SAfrica`s SAA Reaches Deal With Union, Strike Off

Dozens of SAA workers had walked out over the weekend, joining a march organised by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union.

State-owned South African Airways said late on Sunday the labour union had called off a strike after the two parties reached agreement over the outsourcing of the carrier's call centre staff.

Dozens of SAA workers had walked out over the weekend, joining a march organised by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU).

But after negotiations earlier on Sunday, SAA and Satawu signed an agreement, with the airline declaring it would not outsource the disputed call centre.

"SAA has undertaken to halt the outsourcing of its Voyager and Reservations call centres to Dimension Data, pending further discussions with labour," it said in a statement.

SAA said earlier on Sunday its flight schedule was undeterred by the two-day walkout.

SAA announced a restructuring plan in June last year in an effort to return to profitability within 18 months, and said the plan would be a focus for the current financial year.

This year, the airline laid off 1,992 workers, resulting in 653 million rand of savings in labour costs.

In another dispute, SATAWU threatened a national strike by road freight workers if no deal was reached in early January, saying talks with employers were deadlocked.

SATAWU said the industry had only partially responded to its and other unions' request for an increase of the minimum wage as well as its other demands regarding maternity leave, medical aid and subsistence allowance.

A final meeting between unions and employers is planned for early January.

"Once these meetings have taken place and still no agreement is reached, the unions may issue a 48 hour notice with the aim to engage in an industrial action, which is imminent should the intransigence of the employers continue," the union said in a statement.

The dispute covers some 60,000 workers nationally, including long distance drivers, checkers, loaders, general workers, vehicle guards, store men and clerks.

The union said employers had offered an 8 percent rise in the minimum wage and for wages across the board, compared to the union's request for a 35 percent and 16 percent rise, respectively.