While the South African Airways Pilots’ Association (Saapa) has now been given the green light to embark on a protected strike, members are still hoping for an eleventh-hour solution to their dispute.
The union, which represents the majority of pilots at the state-owned airline, has been issued with a strike certificate and has already given the airline a 48-hour notice.
Pilots claimed that they had not been paid salaries for almost a year.
The association’s president said: “They’re using the same old narrative of blaming us and our agreement for every woe at South African Airways. We could have worked for free for years and SAA would still have lost billions. In fact, it was us as Saapa that took Dudu Myeni to court and had her declared a delinquent director. Nothing has ever come from the department to assist us in that fight.”
