Strikes loom as SAA, Telkom pay talks falter - by Nicky Smith and Thabiso Mochiko – WAGE negotiations at two of the country’s largest government-controlled entities, South African Airways and Telkom, have gone awry with workers at the former embarking on a strike on Thursday. Cabin crew and ground staff, belonging to the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), downed tools after talks over salary increases broke down. United Association of SA (Uasa) sector manager Willie van Eeden said on Wednesday his union and Satawu, who jointly represent about 70% of SAA’s cabin crew and ground staff, were meant to sign a wage agreement with the airline on Tuesday. This was after reaching an "in principle" agreement for a 6.5% increase to basic salaries, housing allowances and medical aid contributions. "Both unions were working together during the wage talks and we had expected to sign the agreement yesterday already for 6.5% overall increase (except for pension contributions), but Satawu never showed up," Mr van Eeden said. "They have now decided to go on strike. I think it is the cabin crew issues they are still concerned about, those issues we have taken off the table for now. Uasa is not going to go on strike." Satawu said it was lifting the strike suspension that had been in place since last Thursday because of the "recalcitrant management of SAA". It accused the airline of unilaterally implementing the rejected initial offer of 6.23% of basic salary and all other benefits while the negotiations were still on. This was done while workers "were still considering the latest offer of 6.5%", according to Satawu. Spokesman Vincent Masoga said workers felt "betrayed, undermined and discriminated against" and had since reverted to their initial demand of an 8.33% rise in basic salary. Further, they wanted equivalent increases for housing, meal allowances and medical aid benefits. SAA said Satawu’s decision was "regrettable" and a misrepresentation of its offer to workers, many of whom had already indicated they would accept the 6.5% increase it had tabled. It had plans in place to ensure operations were not be disrupted in the event of a strike. Meanwhile, a strike was looming at Telkom after trade unions and the JSE-listed company failed to reach a wage increase agreement, the unions said on Wednesday. Telkom and the South African Communications (Sacu), Solidarity and Communications Workers Union have been locked in wage talks since March. The three unions are demanding an increase of between 8% and 11.5%, but Telkom is now offering 6%. It had initially offered a 1,5% pay hike and an undertaking that there would be no retrenchments for three years. Telkom later withdrew its proposal on job cuts when it hiked its wage increase offer. Sacu said Telkom was proposing a new remuneration model that did not guarantee wage increases for all employees. It had now received a strike certificate from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration after the mediation process failed to produce a settlement. Solidarity will be requesting a similar certificate. The unions will consult their members before any strike decision is taken. "The national executives will be meeting on Thursday (today ) and we (will) discuss … the strike," said Sacu general secretary Karrim Abrahams. The union’s main bone of contention was " that Telkom did not consult with Sacu before they introduced this new model". Sacu would issue Telkom with a formal notice by next Wednesday regarding its decision on the strike. Solidarity’s spokesman, Marius Croucamp, said Telkom was introducing a new remuneration model that "is inappropriate". The union would seek legal opinion if Telkom unilaterally implemented its revised offer. Published with the kind courtesy of bdlive.co.za
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 06:39:41 +0000
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