Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana was dismayed at the slow pace of negotiations between striking airport baggage handlers and Equity Aviation Services (EAS), his department said on Wednesday.
Workers have been on strike since December 18 despite the interventions of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe, Transnet chairman Bongani Khumalo and now Mdladlana.
Workers represented by the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) are striking over annual pay rises and changes to working conditions, including an increase in working hours from 40 to 45 hours per week.
Mdladlana called upon EAS management to start playing a more constructive role in negotiations with Satawu, saying the onus was on management to move on the issues raised, particularly working hours.
He said the trend in all bargaining forums was that working hours were set at 42 hours per week.
”I am very disappointed that despite the resources government has made available — the intervention of senior staff at the CCMA — EAS management is still not prepared to seriously address the issues on the table,” Mdladlana said.
He added the strike had dragged on for too long and should be resolved as a matter of urgency.
”I expect EAS management to return to the negotiations and engage constructively, because it is in the interest of management, workers and the South African public that the strike is resolved as soon as possible. Nobody wants to do business with a company that has bad labour relations,” Mdladlana warned.
But EAS spokesperson Herman Fleischmann said they had gone to the negotiations on Monday with the idea of striking a deal but that Satawu had again changed the game plan.
”The CCMA, told by Mdladlana to intervene, provided us with recommendations which we were prepared to accept and then the unions increased their demands. So how can the minister accuse us of not coming to the party?” he said.
Negotiations were expected to continue on Wednesday. – Sapa