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Government urges unions to engage on proposed retrenchments at SAA

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The Department of Public Enterprises has called on all unions at South African Airways (SAA) to convene their own bilateral engagements on the proposed retrenchments at the airline.

Four unions at the national carrier have expressed interest in signing the severance package offered to employees immediately after the creditors’ vote on the Business Rescue Plan on the 14th of this month.

However, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the SA Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) have rejected the offer.

The department says it is not in a position to accede to the unions’ demands for any further benefits. The department says it has made it clear to all the unions that the R2.2 billion budgeted for the voluntary severance package is the best that can be made available.

The department says concerns raised by the three major unions centred on the number of people to be retrenched and the value per employee of the proposed packages.

The voluntary severance package includes one week calculated per year of completed service, one-month notice pay, accumulated leave paid out, a 13th cheque and a top-up of severance packages calculated on a back-dated 5.9% wage increase.

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