BL Premium reports that the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which has fought to save SA Airways (SAA), says the rescue process has been derailed by trade unions whose actions have set the airline on the path to liquidation.  

At a meeting of creditors on Thursday, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) and the SAA Pilots’ Association (Saapa), alongside several creditors, successfully sought to postpone a decision on the business rescue plan until 14 July.  The DPE’s claim was made in a statement on Sunday, in which it said it was withdrawing from a leadership consultative forum it had established with organised labour to develop a new and restructured SAA.  The airline has been in business rescue for six months.  But the process has not been completed due to ongoing delays in finalising the business rescue plan.  If the plan is rejected and an alternative not proposed, SAA will be placed in provisional liquidation.  The DPE’s statement also reported thast the relationship between Numsa, Sacca and the business rescue practitioners had broken down.  Moreover, it claimed that by supporting SA Airlink’s bid to adjourn the creditors’ meeting, Numsa, Sacca and the Saapa had contradicted the letter and spirit of the leadership compact.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Claudi Mailovich at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

Read too, SAA negotiation platform with unions crashes, at Business Report

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page