BusinessLive reports that trade union Solidarity has claimed credit for the decision to place ailing state-owned South African Airways (SAA) into business rescue and has criticised the government for wanting more control over a process it was initially opposed to.  

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Thursday that the decision was taken by the SAA board of directors on Wednesday night to create “a better return for the company’s creditors and shareholders, than would result from any other available solution”.  He advised that the board of directors would announce the appointment of business rescue practitioners in the near future.  However on Thursday Solidarity COO Dirk Hermann said the decision to go the business rescue route was “the consensus between the legal teams of Solidarity, the SAA, the minister of public enterprises [Pravin Gordhan] and the minister of finance [Tito Mboweni] during a meeting with the deputy judge president of the South Gauteng High Court”.  Solidarity said that during the meeting, the airline undertook to ratify a resolution that the company voluntarily be placed under business rescue on Thursday, failing which Solidarity's business rescue application would be heard on 13 December.  Hermann said it was not a voluntary business rescue process, but had been enforced by Solidarity’s application.  Indicating that the government “is now trying to obtain more control over a process they had been opposed to in the past,” Hermann said they would ask other trade unions to jointly demand that organised labour have influence in the appointment of the business rescue practitioner.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page