Numsa pushes for lawsuit

THE National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) says it has demanded that South African Airways Technical (SAAT) begin legal proceedings to recover about R5-million from its senior executives.

Numsa said at the weekend that it had not ruled out a strike at SAAT, where the union’s members were allegedly being victimised for attempting to blow the whistle on corruption.

The union is also calling for the enforcement of a labour court judgment in August that ordered the suspension of senior SAAT executives.

The company has indicated it would appeal against the judgment. No time-frame had been given for a response, but a strike would remain the last resort, Numsa spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi said.

Numsa’s allegations are based on the findings of an Open Water Risk Solutions report.

The forensic report confirmed that proper supply chain management policies were not followed at SAAT, said Hlubi.

In its report, Open Water found that, in one instance, SAAT suffered a loss of at least R5-million, said Numsa.

Open Water made recommendations following an investigation that alleged tender fraud involving SAAT managers.

SAAT did not immediately respond for comment, but South African Airways (SAA) acting chief executive Musa Zwane, who is the SAAT CEO, said earlier in September that while the final draft of the report was completed in May, it had been returned to the Open Water consultancy to fill in gaps.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said on Sunday: “We confirm receipt of correspondence from Numsa ... and have taken note of its contents. The letter will be referred to the relevant internal structures for consideration.” — BDLive