FlySafair has announced that 8% of their Monday flights have been cancelled following strike action by their pilots. Wage disputes between FlySafair and trade union Solidariteit have expanded as the airline company has offered a salary increase of 5.7%, well below the trade union’s calls for 10.5%.
Speaking on VOC News, Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary of trade union Solidariteit, states that the true bone of contention for the trade union and its constituents relates to a system shift implemented by FlySafair that dictates the roster of pilots.
“What complicates the matter is that there is a new shift roster that was implemented, and it takes away the pilots flexibility that they would usually build around family matters and rest periods, but now it’s a fixed period where the company tells you when you can fly and when you fly,” states du Plessis.
Gideon furthers that initially the strike was scheduled to take place for one day; however, Solidariteit has received notification from FlySafair that their striking members will be locked out of work unless they accept the new system.
“The idea was just to strike for one day, to disrupt services for one day, but then we received a lockout notice from the company indicating that the pilots will be locked out for a week, and if they don’t accept the offer on the table, they will be locked out for another. This is why we have our present impasse,” adds du Plessis.
Listen to the full interview here:
