The airline South African Airways has canceled more than 200 flights Friday because of a strike of the flight crew and technical demanding wage increases and denounces job cuts.
Canceled flights are domestic and international scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
The airline has offered to passengers whose flights are canceled to register on other flights or with affiliated airlines.
According to the unions, more than 3,000 of the company’s 5,000 employees, both ground and cabin crew, are participating in the strike.
Several hundred of them demonstrated Friday, singing and dancing, near O.R. Tambo airport in Johannesburg.
« We will continue our strike » until our demands are accepted, told AFP Sifiso Mabena, a mechanic employed at the airport O.R. Tambo.
According to the president of the South African Association of Cabin Personnel, Zazi Nsibanyoni-Mugambi, talks with the airline, suspended for a while, should resume on Saturday.
No profit, accumulation of debts
South African Airways is one of the leading African airlines with a fleet of more than 50 aircraft.
But, despite government loans, she has not made any profit since 2011 and she accumulates debts.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced in February that the government plans to repay the company’s debt of 9.2 billion rand ($ 620 million) over three years.
SAA, along with power giant Eskom, is part of South African public companies in financial difficulty, largely attributed to mismanagement and corruption under former president Jacob Zuma (2009-2018) .
Close to Mr. Zuma, former SAA CEO Dudu Myeni (2012-2017) was recently charged with « illegal practices » before an anti-corruption commission of inquiry and is the subject of a lawsuit to the court. its mismanagement. She refused to appear in court.
SAA unions are demanding an 8% salary increase and a three-year job guarantee, while the company proposes a 5.9% increase.
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