SAA, which is back on its full flight schedule after a bruising weeklong pay strike, has reiterated that it will not be able to fund the 5.9% wage hike.
The increase will be paid to employees on the February 2020 payroll and backdated to April 1 2019, subject to availability of funds.
In a joint statement the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca), which were demanding an 8% across-the-board wage increase, hailed the agreement as a victory.
But SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Sunday the increase for the airline’s total bargaining unit will be about R72m a year. He said it had been indicated to the unions that SAA cannot “currently afford the increase as a result of its precarious financial position”.
Business Times reported that the airline will know on Monday if it will get the R2bn bailout for working capital to fund its daily operations, including the payment of salaries to employees. This after lenders and SAA’s shareholder met on Friday over additional state guarantees that financiers want before they will agree to unlock funds.
Tlali, who stated that all employees were back at work, said SAA’s long-term turnaround strategy was always premised on a capital injection of R21.7bn to recapitalise the company.
“To date we have received R10.5bn. If recapitalisation is received the company would obtain working capital funding in the normal course of business to manage its operations.”
The weeklong industrial action cost the cash-strapped national carrier about R52m a day, undermining President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration’s efforts at reining in cash-burning state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and addressing government’s worsening fiscal and debt trajectory.
