Captains are high earners. Their demands are untenable – Kirby Gordon, FlySafair

702 and CapeTalk’s Africa Melane speaks with Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Manager for FlySafair.

Listen below:

After a breakdown in wage negotiations, FlySafair pilots represented by the trade union Solidarity are embarking on a strike.

They are demanding industry-competitive salaries and better working conditions.

Gordon says there is a significant gap between what the union is demanding and what FlySafair is offering.

He says that what Solidarity is asking for works out to a 20.1% increase on pilot salaries, which already range between R1.8 million and R2.3 million for a captain.

“A 20.1% increase across the board for such high earners, within the top 1% of earners in the country, is just untenable for the company moving forward.”

- Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Manager - FlySafair

Gordon says that while FlySafair does have enough non-striking pilots to continue operating, several flights had to be cancelled.

RELATED: FlySafair informs affected customers about schedule changes as pilot strike looms

He says several pilots who had said they would be available to fly on Monday pulled out at the last minute.

“We have had to amend our schedule yet again and cancel around 12% of departures.”

- Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Manager - FlySafair

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