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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has received correspondence from Comair that the airline is formally withdrawing the section 189 notice. Comair served NUMSA with section 189 on the 1st of March. The purpose of the notice was to reduce benefits and conditions. NUMSA objected to the section 189 notice especially because workers at Comair have already made huge sacrifices in order to save Comair and turn it around. They have endured more than a year on reduced salaries – their salaries were cut by at least a 30%, and all benefits have been slashed.

This is why we welcome news that Comair has decided to withdraw the notice. In a letter sent by Barnett Marillier the Employee Relations Practitioner to the CCMA commissioner they state the following:

“After much deliberation on the issue of Operational Restructure and with due consideration of legal advice obtained, while we still need to restructure the conditions of employment that places the organisation at risk, we will seek to explore other avenues of achieving the same saving which may include the collective bargaining process. We therefore withdraw the section 189A application under GAEK 2117-22 and will no longer continue to consult on this issue in this forum”

The employer issued the section 189A notice indicating that they want to cut salaries by 15% and to reduce the medical aid benefit. Workers were told that any employee who refuses to take a salary cut will face termination or dismissal. NUMSA argued that their rationale for the notice was not in line with the provisions of section 189 (1) of the LRA, but rather, if they wanted to make changes to benefits and conditions, that fell under the collective bargaining process. The commissioner agreed with us and suggested that they withdraw because section 189 is for job cuts, not changes to conditions.

The withdrawal of section 189 is a victory for workers who fought hard for this demand to be realized. We thank our members for being resolute and for having the courage to fight for their demands. We will now ready ourselves for wage talks with the employer which are coming up soon.

Issued by The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa