Unions head to court over impending SAA layoffs

HEADWINDS are swirling against efforts by the South African Airways (SAA) to trim staff, with unions pushing the embattled national carrier to show its hand ahead of a planned voluntary severance process.

Unions at the airline and its technical division are headed to court tomorrow in a bid to halt retrenchments and force SAA to disclose crucial financial information.

The United Association of SA, Solidarity and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA will jointly seek an interdict at the Labour Court in Johannesburg against up to 730 job losses, while the national carrier is in the process of reducing 10% of its staff complement.

SAA and the unions are engaged in arbitration at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ( CCMA) that centres on a dispute about the carrier’s supposed lack of financial disclosure.

But SAA yesterday said it had given unions volumes of information and would provide further information when nondisclosure agreements had been signed.

The carrier and the unions yesterday agreed to extend the arbitration process until August 22.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said: “The company has confirmed its commitment ... in its replying affidavit to the commissioners of the CCMA, appointed to facilitate the process and who will adjudicate the application for information disclosure.”

Solidarity head of professional industry Johan Botha said: “We believe SAA and (its technical division) SAAT have not created sufficient opportunity for constructive consultation with trade unions on the retrenchment process.”

Although they are separate entities with different labour representation, unions insist that the collective agreement reached at SAA extends to its technical division.