South African Airways passengers left stranded in Durban following a workers’ strike were being accommodated on flights by other airlines, an Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) spokesperson for the region said on Saturday.
The airlines were giving their own passengers priority, then making available to SAA passengers any seats still empty, said Collen Naidoo.
He advised SAA passengers to contact the airline to make alternative arrangements well before their scheduled flights, where possible, or to get to the airport a few hours early.
SAA passengers arriving at Durban airport were sent first to SAA’s offices and from there on to the offices of the other airlines, said Naidoo.
In any strike there are no winners
SAA has rejected intervention by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in the wage strike.
Acting human resources general manager Ziwe Mlenzana said the airline had told the statutory dispute resolution body ”that at the moment it is premature for the CCMA to get involved as we believe we still have to have bilateral discussions with organised labour.”
But Mlenzana indicated a meeting was unlikely until the United Association of SA (Uasa) and the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) ended the strike.
On Friday night there appeared to be no chance of that, with both unions rejecting SAA’s position and calling the airline ”arrogant”.
Mlenzana said SAA’s five percent salary increase remained on the table. The unions are demanding eight.
The strike, which started on Friday morning, saw at least 72 domestic, regional and international flights out of 96 cancelled, including the scheduled long-haul flights to Zambia, Kenya, Brazil and India.
”We remain willing to talk to organised labour, but, however [what we] are not willing to do is continue with discussions under the climate of the strike,” Mlenzana said.
”This is not a situation SAA likes being in. In any strike there are no winners.”
Earlier CCMA spokesperson Lusanda Myoli said a senior commissioner had been appointed to sit the parties down after Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana asked it to do so.
”The CCMA approached the parties this morning to offer intervention in the strike under section 150 of the Labour Relations Act,” Myoli said.
”However, at this stage not all the parties are ready for a CCMA intervention. They believe CCMA intervention in the strike at this stage would be premature.”
Uasa said it was ”shocked by the paternalistic and commandist attitude of SA airways management”.
”Earlier today, a request came from the Minister of Labour, whom we contacted through our federation, Fedusa (Federation of Unions of SA), for the parties to engage in an endeavour to end the strike, said Uasa spokesperson Gerhard Ueckermann.
”Uasa repeats that it will do everything in its power to bring the strike to an end and to stop the inconvenience to the flying public as soon as possible. Unfortunately, however, management of SA airways chose to play hard ball, which means that we will now have to play them at their own game. The strike therefore continues tomorrow [Saturday],” said Ueckermann.
Uasa chief executive Leon Grobler added: ”The high handed approach from management of SA Airways is viewed by us as extremely irresponsible. Their approach illustrates their contempt for the monetary losses already suffered so far … further contempt seems to be shown for the inconvenience to flying public, which is similar to the lies about the company’s affordability to worker representatives around the negotiating table.”
The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) also condemned SAA’s move. ”This shows another level of arrogance,” said Satawu spokesperson Ronnie Mamba.
As a consequence, the union would refuse to speak to SAA until the latter changed its mind.
Passengers were also not amused.
”It’s a very big disgrace … They [SAA] knew about this [strike] a long time ago,” an irate passenger told South African Broadcasting Corporation news at Johannesburg International airport.
”Let SAA give them the money. This is inconvenience beyond my imagination,” said another.
Airports Company SA spokesperson Jacqui O’Sullivan said the airport was dealing with ”lots of passengers who are feeling insecure and confused”.
At most major airports people could be seen queueing for hours in long lines, while others were sleeping among piles of baggage.
SAA repeated earlier advice that customers postpone their travel arrangements where possible over the next few days.
”For those who have to postpone or cancel their travel we will accommodate them on flights after normal operations resume,” said Kyrl Acton, SAA chief operations officer.
In the meantime, SAA would also provide overnight accommodation for stranded passengers. Passengers could phone SAA’s call centre on 011-978-2888 or 011-978-1111 for updated information.
Travellers can also call the Acsa help-desk on 086-72-77-88.
Those in Durban and Cape Town can call Acsa’s Collen Naidoo on 082-820-2744 and Deidre Hendricks on 083 795-5563 respectively.
Meanwhile, British Airways deployed two extra planes for return flights between Durban and Johannesburg to accommodate SAA passengers.
”All the airports have been quite chaotic but most flights have left on time,” said British Airways spokesperson Stuart Cochrane on Friday.
According to him the strike would have ”a revenue impact on SAA” because passengers with SAA tickets were not expected to pay again but SAA would then have to foot the British Airways bill.
The airline said that most of the airlines had placed SAA ticket holders on standby.
”There’s a 50/50 chance that you’ll get from Durban to Johannesburg today because we first load our passengers and the remaining seats will go to the SAA people on our standby list.”
Meanwhile, 1Time airline said their flights between Durban and Johannesburg had not been affected by the strike and that they were not accommodating SAA passengers.
Commenting to SABC on the strike, Econometrix chief economist Azar Jammine said he had noticed a tendency in recent times that there was a frustration among workers ”at the huge gap that exists between the rate of increase in wages they are being denied and the rate of increase in executive remuneration, which is being achieved either in the form of direct increases or in the form of bonuses or other incentives that workers feel are repulsively obscene.” – Sapa