Pilots at Mango are threatening to go on strike after salary negotiations between trade union Solidarity and the low cost carrier deadlocked on Friday (January 24).
This comes after the trade union announced a strike certificate was issued to the union after salary negotiations deadlocked. The union said it wanted to avoid a strike.
Mango spokesperson, Hein Kaiser, said the airline had contingency plans in place to manage any possible disruption to the airlines services, should its pilots go on strike. Kaiser said it was not yet known if or when strike action would take place.
In 2011 Mango gave a written undertaking to bring the remuneration of its pilots in line with that of their peers at other low cost airlines by 2014, said Marius Croucamp, Solidarity spokesperson. According to him, the following year a three-year salary agreement was signed to give effect to the undertaking, however the airline applied to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to get it rescinded on a technicality.
“Mango’s decision to violate the spirit of the existing agreement, opting for litigation instead, threatens to undermine labour peace and stability at the carrier,” said Marius. “Mango’s sudden swing is in gross contempt of the parity ideal of the 2011 agreement.”
According to the union, the increase Mango is currently offering would mean its pilots earned approximately 16% less than their peers, which is in breach of the 2011 agreement.
However, Mango insists it is compliant with the existing salary agreements with the pilot body reached in 2011 and 2012. “Mango salaries are already comparable to those of carriers such as SA Airlink, SA Express and pending new LCC entrants into the South African Market, but logically trails that of SAA and Comair, both of which carry international full service premium brands that count among the oldest globally,” the airline said in a statement.
“Mango has and will continue to honour its side of the salary agreements,” said Hein. “We expected our union-led pilot body to do the same. It is unfortunate that talks have broken down to the current state of affairs.”
Tessa Reed
