NUMSA is disappointed with Comair management
23 April 2019
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) met with the management team of Comair on Saturday in an attempt to resolve the problem of salary discrepancies. Workers at the airline are aggrieved because there are vast wage gaps between workers who do the same work. This is a problem which was created by the management of Comair and it the reason that workers embarked on a strike last week.
Unfortunately, after two very long meetings on Thursday and Saturday we were still unable to find one another. Comair management is not taking this problem seriously. NUMSA has given a very clear direction about how they can fix this situation over a reasonable period of time. They refused. Their proposal will worsen the problem and result in the wage gap being widened for the lowest paid workers. We rejected their proposal because it exposed the fact that management is not genuine about resolving the problem they created. It is based on the principle of divide and rule, and it is designed to divide workers instead of creating a fair and equal remuneration structure. We are disappointed with Comair because, they are unwilling to ensure that their proposal covers all workers. We are grateful for the intervention of the CCMA because their officials were very helpful and supportive in trying to mediate these talks.
This week we are also expecting the Labour court to furnish us with reasons for granting Comair a temporary interdict for the strike. This explanation will assist us to make a final decision on a possible way forward. We will also have to consult our members for a mandate.
We will be meeting Comair management again soon. We hope that when they return to the negotiating table they will demonstrate that they genuinely care about resolving the crisis which they created. So far, they have not demonstrated good leadership on this issue at all. Like all greedy capitalists, they are clearly not interested in creating an environment of equality and fairness, and they operate purely on greed and exploitation.
NUMSA will not allow them to get away with continuing to abuse workers in this way and we will exhaust all avenues, in order to ensure that workers get what they deserve.
Aluta Continua!
The struggle continues!
Issued by Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, NUMSA National Spokesperson, 23 April 2019
