Johannesburg - The UASA union "will take a stand against" any restructuring at cash-strapped South African Airways (SAA) if it leads to job losses, spokesperson Willie van Eeden said on Friday.
SAA is considering selling some of its units, its chief executive said on Thursday, marking a potential policy shift by the ruling party to save the cash-strapped carrier.
UASA represents about 30% of ground staff and cabin crew of the national carrier.
“There was communication between acting SAA CEO Nico Bezuidenhout and the press giving feedback on the 90-day turnaround plan,” Van Eeden told Fin24.
“We got a mail from SAA’s HR indicating that they will start a Section 189 with regard to retrenchments.”
“He [Bezuidenhout] clearly stated that SAA would make use of attrition with rationalisation,” he said.
“If we are served with a notice, the question will be what the company has done to prevent it.”
"We will take a stand against any restructuring or sale of business if it leads to jobs losses for our members," he told Reuters.
The labour and communist alliance partners in the ANC have opposed the privatisation of state firms such as SAA.
Bezuidenhout said there had been some interest from buyers for some of the airline units, including its catering division, and the government would take a decision on whether to sell the department within months.
Bezuidenhout also said the national carrier was considering listing its no-frills airline unit, Mango, which has been operating domestic flights since it was founded in 2006.
"There has been interest in some of the constituent parts of the group ... a company like Air Chefs for example, we all know that there's interest in that entity," he said, referring to the company's inflight and airline lounge catering business.
SAA, which has received two government bailouts totalling R10bn, is in the middle of a turnaround strategy after the government rebuffed another cash injection.
- Reuters and Fin24.