Over 200 pilots are expected to down tools after wage negotiations between the union and the airline collapsed. Solidarity is demanding a 10% wage increase, while FlySafair has only offered 5.7%, a proposal the union has firmly rejected.

Speaking ahead of the strike, Solidarity’s Deputy General-Secretary, Helgard Cronje, said the union had initially applied for a one-day strike in an effort to compel the company back to the negotiation table.

“So, we called out the one-day strike mainly to get the company back to the negotiation table. They then basically decided to give a seven-day lockout,” Cronje explained. “That seven-day lockout means our members cannot go and work. It’s as if they are striking but it’s something that is initiated by the company. And it’s also a ‘no work, no pay’ principle. So, they take the decision that for seven days our pilots aren’t allowed to work and they will also not be paid,” he said.

--ChannelAfrica--