SAA business rescue practitioners said if they cannot reach an agreement with unions about the termination of workers employment contracts, they would have to make an urgent court application to place the airline into liquidation.
In a notice to affected parties, practitioners Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana said that if SAA employees do not accept the proposed wind down, they would be unable to continue with the business rescue process.
The BRPs said it is their view that these proposed actions “provide the most responsible way for a managed cessation of the operations of the airline and managing the risks of all affected parties”.
The practitioners do not have sufficient funds available to continue honouring the obligations of SAA to its employees beyond 30 April 2020.
This comes after the government denied the embattled airline a further R 10-billion in funding.
SAA has been in business rescue for the past five months. Last month, the business practitioners served employees with section 189 notices, alerting them of retrenchments.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca), the two biggest unions at SAA, said that they will go to court to defend jobs at the ailing state-owned airline and instructed their members not to sign retrenchment agreements with the business rescue practitioners.
The unions said they reject the threat of retrenchments and the intimidation of workers by the joint practitioners Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana.