The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that South African Airways’ (SAA) Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP), Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, have confirmed that discussions with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) have taken place “to seek out solutions to alleviating financial challenges to both [SAA] and its employees”. This was confirmed in a letter by Matuson and Dongwana, following the DA’s request for clarity on their intentions to obtain UIF funding to pay retrenched staff packages that would be due to them from SAA.
The DA is of the view that these discussions were completely out of order and the UIF should have shown the SAA Business Rescue Practitioners the door. There can be absolutely no special deal between the bankrupt SAA and the UIF in order for the national carrier to get access to the UIF’s coffers. These funds are held by the UIF on behalf of the hard-working employees and employers of South Africa who have diligently put these monies aside.
If there is a surplus in the UIF it must be returned to its owners – the employees and employers who contribute to the fund. It cannot be used to bail out a bankrupt SAA and subsidise the maladministration and looting that has taken place due to the actions of ANC-appointed cadres at SAA.
Matuson and Dongwana further explain that “at this stage, no agreement whatsoever has been concluded with the UIF to make any funds available for the retrenchments of SAA employees”. These comments do not instill any confidence as it suggests that there may be some sort of an agreement at a later stage.
The DA has therefore written to Thulas Nxesi, the Minister of Labour, to request clarity on the discussions that Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana have had with the UIF and to obtain reassurance that there will be no raid on the UIF for funds to prop up SAA.
While we sympathise with the hardworking employees at SAA, we simply cannot condone this clear attempt to gift the collapsed SAA with another bailout by stealth.