BL Premium reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) plans to bring SA’s aviation sector to its knees as it moves to extend its strike at South African Airways (SAA) to the entire aviation industry.
More than 3,000 workers launched a strike at the national carrier on Friday, demanding an 8% increase against the state-owned airline’s offer of 5.9%. SAA is losing R52m a day as a result of the strike but a secondary strike as threatened by Numsa would have a significantly more detrimental effect on SA’s aviation industry and the economy as a whole. After wage talks between Numsa, the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) and SAA collapsed at the weekend, the union on Sunday called on its members to join in a secondary strike across the aviation sector. Consultations on this process were apparently under way with various entities including Mango Airlines, SA Express, FlySafair, Comair, the Airports Company SA, the SA Civil Aviation Authority and other suppliers and service providers to the industry. Numsa also called for the ministers of finance and public enterprises to intervene in its dispute with SAA. Meantime, SAA announced it would reinstate international flights to seven destinations as of Sunday night. .
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive (paywall access only)