Solidarity, FlySafair return to negotiations to resolve deadlock – SABC Information

The Trade union Solidarity and FlySafair will return to the negotiating table on Wednesday afternoon to discuss a resolution to the pilots’ strike, which began last week.

The strike marks the longest pilot strike in South African history.

The pilots embarked on what was meant to be a one-day strike to express their dissatisfaction with salaries and the implementation of a new algorithm-driven rostering system.

In an open letter to the public published yesterday, the pilots voiced their discontent over the rostering system, claiming that it’s led to irregular schedules and insufficient rest.

Solidarity spokesperson, Helgard Cronje says, “When most of the pilots were employed by FlySafair, they had a fixed roster pattern. Due to the roster being predictable, the pilots could fly while arranging their lives around their work. However, FlySafair started its discussions with us regarding the change to an open roster system. Those discussions didn’t deliver any outcomes, and we went into a dispute about the rostering system. Whilst we were in that dispute, the company decided to implement an open roster system from the 1st of February, irrespective of those discussions not being finalised. This led to the breakdown of the trusted relationships between the pilots and the FlySafair company.”