Labour court dismisses unions’ application to halt SAA job cuts

The labour court has dismissed National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the SA Cabin Crew Association’s urgent application to halt South African Airways’ application to retrench workers.

While analysts maintain the layoffs will be a key to reviving the fortunes of SAA, the unions argue that SAA is attempting to push through with the job cuts without following the country’s labour laws.

The Johannesburg Labour Court dismissed the joint urgent application on Friday while ruling that the airline had not contemplated dismissals.

The unions lodged the interdict this week in a bid to prevent the business rescue practitioners from proceeding with the “accelerated retrenchment” process for employees.

The unions were demanding the court to force the airline to engage with them.

The airline’s practitioners earlier announced that several routes would be cancelled as part of a strategy to save the cash strapped airline from shutting down completely.

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