SAA pilots set to protest outside company’s Airways Park offices over salary increases
The employees are demanding 15.7% salary hikes with added benefits. The company is offering 8.46%, saying it cannot afford the proposed offer.
An Airbus A340-642 operated by South African Airways takes off from JFK Airport on August 24, 2019. Picture: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images via AFP
JOHANNESBURG - South African Airways (SAA) pilots will on Thursday morning protest outside the company's Airways Park offices in Kempton Park for salary increases.
The employees are demanding 15.7% salary hikes with added benefits.
The company is offering 8.46%, saying it cannot afford the proposed offer.
SAA management said the pilots' proposed wage offer could regress the company’s recovering operational viability by triggering its decline into bankruptcy.
The airline was placed under business rescue between 2019 and 2021 and has since become debt-free and financially sustainable, following a boost in profits in this financial year - the first in over a decade.
The pilots said that during the challenges at the airline, they suffered massive pay cuts, endured stagnant salaries, and experienced eroding working conditions.
Both parties say they are committed to reaching a fair and mutually beneficial settlement.
Meanwhile, the airline said it was implementing contingency measures to ensure that disruption to its services would be as minimal as possible.