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The Department of Public Enterprises and South African Airway (SAA) Business Rescue Professionals (BRP) have agreed to give workers an extension to accept severance packages until May 1.
BRPs Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana told creditors and unions that a structured liquidation of the business depended on the completion of the reductions by April 24, otherwise the company would go into liquidation.
Unions and non-union employees were presented with a termination agreement on April 17, after the state refused to extend more funds or provide guarantees against foreign loans to support the rescue process.
With no flight revenue due to the blockade, BRPs said the company did not have enough money to cover a significant portion of wages owed beyond April. Matuson and Dongwana said that the only way to rescue parts of the business and develop and publish a new business plan depended on reducing the restrictions.
Compensation packages would be financed with the sale of selected assets that would take six or 24 months.
BRPs and employees moved the initial deadline to 12 p.m. M. From Saturday.
A letter sent to workers organized by Public Business Minister Pravin Gordhan on April 25 states that a moratorium on downsizing has been imposed and employees are no longer required to sign the collective agreement.
This document explains how employee claims would be handled under a structured settlement or liquidation process.
SAA 2.0
The letter didn’t mention the funds, but the idea of a revitalized new airline to come out of the rescue process is gaining momentum.
The government’s commitment to this was first mentioned after an inter-ministerial committee on SAA comprised of President Pravin Gordhan, Labor Minister Thulas Nxesi and Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane met with the workers. to talk about the massive reductions proposed in SAA.
On Friday, the idea resurfaced during Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s briefing on the R500 billion government support package for an economy devastated by Covid-19.
Speaking about what the future of the economy will be like, Mboweni endorsed this notion of “starting a new airline entirely from the ashes of [SAA]”
Also read: SAA Commercial Rescuers Issue Notice That Most Staff Will Be Fired
Leadership covenant
After a meeting with organized workers and senior government officials on Saturday morning, Minister Gordhan said the parties had agreed to finalize a “leadership pact.”
This compact commits the department and unions to work together toward a “national asset that is internationally competitive, viable, sustainable and profitable,” Gordhan said in a statement.
“Leaders recognize the magnitude of the challenge, but are unequivocally committed to saving SAA and directing the torch to a new world after Covid-19 where SAA is a key catalyst for investment and job creation.”
In a statement, the National Transport Movement (NTM) said the BRPs would meet with the minister on Sunday to discuss the risks of delaying the rescue process without any funding.
The DPE will also meet with individual labor representatives to hear their presentations for possible incorporation into the final trade bailout plan next week. This will be followed by the BRPs with a rescue plan framework that will inform the final plan.
“It should be noted that the minister reiterated that SAA is bloated and that job loss was inevitable, but that all SAA leadership at their respective levels and backgrounds mitigates and minimizes job loss,” said NTM President Mashudu Rapheta. .
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