South Africa: Minister Gordhan to Meet Striking Airline Unions

A queue of frustrated passengers at the Port Elizabeth airport on November 15, 2019, after SAA cancelled flights.
19 November 2019

Cape Town — A meeting between Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and striking unions at South African Airways (SAA) has been called to mitigate the industrial action by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca), Fin24 reports.

Sacca's Deputy President Christopher Shabangu confirmed the meeting with Gordhan, adding that its goal was "trying to find a solution to ending the strike", writes MoneyWeb.

The five day strike has seen workers level several demands including an 8% wage increase and an end to job cuts. SAA, which currently faces a severe cash flow crisis and has not returned a profit since 2011, has offered an increase of 5.9%. Sacca and Numsa have also threatened to shut down South Africa's entire aviation industry if workers' demands are not met.

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