- The Department of Public Enterprises has accused unions at the airline of working with opposition parties to sabotage the business rescue process
- The department says the agreement reached with some unions for three months payment for outstanding salaries is fair, despite unions demanding the full settlement
- Unions have been urged to act to save the airline and help employees get their unpaid salaries
The Pravin Gordhan-led Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has accused some South African Airways (SAA) labour unions of working with opposition parties to deliberately undermine the airline's business rescue process, and has called on them to finalise the process that began a year ago by agreeing to final settlement of deferred salaries for employees.
"Certain unions are deliberately undermining the process and seem to be in alliance with opposition parties to undermine the business rescue process," the department said in a statement sent on Monday evening.
"The revised position by some unions demanding full settlement of outstanding salaries cannot be acceded to."
SAA was the first state-owned enterprise to go into business rescue in December 2019 after bailouts to the tune of more than R30 billion failed to save the airline after more than a decade of financial mismanagement, a collapse in governance and corruption. As part of the business rescue process, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, in October's Medium Term Budget, allocated R10.5 billion for the grounded airline towards a severance package for some SAA staff and dealing with existing debt and other obligations. To raise the funds, in what was a politically unpopular move, the National Treasury had to make cuts to other departments.
The DPE said the voluntary severance packages "made available to departing SAA employees had ensured that these employees are not left destitute on leaving SAA".
"While DPE is sympathetic and deeply mindful of the plight of SAA employees who have not received salaries while the funds for the restructuring of the airline were being sourced, the DPE considers the agreement reached with some unions on 04 December 2020 for three months payment for outstanding salaries to be fair and equitable."
The DPE said it "calls on the labour unions to negotiate in good faith not only save the airline, but to enable SAA employees to receive their unpaid salaries in time."
Two of SAA's largest trade unions are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the South African Cabin Crew Association. Workers affiliated to the unions picketed outside the airline's headquarters last week Thursday saying the business rescue practitioners were keeping them in the dark.
SAA grounded its planes and hasn't been able to return to operations since the coronavirus outbreak in March as the business rescue practitioners have sort to preserve funds. Rivals such as Comair, which also went into business rescue, have since resumed operations. Last week, Cabinet urged the DPE to appoint a strategic equity partner for the airline, as reports swirled that the government was looking to raise $400 million in the sale of a stake.