/ 15 November 2007

Solidarity takes SAA to task over retrenchments

Trade union Solidarity has served court papers on South African Airways Technical (SAAT) division to stop its retrenchment process on the grounds that it is procedurally unfair, the union said on Thursday.

”The trade union argues that SAAT had failed to follow a fair section 189 retrenchment process in terms of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and that SAAT should be prevented from retrenching any of the trade union’s members until such a process had been followed,” Solidarity said in a statement.

Last week SAA announced that it had support from trade unions on restructuring plans that would lift the airline out of massive financial losses. These measures included a salary freeze and cutting about 2 232 people from its staff of 10 000 through voluntary retrenchments.

For the last financial year SAA made a loss of R883-million, forcing it into a restructuring programme to survive.

Section 189 deals with the way employment contracts can be ended and sets out specific steps that have to be followed.

”That has not happened,” said Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans.

Solidarity said that at no stage had the company tried to reach consensus with it over employees at SAAT, which is contracted to provide technical maintenance to airlines such as SAA, Mango, BA/Comair, kulula.com, Lufthansa, British Airways, Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, TAP Portugal, Olympic, Egypt Air, Qatar, Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles, TAAG Angola and Thai Airways.

It said it had submitted proposals to SAAT regarding the retrenchments, and the company had responded late and without specific responses to its proposals.

The union felt that it had to take legal steps — and so it served papers on the company on Wednesday, notifying it of the union’s intention to approach the Labour Court.

Kleynhans said the company now had an opportunity to respond.

The union objected to proposals to curtail service conditions to limit lay-offs without consultation.

”More than 300 SAAT technicians have left the company in the past 12 months to join international airlines. There is a serious shortage of the critical skills of these employees, and reducing their salaries will simply cause a greater exodus of skilled workers and will eventually seriously compromise aviation safety in South Africa,” Kleynhans said. – Sapa