This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
The Citizen reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) says it’s “shocked and surprised” by the latest developments at Comair and its decision to suspend all of its operations.
The airline, which operates British Airways and Kulula flights in SA, announced on Tuesday that it had been forced to suspend all its flights with immediate effect due to a lack of funding. Meanwhile, its business rescue practitioners (BRPs) are trying to raise capital. The union met on Thursday with the management team of Comair and its CEO Glenn Orsmond to discuss the fate of the airline. However, the meeting left Numsa with more questions than answers. General secretary Irvin Jim said the meeting had been very frustrating because Orsmond was at times evasive or unwilling to respond directly to certain questions. These questions related to whether employees would be paid their salaries during the period of the suspension and how much money Comair needed in order to be financially sustainable, among other matters. Because of this, Jim said Numsa members would picket outside Comair’s offices in Johannesburg, to call for Orsmond to step down and for the immediate end of the business rescue process. Jim commented further: “It is clear that the future of the airline remains very uncertain and we remain doubtful that Orsmond can assist us to find a long-lasting resolution. We also have questions about the role of the BRP which have been in charge for almost two years. They were paid exorbitantly and were seemingly unable to foresee this financial hurdle.” Numsa represents about 700 Comair workers.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page