SA Airways union agrees on pay deal

JOHANNESBURG – A strike that has hobbled Africa’s largest airline, South African Airways (SAA), for nearly a week appeared close to an end yesterday after the main striking union said it had accepted an improved wage offer.

SAA welcomed the news cautiously, and it was not clear when international flights would resume. A SAA official said they were waiting for a meeting with the striking unions later yesterday to hopefully settle the matter.Dozens of SAA’s domestic and international flights have been grounded since Friday when cabin crew and ground staff went on strike after unions and management failed to agree on pay.The unions were demanding an eight per cent annual wage increase while state-owned SAA had offered five per cent.Leon Grobler, the chief operating officer of the United Association of South Africa (UASA), said a majority of its members had accepted an improved offer totalling 6,2 per cent from the previous offer of five per cent from SAA.Grobler said UASA represents about two-thirds of the striking cabin crew and ground staff.”The majority of our members accepted the offer on the table, so we informed the SAA last night that we had accepted their latest offer and advised our members to go back to work,” Grobler told Reuters.South African media quoted the other striking union as saying it would state its position later.”We are waiting for a meeting later this morning to hear exactly what the unions are saying – one union seems to have accepted, but we are not sure about the other,” SAA spokesman JJ Tabane said.The state-funded Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) appointed to mediate in the dispute said on Wednesday it had drafted an agreement in principle between SAA and the striking unions, but did not give details.The strike, one of the worst in the airline’s history, has played havoc with travel schedules across Africa where SAA is the dominant regional carrier.Economists estimate the strike could be costing SAA up to half of its daily turnover of 50 million rand and could have an increasingly serious knock-on effect on South Africa’s tourist industry.Meanwhile, South Africa’s competition watchdog yesterday fined SAA 45 million rand for abusing its dominant position by operating an illegal incentive scheme for travel agents.The tribunal said the incentive schemes “were unlawful and a prohibited practice”, meaning that Comair and Nationwide will be able to take SAA to court if they can prove they suffered damages.- Nampa-ReutersA SAA official said they were waiting for a meeting with the striking unions later yesterday to hopefully settle the matter.Dozens of SAA’s domestic and international flights have been grounded since Friday when cabin crew and ground staff went on strike after unions and management failed to agree on pay.The unions were demanding an eight per cent annual wage increase while state-owned SAA had offered five per cent.Leon Grobler, the chief operating officer of the United Association of South Africa (UASA), said a majority of its members had accepted an improved offer totalling 6,2 per cent from the previous offer of five per cent from SAA.Grobler said UASA represents about two-thirds of the striking cabin crew and ground staff.”The majority of our members accepted the offer on the table, so we informed the SAA last night that we had accepted their latest offer and advised our members to go back to work,” Grobler told Reuters.South African media quoted the other striking union as saying it would state its position later.”We are waiting for a meeting later this morning to hear exactly what the unions are saying – one union seems to have accepted, but we are not sure about the other,” SAA spokesman JJ Tabane said.The state-funded Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) appointed to mediate in the dispute said on Wednesday it had drafted an agreement in principle between SAA and the striking unions, but did not give details.The strike, one of the worst in the airline’s history, has played havoc with travel schedules across Africa where SAA is the dominant regional carrier.Economists estimate the strike could be costing SAA up to half of its daily turnover of 50 million rand and could have an increasingly serious knock-on effect on South Africa’s tourist industry.Meanwhile, South Africa’s competition watchdog yesterday fined SAA 45 million rand for abusing its dominant position by operating an illegal incentive scheme for travel agents.The tribunal said the incentive schemes “were unlawful and a prohibited practice”, meaning that Comair and Nationwide will be able to take SAA to court if they can prove they suffered damages.- Nampa-Reuters