The Star reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has once again slammed the proposed merger between SA Airways (SAA) and Takatso Aviation, which the Competition Commission recently provisionally approved.
In a statement on Friday, the union’s general secretary Irvin Jim said the deal, which Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan engineered, “stinks of corruption” and that it was disappointed that the Competition Commission had decided to legitimise a process “which was illegitimate to begin with”. Numsa reiterated that it was opposed to the merger between Takatso and the national carrier and said that a thorough and transparent process should have been followed, which had not been the case. The union has written to parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) requesting an audience with the committee in order to stop the deal. “We have not heard back from any of them. This delayed response leads us to wonder if there is any political will to hold Gordhan accountable for this dodgy deal,” Jim queried. "SAA exists because of an act of Parliament, and yet, the entire process of appointing Takatso remains shrouded in mystery because Gordhan refuses to disclose to the public, or to Parliament, how he came to the decision that Takatso were the right organisation to choose as an equity partner. Gordhan has not disclosed the ‘due diligence’ process on how Takatso was chosen; we are simply expected to take his word for it that proper processes were followed, when they were clearly not followed," Jim argued.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Sithole at The Star
- Read too, Takatso hasn't provided proof it will be an equitable partner to SAA, says Numsa, at EWN
- Read Numsa’s press statement in the above regard at Politicsweb
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page