The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) has threatened a strike against South African Airways (SAA) in protest at the company’s planned retrenchments, the union said on Monday.
South Africa’s national carrier announced in November last year that it planned to axe 1Â 000 employees to curb high operating costs.
“We believe any retrenchment at SAA is untimely and state that we strongly disapprove the tendency, as shown by the SAA, to resort to throwing people on the streets in a bid to beef [up] the bottom line,” the union said in a statement on Monday.
It added that it has developed a resistance programme, which would include provincial mass demonstrations, marches and “mobilisation of our members towards a strike if a need arise”.
The union said it has initiated a meeting with SAA in a bid to come up with alternative cost-cutting strategies.
“We also intend inviting the Department of Labour’s national productivity institute so as to assist the parties to develop a workable solution to the problems faced by the company,” it said. — I-Net Bridge