In the midst of the ongoing strike at South African Airways (SAA), Comair on Thursday dismissed reports that a secondary strike was looming at the airline.
Comair operates British Airways in South Africa and low cost airline, kulula.com.
“Reports indicating that Comair has been issued a secondary industry strike notice are incorrect. NUMSA has not yet issued Comair with any strike notice,” the company said.
“Comair would like to clarify that there are two different processes pertaining to NUMSA i.e. (1) Comair and NUMSA disputes and (2) Calls by NUMSA for a secondary strike.”
Comair and NUMSA Disputes
The airline said that NUMSA has been issued two certificates of non-resolution for disputes pertaining to both Comair’s ground and cabin crew.
Before embarking on a strike, NUMSA will conduct a secret ballot of its members, and thereafter give Comair 48 hours’ notice. Comair has not yet received a notice of intention to strike.
“We continue to engage with all union stakeholders and are committed to reaching a ‘win-win’ outcome for all parties in involved – in a way that ensures business sustainability,” says Wrenelle Stander, Comair’s Joint CEO.
Comair has contingency plans in place should its ground and/or cabin crew choose to exercise their right to strike.
Call by NUMSA for secondary industry strike
NUMSA has called for a secondary industry strike in support of the current South African Airways (SAA) and South African Airways Technical (SAAT) strike.
“Meanwhile, Comair has not yet been served the required seven days’ notice for a secondary industry strike.”
“We have contingency plans in place to mitigate the impact of the SAAT strike. However, our operations are currently under pressure, and we are experiencing disruption to our flight schedule,” adds Stander.
“Comair apologises for the inconvenience caused to our customers’ travel plans. We are doing everything possible to keep customers informed and to minimise the impact of any strike action.
“Safety remains our foremost priority, while serving our customers remain our focus.”
Comair customers are requested to check the latest flight information on the relevant websites (ba.com or kulula.com), and customers with urgent enquiries can call 011 921 0222 for British Airways or 086 158 5852 for kulula.