Comair staff have little faith in bosses – survey

Comair staff have no confidence in the airline’s management, a survey by trade union Solidarity show.

Employees are highly critical of the business’ leadership under former 1time boss Glenn Orsmond. Former chief executive Wrenelle Stander, who placed the company in business rescue, stepped down in late 2020 when Orsmond was appointed by a new set of investors.

In correspondence to Comair shareholders, labour outlines the sentiment towards Orsmond, who has been in the hot seat for just over a year.

The letter said: “He does not have the confidence of the staff, nor the majority of his managers. He has failed to deliver a strategy, KPAs [key process areas] for his executive or, in fact, any tangible road map for the short to medium term for this business. When directly asked, his response to [Solidarity] was that the strategy was to make profit.”

Comair spokesperson Stephen Forbes said: “Our investors have full confidence in Comair’s leadership team and its ability to successfully manage and rebuild Comair as market leader.”

But the Solidarity survey shows 84% of staff said they have no confidence in how the company approached the management of the business and its people, with 59% noting that they do not understand the strategy of the business. Most employees said they had no confidence in the leadership of the organisation, 18% of respondents suggesting that the work environment is toxic.

Another 18% said the company is operating in crisis mode and a further 18% referred to working conditions as “unhealthy”.

Just under half of the employees said that they do not trust Comair management at all. In its letter, the union noted: “Our members are extremely fearful that further harm will be caused to their employment as a result of a lack of strategic intent and the failure to implement a proper change management process. Without your [shareholder] intervention, we do not believe that a proper cooperation between the business and its employees will be meted soon enough to achieve a sustainable return.”

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A total of 64% of staff said they want to leave, while 71% were no longer proud to work there. Employees surveyed also lamented about the lack of a positive culture in Comair. The survey also revealed that 21% of staff describe executive management’s behaviour as despicable, 20% said they were simply absent, 18% called management erratic and 12% said mediocre.

Another 16% noted room for improvement when asked the same question and 66% of staff felt their safety at work was being compromised. Staff also said former chief executive Stander was far more transparent and communicated with employees often – something the employee body surveyed said is lacking under current leadership.

And 91% of staff said that there had been no vision or road map communicated to them.

Comair’s Forbes said: “The Covid pandemic was a massive setback for the entire aviation sector and its impact continues to be keenly felt.

“Regrettably, some very difficult and uncomfortable decisions had to be made and may still need to be made to secure a sustainable future and ensure employee job security and wellbeing. Comair’s senior management will not shy away from these responsibilities.”