The South African government and local banks have teamed up to provide US$266 million to embattled South African Airways (SAA) to finance its business rescue plan as ordered by President Cyril Ramaphosa to keep the airline afloat, SAA board member Martin Kingston said on Saturday.
The cash-strapped airline, which has not made a profit since 2011, endured a crippling strike last month over a wage dispute with its 3,000 workers over wages.
In the business rescue plan, SAA would be restructured to help it generate revenue, while the workers remained employed by the airline — thereby allaying retrenchments fears among them, Kingston said.
Meanwhile, the SAA’s unions have objected to the appointment of Les Matuson as a business rescue practitioner in the flag carrier’s business rescue process.
According to the unions, the process that led to Matuson’s appointment “is illegitimate and we were not involved.”
National Union Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the body noted the decision to undergo the business rescue process — but stated that the process lacked legitimacy as it did not involve labour unions.
“For us, this process lacks legitimacy. It lacks legitimacy because labour had nothing to do with the process first and foremost.
“Secondly, it lacks legitimacy because they’ve been very quick to go and appoint their own business rescue practitioner without even giving us the opportunity to make submissions on the process,” Hlubi-Majola said.
NM/as/APA