FlySafair has confirmed that 8% of its Monday flights were cancelled following strike action by its pilots. The dispute stems from a wage disagreement between the airline and trade union Solidariteit, with FlySafair offering a 5.7% salary increase—well below the union’s demand for 10.5%.
Speaking to VOC News, Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary of Solidariteit, explained that the main source of tension is not only salary-related but also concerns a new scheduling system introduced by the airline, which affects pilots’ work-life balance.
“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,” stated du Plessis.
He added that while the initial strike was intended to last just one day, FlySafair responded by issuing a lockout notice, escalating the dispute.
“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,” added du Plessis.
Listen to the full interview here:
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