Trade union Solidarity and low-cost airline Mango today reached a wage agreement after a dispute meeting with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
According to Zirk Gous, Solidarity’s spokesperson, the details of the agreement are confidential, but are very advantageous for Mango pilots, who, until now, had to be content with much smaller packages than their peers at Comair and South African Airways (SAA). The agreement will be valid for three years. The broad principles of the agreement were incorporated in a settlement agreement that was signed by both parties. Gous said the agreement once more proved that a favourable agreement can be reached if both parties are committed to finding a solution.
Solidarity and the management of Mango agreed in December 2011 to start a process to bring Mango pilots’ salaries in line with salaries at the other low-cost airlines in the industry over the next three years. Earlier this year the parties failed to come to an agreement about what market-related salaries for pilots at low-cost airlines entail. Solidarity represents the vast majority of Mango’s pilots.