The future of troubled airline, South African Airlways (SAA), could be on the line warns management at the state-owned carrier, who are anticipating a cabin crew strike on 15 November.
Approximately 3 000 members from the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) are set to protest planned retrenchments and unmet wage demands at the carrier – with the protest to kick-off early on Friday morning.
However, in response to the anticipated strike, SAA announced in a statement that they will suspend all their flights for Friday and Saturday.
“Customers are requested not to travel to their departure airport unless in possession of a rebooked itinerary,” said the airline.
The news comes off the back of acting chief executive, Zuks Ramasia, saying that any protest action could push the airline to a place of no recovery.
“The recognised unions are aware that our financial challenges are caused by a number of factors, including a severely distressed global airline industry, which has resulted in numerous airlines retrenching staff, embarking on cost-reduction programmes, implementing wage freezes, reducing operations, or even closing down,” Ramasia said on Wednesday.
“Like other airlines, SAA is under severe financial pressure. At the moment, our costs are higher than our revenue, and the sooner we address that, the better for the immediate survival of the company.” – Bjorn Vorster
