FlySafair: Wage dispute won’t impact flights
FlySafair has assured passengers that its ongoing strike by
cabin crew will not disrupt operations, despite wage talks with the South
African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) reaching a deadlock last week.
The airline, which controls around 60% of South Africa’s domestic market, confirmed that flights are departing as scheduled and that over two-thirds of its crew have reported for duty.
Speaking to SABC News, Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon said FlySafair had pre-planned a reduced flight schedule for November, allowing aircraft to undergo maintenance and ensuring sufficient crew capacity ahead of the busy holiday season.
"The flights that are already departing now, crew have signed on much earlier this morning. Everyone's arrived for work, so everything is departing just as it should do.
"The parties were speaking well into the evening last night. The hope was, of course, to be able to find common ground on the settlement agreement before the employer-initiated work stoppage this morning. Sadly, they didn’t manage to reach an agreement."
FlySafair’s offer includes a four-year deal with a 5.7% increase on basic pay in the first year, a 7.5% annual bonus, annual progression based on seniority, and various monthly allowances.
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The airline says in real terms, employees could see pay increases of 16–19%, well above the typical industry range of 3–5% this year.
"It’s a generous offer and one that we hope to get over the line soon, we feel it’s very reasonable, especially considering the environment we’re operating in," Gordon said.
Gordon also addressed concerns over the airline’s operational stability ahead of the festive season.
"We have the advantage of a reduced flight schedule in November, which we preplanned to put aircraft into maintenance ahead of the busy festive season. On top of that, we’ve hired additional crew to ensure training is in place to operate in December.
"The vast majority of our crew are back at work, which means there’s plenty of scope to continue operations and protect the service that our customers expect from us. It’s business as usual for FlySafair."
Passengers are advised to check their flight status before travelling, though FlySafair has stressed that operations remain largely unaffected.
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