Trade union Solidarity has confirmed that FlySafair pilots will embark on a two-week strike from Monday, 21 July.
This as wage talks reached a deadlock. Solidarity says 90% of the pilots voted for a one-day strike at FlySafair.
The trade union says FlySafair then retaliated and locked the pilots out for 7 days.
“This means that FlySafair chose to disrupt the public for 7 days. The company therefore escalated the tension.”
Solidarity’s Dirk Hermann says the one-day strike aimed to force the company back to the negotiation table.
The pilots were furious when they heard they had been locked out for 7 days. In response, they extended their strike notice from 1 day to 14 days.
He confirmed that the strike will begin on Monday.
Hermann says Flysafair has posted a record profit, with CEO Elmar Conradie and CFO Pieter Richards selling R90 million worth of shares.
He says pilots were calling for rectification after salary cuts during Covid.
“FlySafair has alienated its pilots to the extent that 90% voted in favour of a strike. A one-day strike notice was given. In retaliation, FlySafair locked the pilots out for 7 days. The company is acting recklessly, disrupting passengers for at least 7 days.”
He says pressure must be placed on Flysafair to come to the table, correct salaries, and refrain from changing service conditions, and to ensure that pilots have adequate time off to rest and spend time with their families.
Hermann says Solidarity is available 24 hours a day to help find a solution.
READ MORE: FlySafair pilots speak out: ‘We are exhausted, unheard and unvalued’
