NUMSA and SACCA welcome the resignation of Martin Kingston from SAA Board
17 January 2020
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) together with the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) welcome the resignation of Martin Kingston from the board of South African Airways (SAA). We view this as a positive step and we call on the rest of the board to do the same and resign immediately. This board has been directly involved in the destruction of SAA and it is because of them that SAA has now been placed under Voluntary Business Rescue. SAA has collapsed because of corruption and mismanagement. Its finances have been choked by the R25 billion per annum spend on procurement, caused by evergreen contracts with big multinational companies. The board has done very little to intervene in corruption, and to curb the bloated procurement spend.
Furthermore, the recent decision taken by SAA management to sell aircraft whilst the Business Rescue Process is underway is deeply suspicious and we demand that both the board and the Executive management must publicly account for that decision.
It is standard practice that for any asset to be sold or purchased, SAA must inform and consult the Labour Forum. Even when routes are changed they consult Labour. Therefore, it is deeply disturbing that SAA can announce the sale of aircraft without consulting or informing workers. This is worsened by the fact that the Business Rescue Practitioner knew nothing about this sale.