FlySafair pilots’ strike has ended, after South Africa’s largest domestic airline signed a wage agreement with the trade union, Solidarity, which represents the majority of its pilots.
The union said that the deal was reached through the auspices Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) proposed settlement. Speaking to Newsnote, Solidarity spokesperson and Deputy General Secretary Helgard Cronjé said that they accepted the offer. “This is a great four-year deal for our members. Pilots will receive salary increases of 6%, 6, 5%, 6, 8% and 6, 9% respectively over the next four years.While the agreement is an important step, there are still some concerns that it only protects the most basic rights of the pilots. It is tragic and unacceptable that an employee must strike for 12 days to obtain written confirmation from an employer for basic protective measures,” said Cronjé.
Solidarity maintains that management’s abstinence in response to the reasonable appeals of their pilots led to a conflict and losses for both parties. Furthermore, the union said the strike also caused severe disruption for passengers and the public.
“This agreement could already have been reached in February. Had management made the same concessions regarding the roster at that time, the strike and lock-out could have been avoided,” explained Cronjé.
According to Cronjé, the contentious roster system dispute has since been resolved, which will now be governed by fixed rules and no longer by so-called “soft rules” that management could arbitrarily adjust.
“Although FlySafair still maintains that it cannot guarantee pilots one full weekend off per month, negotiations have led to an agreement that pilots will receive at least one 60-hour weekend off during each six-week cycle, with a minimum of nine weekends off per year. Pilots who are required to work on their days off will be able to reclaim those days in the following month. They will also be allowed to exchange shifts among themselves. In addition, pilots will receive at least ten days off per month,” said Cronje.
Meanwhile, in a bid to soften the impact of the “no work, no pay rule” during the strike and lock-out, pilots will receive a once-off ex gratia payment amounting to 15% of their monthly salary and will be allowed to cash-in five days of leave.
Cronjé emphasised that pilots and Solidarity were forced to communicate with management via the media and open letters, while simultaneously correcting misinformation distributed by the company. Solidarity implored FlySafair to change the way it handles labour relations disputes.
