Comair denies receiving strike notice which Numsa says it issued

While the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) on Wednesday announced that it had issued Comair with a strike notice, the airline said it had not received it.

“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 has to conduct a secret ballot of its members and thereafter give Comair 48 hours' notice,” the company said in a response to TimesLIVE.

“Comair has not yet received the required 48 hours’ notice. Comair has contingency plans in place, should our ground and or cabin crew choose to exercise their right to strike,” it added.

Comair is the parent company of kulula.com and has the licence to fly the British Airways brand in SA.

Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola had on Wednesday told striking SAA employees that Air Chefs and Comair would be joining them in their wage-related strike.

“As of Tuesday, we served them with a notice of intent to embark on a secondary strike as Air Chefs. Let me tell you what impact that is going to have: it will not only affect SAA comrades, but it will affect a lot of airlines,” said Hlubi–Majola.

“Comair has a strike certificate. We are coming after Acsa [Airports Company SA]. If Acsa shuts down, none of the planes are moving,” she said.

TimesLIVE reached out to Hlubi-Majola to find out when Comair workers were expected to down tools. She could not be immediately reached for comment. 

At the centre of this strike action is a wage dispute. Workers are demanding an 8% increase while the employer has offered 5.9%.