‘SAA can and will be saved’ - unions
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) are adamant that South African Airways (SAA) can be saved.
Both unions are currently in talks with the government and believe that SAA “can be saved and will be saved”.
A proposal has been raised by the business rescue practitioners which would see the 4000 SAA staff members issued with termination if contract at the end of April.
This is after the airline could not secure a bailout of R10 billion from the government last week.
Numsa’s Phakhamile Hlubi-Majola says neither one of the unions were consulted on the formulation of a business plan and therefore have not participated in the retrenchment negotiations.
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“We have been on record questioning the relevance, experience and the expertise of this team of BRPs because for more than 3 months, they have been tasked with one thing, which is to devise a business rescue plan, and they have failed dismally to fulfill this at great cost to workers and the taxpayer.”
“We also said that the BRPs have been inappropriately consulting in the development of the business rescue plan with only selected affected persons, to the exclusion of Numsa and SACCA.”
Hlubi-Majola says Numsa and SACCA have subsequently rejected the proposed agreement.
“We are an important stakeholder in this process but we have not been consulted at all on the development of the business rescue plan and instead we are being presented with a purported collective agreement, which is entirely inconsistent with an attempt to save SAA.”