The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (SATAWU) is set to down tools at Denel Aeronautics on Tuesday, the union said in a statement on Monday.
SATAWU served the division of Denel with a 48-hour strike notice following a deadlock in wage negotiations. Wage talks at the company started in March this year and deadlocked since May.
Starting the negotiations, workers demanded a 15% across the board wage increase, but employers offered only 4% and refused to negotiate further.
SATAWU says it is not happy with Denel dividing its workforce into scheduled and non-scheduled workers. According to the union, scheduled workers work directly with aircraft parts, while non-scheduled workers are in a supportive role.
Denel Aeronautics maintains and services military aircraft for the SA Airforce and offers maintenance, repairs and operations for both local and international defence markets, the union points out.
"Due to their work with metal components, scheduled workers fall under the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) which regulates industry employment relations via a main collective agreement (MCA). In accordance with the MCA signed last year, scheduled workers are set to receive a 5.73% wage hike, while their non-scheduled counterparts must make do with a mere 4%," claims SATAWU.
"Denel’s refusal to negotiate is like a slap in the face for workers of the organisation since the dire financial state the company finds itself in is of their making. SATAWU rejects management’s stance with the contempt it deserves and will lead workers on strike until their demands are met."
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