Photo by: Duane Daws
Labour union Solidarity and carrier Comair will again meet at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Monday, after wage negotiations between the parties deadlocked earlier this month.
Wage talks between the parties started in September but, by December, the union referred a dispute to the CCMA after the parties failed to reach an agreement.
The CCMA compelled Comair to continue negotiations with Solidarity and the parties resumed negotiations during a conciliation process at the CCMA on January 22.
Engineering News Online reported earlier this week that Solidarity had demanded an almost 13% increase for its 210 cabin crew members at Comair, but the airline had offered either an increase of 7.5% on their total cost package, or an increase of 8% on condition that overtime would only be calculated after 125 hours a month.
“In 2012, Comair was struggling financially and our members agreed to accommodate their employer by not receiving any increase that year. We maintain that our members should now receive at least a double-digit increase to make up for the backlog since 2012,” Solidarity professional industry head Johan Botha said in a statement on Thursday.
He added that the majority of Solidarity’s members had already confirmed that they were prepared to go on strike and that the union had already been issued with a strike certificate.
“If the employer refuses to significantly improve its offer, we will be forced to embark on a strike. The ideal is to reach an agreement around the negotiating table and not to go on strike. However, our members’ interests are our first priority,” he commented.
Solidarity was the majority trade union and represented 210 members of Comair’s 389-strong cabin crew.