MPs agree SAA can no longer ‘hold country ransom’

Members of parliament were in caucus on Tuesday to debate the recent developments at South African Airways, following an eight-day long strike which brought the airline to the brink of collapse.

MPs gathered in parliament following a request by the Inkatha Freedom Party who called on the speaker to allow an urgent debate on the matter, which saw the carrier losing more than R50 million a day.

Negotiations between unions and SAA management resulted in an agreement to end protest action. Unions walked away from talks with management with a 5.9% salary raise agreement, which could only be put into effect once the airline received adequate funding.

The increment agreed upon by the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) could take time to implement, MPs told the speaker.

MPs agree that the carrier was in trouble due to too many costs and not enough income. With around R59 billion accumulative bailouts received to propel the carrier’s operations, MPs raised concerns at the airline’s trajectory.

The African Christian Democratic Party opposed a bailout and told parliament that parliament had to consider cutting SAA’s loses.

The Congress of the People’s Willie Madisha stressed that there needed to be a move forward for SAA. Government needed to help with retraining and reskilling its employees as part of a shift needed for the airline.

Inkatha Freedom Party said there was an apparent rot in government leadership. “SAA’s reliance on state resources should be critically looked into as it was now holding public representatives at ransom,” Mkuleko Hlengwa said.

He called for no more bailouts for the airline, as the country had created a culture where bailouts were a norm.

In responding to MPs, the public enterprises ministry said SAA was the national carrier linking South Africa to the continent and the world. It acknowledged the challenges that the airline faced in the past weeks, and said it had since reviewed several turnaround strategies.

In spite of the challenges, it has been making progress in terms of its turnaround strategy. It has secured long-haul routes, which will in turn reduce fuel and maintenance costs.

A new CEO has been appointed and other key positions were filled. Over the past few months, a management leadership team has been appointed to ensure the airline’s turnaround strategy is implemented.

The ministry argued that for its turnaround strategy to be successful it needed alignment and support from all stakeholders, from government to unions.

(Compiled by Gopolang Moloko)

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