FlySafair strike could go up to two weeks
The strike by
The strike kicked off on Monday and was only meant to last a day, but after 90% of pilots represented by Solidarity decided the join the action, the airline 'decided to escalate the dispute and indicated that they would lock out the pilots for a period of seven days', the union said in a statement.
'Disruptions could last up to two weeks and
The airline hit back at what it called the union's 'aggressive stance', saying it had implemented the defensive lockout after receiving notice of a strike to reduce flight disruptions.
'When employees give strike notice, they can legally stop and start work in short bursts, which can cause repeated disruptions until a deal is reached,' Kirby Gordon, the chief marketing officer at FlySafair, told the
Mail & Guardian
.
He said anyone wanting to return to work could do so, but would be added into the next roster cycle.
The claim that 90% of pilots joined the strike was 'entirely untrue', Gordon said.
'There is no way we would have been able to operate 150 flights yesterday [Monday] with 10% of our crew, so we need to be careful of their conjecture. Solidarity only represents about two-thirds of pilots, so 30% were not participating in the strike from the start,' Gordon said.
'Of those that are union members, a significant portion have chosen not to participate in the strike. So while there are many pilots staying away at the moment, the majority are actually at work.'
On Tuesday, the airline said all flights on its schedule were departing as planned, but two had been cancelled. It added that its reduced schedule, implemented as a contingency last week, was in effect.
FlySafair has rejected Solidarity's demand for a 10.5% increase on base salaries, as well as additional flight pay and bonuses, saying the sum of all the demands would amount to more than a 20% increase in overall cost to the company — 'an unsustainable escalation for any company'.
The airline said it could only offer a 5.7% increase on base pay, which is 1.5% above inflation.
'This already substantial offer was made including other benefits — including a flight pay based bonus — which brings the total increase to 11.29% on a cost to company basis,' FlySafair added. 'This offer was designed to balance the other 1700 employees of the airline and the sustainability and resilience of the company with the demands of the pilots.'
The parties are due to meet at the
The airline's captains earn R1.8 million to R2.3 million annually — placing them within the top 1% of earners in South Africa,
The airline says captains spent an average of 63 hours last month in the cockpit flying passengers, 'well within regulatory limits set by the
Solidarity disputes the 'open' roster system the airline implemented earlier this year, saying it interferes with the pilots' down time because it is less structured and expects them to be on stand-by.
The union wants pilots to be guaranteed at least one three-day weekend off every five weeks, a minimum of two consecutive days off per roster cycle, and the ability to swop single off days with other pilots.
The union also wants all rostered off days to count toward pilots' annual leave allocation, said Helgard Cronje , the general secretary of public industry at Solidarity.
'It does make the roster to a certain extent more fixed, but it's still an open roster in essence. We get that the operational flexibility is important for the long-term sustainability of the company, but essentially there should be a balance. It cannot be in total control of the company and there should be some protection measures for the pilots,' he said.
The airline insists the system is in line with the global airline industry and has been implemented by all other airlines in the country and 'allows pilots to receive their full monthly rosters by the 20th of the preceding month, enabling personal planning and scheduling'.
'Attempts by Solidarity to alter or limit this system would strip away its key benefits, undermining FlySafair's ability to compete with other airlines and maintain cost-effective operations,' it said.
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