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Three unions representing workers at South African Airways (SAA), and who have formed a coalition to jointly protect the interests of their members at the embattled State-owned airline, have warmly welcomed a ruling by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) in their favour. The unions are the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), Solidarity and the Aviation Union of Southern Africa (AUSA).

The CCMA ruled that SAA had to included the three unions in its retrenchment consultation process. The airline had previously excluded them.

According to the three unions, this situation arose because SAA, in disregard of the Labour Relations Act, told the media that it planned to retrench 944 employees, without first consulting with the unions representing the workers. Consequently, SAA was obliged to invite unions to consultative meetings. But it invited only some of the unions, and ignored Satawu, Solidarity and AUSA.