DPE accepts Solidarity’s proposal to avoid legal action over SAA

11 December 2020

Solidarity’s proposal with regard to the payment of salaries by South African Airways (SAA) was accepted by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) today. As a consequence of reaching this agreement, the SAA can avoid further legal action.

“By now it is general knowledge that the business rescue practitioners and the shareholder are not aligned with salary payments for SAA,” Derek Mans, Solidarity’s organiser for aviation and defence, said. “Solidarity’s proposal was favourably accepted by the DPE as well as by two other trade unions, AUSA and NTM. It is now the DPE’s responsibility to pursue the matter with the business rescue practitioners.

According to Solidarity’s proposal, which will serve as a draft agreement, three months’ salary must be paid out. However, this does not serve as a final settlement and outstanding payments are deferred until the business rescue process has been finalised.

“It is high time that the payment of salaries is taken seriously at SAA. The airline does not only comprise aeroplanes but also thousands of staff members who have to endure the disarray that is prevailing there. For them it is no longer a legal issue, but rather a moral one. The state should stop acting at the expense of employees and should rather do something to accommodate them. This agreement will be a step in the right direction for every SAA employee,” Mans concluded.

Issued by Derek Mans, Organiser: Aviation and Defence, Solidarity, 11 December 2020