Wage demands lead to strike action at Gaal

Dissatisfied employees of Gateway Airports Authority Limited (Gaal) stationed at Polokwa­ne International Airport have since Monday resorted to lunchtime industrial action outside the facility’s terminal building to demand salary increases.
The disgruntled employees are reportedly affiliated to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and the Democratised Transport Logistics and Allied Workers Union (Detawu). They demand that their salaries be increased by 10% or at least 7,5% across the board. Workers have allegedly threatened to continue their protest until the demands are met and that they would cease to perform their respective duties as expected if airport management continues to ignore their grievances.
It was learnt that the group was made up of personnel in the administration division, operations and business development departments. A representative of one of the unions, Phuti Mokoti indicated that they have been in talks with the Gaal Board but their demands seemingly fell on deaf ears. He further revealed that the entity was offering a 5,8% increment which was something workers could not accept.
“We are no longer going to offer the entity 100% of our work because we are not being taken care of as workers. We cannot settle for anything less than a 7,5% increase. The cost of living has gone up and as a result our salaries should also increase for us to be able to provide for our families,” Mokoti stressed.
The entity gave a 7,5% increase last year so the least the management can do is to put the same offer on the table, according to him. Gaal is a 3D enterprise which means it must make enough money to run like a business and sustain itself, Mokoti explained and added that the management claimed that the entity was experiencing financial constraints.
Gaal Board Chairperson Tom Nkoana emphasised that they could only offer workers what the entity gets from the Provincial Treasury. “The company hasn’t been doing well financially which means we would have to borrow the money elsewhere to meet workers’ demands. Wage bill increase is a long-term thing and there is no way we can borrow money for this purpose. Provincial Treasury is currently offering a 5,8% increment of our total grant of about R53 million. We cannot give what we don’t have,” Nkoana stated, adding that they understood the pressures the workers experience but their hands were tied.

Story/photos: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za