As the FlySafair pilots’ strike enters its second day, the deadlock between the airline’s management and trade union Solidarity has taken a critical turn by becoming part of a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) process. The ramifications of this strike have already begun to shake the travel plans of many South African passengers, with significant flight cancellations expected to continue.
In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Solidarity welcomed FlySafair’s decision to engage in mediation, as requested by the CCMA under section 150 of the Labour Relations Act. The union revealed that approximately 90% of FlySafair’s pilots affiliated with them expressed a willingness to strike for a day, prompting FlySafair to announce a lockout of its pilots for a period of seven days.
The situation has escalated, with potential disruptions lasting up to two weeks, leading Solidarity to advocate strongly for a resolution at the negotiating table, both for the benefit of its members and the inconvenienced passengers. Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer for FlySafair, acknowledged the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the strike, stating that the company had to cancel at least 26 flights due to unexpected reports from pilots that they would not make it to work on Monday morning.
“What we are experiencing at the moment is that we have an industrial action on the part of our pilots; they have embarked on a stay-away strike which started today,” Gordon said during an interview with IOL at OR Tambo International Airport. “Unfortunately, we had a number of commitments from pilots to cover our schedule today but late last night, we received information that they would be unable to fulfil their duties.” His remarks came alongside an apology to customers who found themselves stranded due to these sudden disruptions.
In an effort to mitigate the impact on affected passengers, FlySafair’s teams are actively assisting customers by booking them on alternative flights and offering immediate refunds where necessary. “Our teams are here and available to assist as much as they possibly can,” Gordon emphasised. “Where booking onto future flights or public carriers is not an option, we are issuing immediate refunds as quickly as we can.”
Regarding negotiations, Gordon expressed a commitment to resolving the dispute while acknowledging the challenges ahead. “We continue to approach them in good faith. At this stage, we are still quite far apart. Unfortunately, the union’s demands are very high. They have been seeking a 10% increase in salaries, which, when considering the full cost-to-company, is actually more than 20.1%. This places our pilots among the top one percent of earners in the country, which you can understand is just an untenable position,” he explained.
Helgard Cronjé, Deputy General Secretary of Public Industry at Solidarity, has raised concerns about FlySafair’s perception of the situation. He believes the airline underestimated the disruptions caused by the lockout, which has far-reaching consequences for thousands of passengers. “FlySafair has indicated that they are willing to start the negotiation process only by Wednesday. As a result, thousands more passengers will be affected before FlySafair comes to the table,” Cronjé stated.
The ongoing standoff and mediation efforts will be closely watched, as the fallout continues to impact both the airline’s operations and its passengers, adding to the already challenging circumstances in the aviation sector.