Norwegian’s low-cost transatlantic service takes off from Gatwick

Airport says low-cost carrier’s twice-weekly flight to LA is a ‘game-changer’ in the debate over a new runway for London The first low-cost transatlantic flights since Freddie Laker’s doomed Skytrain enterprise has left Gatwick airport for Los Angeles, a development that Gatwick describes a “game-changer” in the debate over where to build a new runway […]


July 8, 2014

Press Invitation: Social partners join forces to combat flags of convenience in European skies

Flags of Inconvenience Job losses, market distortion, declining labour standards, social dumping, unfair competition… All are just collateral damage from the emerging development in civil aviation to seek to fly under a “Flag of Convenience”. The same phenomenon that destroyed the maritime industry decades ago has now arisen in civil aviation. European Social Partners from […]


Europe must stop social dumping and flags of convenience in civil aviation

Around 120 delegates have gathered on the 1st and the 2nd of July 2014 in Catania, Italy, to attend a two-day conference on the evolution of the aviation labour market since the introduction of low fares airlines. Scientific research has revealed that the arrival of low fares airlines has introduced social dumping practices in the […]


July 2, 2014

Old foes reunited in battle (thegulfonline.com)

As global aviation industry executives convened in Doha last month, a much-publicised divide between GCC and European airlines showed little sign of being bridged In June, delegates arriving at the AGM of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline industry’s biggest annual bash, were among the first passengers to experience Doha’s new Hamad International […]


ITF news online

Comments Off on Swazi union saves jobs

Swazi union saves jobs

The ITF-affiliated Swaziland Transport and Allied Workers Union (STAWU) has saved over half the jobs at risk of redundancy at Swaziland Airlink.

The employer had been seeking to move its operations from Matsapha International Airport to KM3 International Airport, formerly known as Sikhuphe. STAWU feared that ground handlers would be made redundant following the relocation, as there are already ground handling services in place at KM3 International.
 
STAWU approached the ITF civil aviation section for assistance, and received a copy of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) report Profitability and the air transport value chain. STAWU discovered that ground handling is, according to IATA, one of the more profitable arms of the aviation business – making it in Swaziland Airlink’s interest to keep that section of the business in-house.

STAWU industrial relations officer Sticks Nkambule who facilitated the discussions said: “We are pleased with an achievement of this magnitude. We commend all stakeholders in the process and the ITF, which provided apt technical know-how in this respect. Airlink’s forthcoming relocation from MTS to KM3 airport has not only brought job insecurities but also critical profitability questions for the airline. To this end we further implore key players to tread with due care in that regard.”

ITF civil aviation section secretary Gabriel Mocho Rodriguez commended STAWU on their swift action, and described the protection of over fifty percent of jobs at stake as a massive victory. He reiterated the union’s concern that the government must pay careful attention to concerned raised in IATA’s report when reinvesting in the Swazi aviation sector.


July 1, 2014