demands an eight percent increase in basic pensionable salary.
”We are dismayed at the tactics of this newly privatised entity the majority of which was sold a consortium which includes British arms industry multinational, Serco, and black economic empowerment interests,” Abrahamse said.
”Workers’ terms and conditions of employment are guaranteed in terms of the National Framework Agreement (NFA). Workers are being told that if they want a wage hike then they must concede conditions.
”We believe EA is using the workers’ legitimate demand for a wage increase to attempt to wriggle out of its commitments to the NFA,” he said. – Sapa