Possible Nationwide Strike

[Romeo E.T.]

Found an interesting piece of paper fluttering around at JIA this morning. Headline was SOLIDARITY, subject was BALLOT TO STRIKE at Nationwide Airlines, dated 10th sept 05 requiring form to be returned by 13th sept 05.

Heard that Nationwide has advised all employees that no pay increase this year due to "difficult trading circumstances" and this note issued one week after flying so many extra SAA stranded pax from the SAA strike in July 05.

[yogibear]

Hey there,

The strike did not happen and yes CE did fly a lot of stranded SAA pax but we all know that CE wont get all those fares immediatly...it will take a few months...so yes business is difficult as usual....:\

[J3ST3R]

At the very least, this thread gives us a better indication of which carrier Yogibear is affiliated to. ;)

[sky waiter]

Yes, well nationwide is the lowest paid airline in the industry, no increases in two years, no bonuses ever paid etc, not advocating the strike because the rumour is that mr. bricknell will just shut it down and that would be tragic, however some compassion towards employee's might be required.

Would just like to point out this is a cabin and ground crew prob the pilots i believe and this is rumours got a 20% increase recently. ????

Interesting. Please keep the airline open it really is a good airline and i wana go back one day! :ok:

[barryt]

Spot on J3ST3R!

[Deskjocky]

Sounds like its time for Mr B to sell the race car and concentrate on business!! :}

I must admit Im surprised about the whole "difficult trading conditions" thing- Nationwide are very well positioned in the market- they sit squarly between the low cost and the full service operators- so they can play in both arenas very well. By all accounts they are not doing to badly on the revenue front so maybe the boss should drop the whole act and share a little good fortune with the people who work for him!

[fluffyfan]

Dont know Gents......have you read the newspaper recently, Jet fuel costs are sky rocketing, most of the major US carriers are in deep Sh*t filling for bankrupcy etc, unless this fuel price comes down soon its difficult times ahead for all, not just NW.

Besides NW have survived many a crisis and if track records are anything to go by will survive this one too, VB must be a good businessman to last this long where so many others have failed. NW does pay horrible salaries, but every time a pilot or cabin crew member leaves there are 10 others to fill there shoes. Without an effective union that are willing to stand together VB can do what he likes when he likes.

[Bravo Echo November]

Well after Comair results I am sure CE is making big bucks! Remember CE''s overheads are much lower than BA. Eg. cheaper planes leased(if not owned). Also the 763 on the London route is doing well I hear!

I''ve heard that the strike is only Ground staff and cabin and not flight deck. F/o''s got a few cents increase the other day. Capt got one sometime last year.

[Goldfish Jack]

Know that NTW are short of crews and have cancelled many sectors due crew shortages. Believe they have emplyed 4 x ex SAA capts to help with their training, but because they are so short of capts., these 4 x pensioners are now flying on the line!

Net result: Comair has been contracted to train 14 new Nationwide pilots on the B737-200!

Some things don't make sense in flying!

[sky waiter]

Today on the news. Nationwide will strike on fri, lets hold thumbs that mr. briknell and the crew come to an agreement soon before we have a repeat of SAA/ :{

[Deskjocky]

Hopefully this gets sorted out- SAA paid ZAR500 mil for their CEO's arrogance, I wounder what contingency plans VB making?As far as has been reoprted here its just the ground staff or are the cabin crew involved too? Recent experience has proved that no cabin crew= no ops!

This is a very dangerous game both sides are playing- there is plenty capacity in the market at the moment so the other airlines will gladly take the passengers- probably under the same terms as Nationwide took the stranded SAA passengers (Nationwide charged SAA their full economy fare for each passenger they took- irrespective of what the fare the passenger paid- Im not critisizing here as I would have done the same!) this additional cost doubles the financial impact of the strike. He also wont be able to avoid paying the other airlines as if he refuses he will be kicked out of the IATA clearing house thus ending any interline deals he has with overseas and the local carriers.

Seems like a critial time ahead for the Nationwide guys and gals- hopefully sanity on both sides prevails

[Exhaust Manifold]

I was just told by a friend that VB has decided to shut nationwide down :uhoh: Hope that's just a rumour and he's not really going to do it.

It would be a great tragedy if nationwide closed :(

[ASD]

From Nationwides website:

Press Release
September, 20 2005

Nationwide Airlines accuse union of "deliberately misleading" workers over pay strike
Nationwide Airlines has accused the trade union, Solidarity of deliberately misleading statements regarding their payment to airline staff.

In a statement issued yesterday, Peter Griffiths, financial director of Nationwide Airlines, said the carrier believed that Solidarity's intention to call on members at Nationwide to strike had been taken "without proper consideration, is irresponsible and mischievous, and is not in the best interest of their members or the other 700 Nationwide employees". Solidarity announced today (Tuesday, September 20) that their members at Nationwide intend to strike at 5pm on Friday, September 23.

If the strike goes ahead, it is expected to have some effect on domestic flights, although all international and regional flights are expected to operate normally.Where domestic flights are affected, Nationwide will endeavor to re-accommodate passengers on other Nationwide flights or with the other domestic airlines. "The union statement is misleading in the extreme and contains several factual errors, " said Griffiths.

In their statement he said, Solidarity members are demanding an eight percent increase, comprising a five percent salary demand and a three percent pensionable increase".

"Nationwide believes that its current offer more than covers these demands".

According to Griffiths, Nationwide has a policy of automatically allowing for inflation by increasing cabin crew salaries annually, by five percent, on the anniversary of their joining the company.

"In addition to this, we have also offered a further four percent increase to all cabin crew and ground staff, including a compounded increase on the five percent already implemented," said Griffiths.

"Nationwide also recently implemented a three percent night shift allowance, so the total increase cabin crew will be receiving this year is 12.2 percent. According to Griffiths, it now appears that Solidarity are not taking into account the eight percent increase already implemented this year in making their demand for a further eight percent, making the total demand effectively over 16 percent, an amount far in excess of the inflation rate and well outside the parameters targeted by the Government in order to stem inflation.

Solidarity has 250 members in Nationwide Airlines (Pty) Ltd. out of a total of over 1 000 group employees.

"Nationwide management continues to be committed to a fair and equitable remuneration policy, and will do everything in its power to ensure that passengers are not unduly inconvenienced should this strike go ahead," concluded Griffiths. Passengers and the Travel Trade should contact the Nationwide Customer Care Centre on 011 344 7240 for updated information.

Issued by HWB Communications Pty Ltd On Behalf of Nationwide Airlines.
For more information or interviews please contact:
Evelyn John Holtzhausen
021 462 0416 / 082 658 6007
or on e-mail at: [email protected]

[fluffyfan]

Now these figures may be all wrong but I have it from a reliable source that cabin crew at CE are taking home about R4500 (approx) a month and the increase they are asking for equates to about R300 - R400 each. This is slave labour, the cabin crew do a brilliant job for Nationwide, I am positive they are a large part of why Nationwide is so popular, how many times have you read here "friendly" "pretty" "efficient"...........maybe its time for VB to actually say thanks to the people who help make his company so popular................ Just as a comparison a SAA cabin crew member takes home about R12 000 - R14 000 per month.

However, VB is ruthless when it comes to people who cross him, I predict that if there is a strike, some crew members will work, some wont, those that wont will probably get fired, if they all stick together they may have a chance.

[Deskjocky]

Fluffy,

Good point, as seen recently with the SAA strike- if everyone downs tools then you have a shot- especially the cabin crew! I really feel for those CE staff- they get shafted on all levels. One gets the feeling its a FIFO situation from the top down. With this type of corporate culture its amazing that the staff are able to deliver such good customer service- they must really love what they do- becuase they sure dont work for the money!!!

[Knoppiesdoorn]

It would appear that the old saying:

"What goes round comes round"

does not apply to NTW.

Maybe, just maybe, VB's chickens will come home to roost, one day!!

Goodluck to all of you at CE.

[WildFrequency]

Mail and Guardian Newspaper

Nationwide Airline strike set to start
Johannesburg, South Africa

The trade union Solidarity on Wednesday announced that it will go ahead with strike action against Nationwide Airline following a deadlock in negotiations.

Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said the union has given Nationwide a 48-hour strike warning, which will expire on Friday.

He said negotiations "came to nothing" on Wednesday when Nationwide refused to budge from its offer of a 4% increase.

"We returned to negotiations today, prepared to lower our demand, but Nationwide's recalcitrant attitude unfortunately wiped out all chances of a settlement. We are left with no choice but to carry on with our planned strike," Kleynhans said.

He said the union renewed its demand that the company disclose its financial statements, which, he alleged, it refused.

"The company maintains that it cannot afford to offer our members a higher salary increase, but it refuses to give us access to its financial statements."

He said Nationwide has appointed a "costly" crisis-communications specialist to try to "crisis-communicate" its way out of the impending strike.

"We would much rather have seen the company appoint a dispute-resolution specialist.

"It is clear that Nationwide does not have the will to resolve the dispute with Solidarity, which is why it has retained a crisis-communications specialist to shift the blame for the potentially grave consequences of the strike on to Solidarity."

Solidarity's 320 members that are employees of Nationwide are expected to embark on the strike at 5pm on Friday. -- Sapa



A few other truths:-

"According to Griffiths, Nationwide has a policy of automatically allowing for inflation by increasing cabin crew salaries annually, by five percent, on the anniversary of their joining the company..."

The above quote is absolute rubbish, if the cabin crew had to backdate this supposed automatic increase, some cabin crew could demand a lot more than a meagre 8% increase!

[Deanw]

Nationwide's 'salary shock'

Sep 22 2005

Cape Town - The remuneration paid by Nationwide to its workers is the worst in the industry, trade union Solidarity claimed on Thursday on the eve of a possible crippling strike for the low-cost carrier.
Solidarity is demanding a 5% salary increase and a 3% pensionable increase for its members, while Nationwide is offering a 4% increase.

Solidarity said in a statement the basic starting salary for cabin crew at Nationwide is only R3 920. This is before the addition of a shift allowance of R117 and the proposed 4% increase, which would add R161 per month.

For the second year of service the basic salary remains R3 920 plus an annual increment of R380 and in the third year the basic salary increases to R4 300.

After six years' service the salary increases by R1 020 to R4 980, Solidarity said.

The union said the poor pay causes great staff turnover at Nationwide.

"This means that new cabin crew has to be trained all the time," said Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans.

He said due to the shortage of cabin crew many of the existing crew members are also obliged to fly outside scheduled hours.

"The overtime makes great demands on the cabin crew. Stress levels are high and morale is low, as a result of difficult working conditions and poor pay."

Solidarity also said Nationwide refused it access to the group's financial statements "to determine it the carrier is really in financial difficulty as it claims".

The trade union has now asked the labour dispute council, the CCMA, to intervene in an attempt to reach a speedy resolution.

Nationwide employs approximately 1 000 people.

"In terms of this calculation a demand for an additional 1% would cost the company between R496 320 and R615 312 for 2005/06, a far cry from the company's loss of income if a strike is factored in," Solidarity said.

The strike is set to begin at 17:00 on Friday, and will continue until 17:00 on Monday.

If the strike does not produce the desired result, it will be resumed on the next weekend, Solidarity threatened.

Finance24

[Gunship]

If these salaries are true ... I really enjoy flying with Nationwide but let VB and co suffer the consequences at that is NOT what you pay the great employees you have !

The best hosties I have seen operating in a VERY long time (10 plus years ago)

Time for more money mate - share your wealth VB : it works ! :ok:

[Recuperator]

I agree Gunsss,

Nothing is worse than aircrew with low morale. One of the concepts of flight safety is to ensure your aircrew are happy.

Financial problems are one of the biggest worries a person can have.

Training new staff alone must cost a fortune. Experienced staff is confident staff and that eases the passengers as well, as you rightly said.

Happy clients comes back for more of the same... :ok:

[Gunship]

A strike by about 300 staff and cabin crew at Nationwide airline is set to start at 17:00 on Friday, trade union Solidarity and the airline said.

"At this stage we're assuming that it will go ahead.

"There shouldn't be any disruption at all. Unlike the SAA strike we're able to do things differently," said Nationwide's financial director, Peter Griffiths, adding that passengers could be accommodated on other flights.

He said the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) had been approached to resolve the dispute, scheduled to end at 17:00 on Sunday.

"I was told that the CCMA could only meet with us on Monday, but that just doesn't make sense, to go through the strike and then mediate."

Griffiths said that of the more than 1 000 staff at the airline, around 250 were Solidarity members.

It had 17 aircraft on domestic flights and one long-haul aircraft.

Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said the strike would "definitely" go ahead and affect the "vast majority" of domestic flights as its members made up 90% of cabin crew.

He put the number of union members at Nationwide at 320.

Kleynhans said cabin crew received starting salaries of R2 900 a month.

"We are absolutely willing to negotiate. We've asked the CCMA to mediate, but haven't received an answer."

The union was demanding a five percent salary increase plus another three percent increase in pension fund contributions.

Nationwide is offering a four percent salary increase.

Another motivation for CCMA intervention was Nationwide's refusal to disclose its financial results.

"If Nationwide's statements show that the company cannot afford our eight percent demand, we would be quite prepared to reconsider the demand," Kleynhans said.

Griffiths said the company had told Solidarity it was welcome to see its accounts - after signing a non-disclosure agreement - but that the trade union had never taken it up on its offer.

Solidarity later demanded to see the books for every company in the group.

"It's nonsense to ask for books not related to the airline," said Griffiths.

Passengers who need to confirm their bookings should call the Nationwide Airlines customer care centre on 0861 737 737.

From Fin 24

[Deskjocky]

This made for interesting reading:
"There shouldn't be any disruption at all. Unlike the SAA strike we're able to do things differently," said Nationwide's financial director, Peter Griffiths, adding that passengers could be accommodated on other flights.

Now one of the key features of the SAA strike was the participation of the cabin crew- if they strike then there will be no other CE flights to accomodate passengers on. I know how it will be different- when SAA approached Nationwide during their strike to accept SAA passnegers Nationwide initially refused and only relented when the matter was resolved at the highest levels within both carriers- all the while the passengers just stood around and waited. Im sure SAA will glady welcome all Nationwide customers without any worries- they are looking for ways to find a spare 500 mil!

Although I think Mr Griffiths is going to find it a big ask to reaccomodate any passengers over this weekend the 2 peak travel days domestically are Friday and Sunday so all the other carriers will most lightly be full.

[121,9_za]

Just heard on the news that NTW has indeed begun striking, but it will not affect anyone. Okay, whatever..

:suspect:

[VTS]

:hmm: :hmm: ...lets see now.........No cancelled flights......no screaming pax........accepting pax from other carriers because they could not get onto flights they had booked......extra flight put on due to full flights (and all flights full)..........yup this strike really hurt CE did it not ???????:E

[fluffyfan]

Yup

And the only people being screwed are the poor cabin crew who are simply asking for a decent increase.

VB if you ever browse at PPRUNE, please explain how you sleep at night, your cabin crew are the reason your Airline is still going, they are the reason your customers keep on coming back, and yet they are the lowest paid in the industry, you must be very proud of yourself.

[yogibear]

:hmm: ....fluffy did you actually read the post by VTS ?????

There have been no cancelled flights, I have been told that more than 100% of the cabin crew reported for duty (they had to ask some to go home)....I have also been told that the total sum of employees that have been on strike since yesterday has been 20...all the flights are fully booked and as per VTS's post CE actually put on an extra flight........so in fact this strike has been a bit of a damp squid.....egg in the face of the union..!!!!!

I say good on the staff and employees for not giving into the union...seems all unions want to do is cause all sorts of s:mad: t and try and destroy an already fragile industry.....:mad:

Ok..ok...no more handbags....;)

Despite the salaries etc....it seems that CE has once again shown the guts and determination in the face of a 'union' organised strike...(and I use the word union very loosely when it comes to Solidarity)....that has made it what it is today.....a good airline !!!!!

Yes I may be biased but in any industry, despite whatever management does or offers and despite economic conditions, unions will always try and rip an ostrich out of a chickens backside !!!!!!......I dont like unions :mad:

[WildFrequency]

Nationwide has put out a Temporary Safety Bullutin, valid from 23 September 2005 to mid-October 2005, allowing the B737-200 to operate with 3 cabin crew only, and the 727-200 to operate with 4 cabin crew. Why don't they always fly like that? Excellent way to reduce the staff salary bill! And suppose flight deck crew goes on strike, guess only one pilot and servicable auto-pilot required?!?!

If the rumour is true, and other airlines cabin crew have been asked to fly for NTW, shame on them, would love to know how much they been paid to fly?

[Gunship]

Not a good strike if there was no disruption ... so what was the idea of the strike ? Just to make it known to the public ?

A strike at Nationwide airlines was receiving little support on Saturday, the company's financial director said.

The trade union Solidarity had said its about 320 members would go on strike from Friday afternoon.

The airline employs about a thousand staff.

"All of our crew have turned up for work. All the back-up staff that we had ready we've sent home," said Peter Griffiths.

Flights were not delayed, all were full and four extra trips to Lilongwe, Malawi had been added.

"I think the employees are finally realising that the union (Solidarity) has not been telling them the truth," he added.


Discussion Forums |

[VTS]

:rolleyes:......Ok so here is the information I have on this "strike".....At JIA there were no employees who went on strike in fact throughout the whole country only 9 employees actually went on strike. The back-up crew and staff were not needed because on the days that they were rostered all the staff reported so some were asked to go home. All the flights were full, contrary to what the F :mad: K from solidarity claims, there were no disruptions and basically business was as usual.

I have been told that on Friday evening the solidarity spokesman was parked across the road from the Nationwide Ops centre....sitting there like a miserable little old man....chain smoking and waiting to see if his call for strike action actually happened.....:yuk: From the report on the news on E-TV last night, he looks like your typical person who could not c ut it in the real world so became involved with the union.....:} .....oh yes he does not even know how many members he has at NW.....He claims 350 but in actual fact there are only 220 members......:E

Oh yes WildFrequency.....you say 'shame' on the 'other cabin crews' who offered to fly and help out NW.........so then it must be shame on NW who carried the stranded SAA pax during the SAA strike and also shame on NW for being the only airline from SA to send a plane to fetch the South African tsunami survivors ?????........Shame on you :mad:

[Shrike200]

Well, strike or no strike: The fact remains that Nwide Cabin Crew do a great job and get paid dirt. I would love to see them get the increase. And them showing up anyway should be further reason for a bit of downwards loyalty.

[Miragepilote]

I agree Shrike200, I take my hat off to the staff of Nationwide, being the worst paid in the industry, still arriving for work, even if a strike was asked for.

In a country with a culture that a strike, mass action and unions will resolve any disputes, staff still diligently arriving and doing their jobs, that in itself says a lot about the loyalty of the staff towards the company and in my book deserves a positive increase in salary.

I give you my laugh of approval Nationwide staff, good luck with the negotiations.

It's LOVELY to see the "union" get one up the bum!! hehehehe :p

[fluffyfan]

Is it loyalty?

Or fear of loosing your job?

The only ones getting a decent wage at CE is management. I am not a huge union fan but they are necessary especially these days, the problem is that the employees need to stand together to make industrial action work, if they dont..........well nobody to blame but themselves and then they must not complain about about low salaries and long work hours

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Have to agree with Fluffy. Complaining about the conditions while doing nothing to change the situation doesn't wash.

[George Tower]

Afternoon all,

I feel sufficiantly bored to chime in with my two cents, not that it matters.....

My first reaction to any strike is generally to be anti-union. To be honest most of them simply do not have a clue how to run a business hence they're trade unionists. Mostly these days a bitter, cynical and miserable lot.

HOWEVER, VB needs to realise that the success of his business is largely due to the dedicated front line staff of NW. Particularly, cabin crew, check-in staff and pilots. My experiences on NW have been excellent - pretty much like everyone else here.

I think VB is the beneficiary of the Affirmative Action recruitment policies of SAA, as in a sense even though these front line staff obvioulsy love their jobs, the career development road (to SAA - the high pay airline) is basically limited.

Although I have never personally met VB I know plenty that have dealt with him, the adjectives mean and ruthless spring to mind. Not wanting to distract from the massive achievement of running an airline successfully through some very turbulent times, it is still not the way to treat people - period.

[Jangys]

"VB" or NELSON as he is know among the employees, he flies around and ****s on everyone.

A breakdown of salaries:

Baggage handler - R1500.00
Driver - R2200.00
Aircraft Co ordinator - R3500.00
Ops Clerk - R4500.00

This is some of the salaries i knew when i worked there. The reason why he does not pay more is he can save on salaries by having a big staff turnover. These employees also has to deal with a lot of crap everyday.

You will get a disiplinary hearing if you speak Afrikaans or any other lingo except english on the radio. If the baggage is late its your fault etc.

I really hope that these guys will get something going for their strike.