Trade union UASA has expressed concern at the news that local private-sector airline group Comair had applied for business rescue. The airline operated the British Airways in South Africa brand and the Kulula low cost carrier brand.

The airline group stated it had done so because the halt in air travel and national lockdown imposed by the South African government, in an attempt to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, had “completely eroded [its] revenue base while [it was] still obliged to meet fixed overhead costs.” Applying for business rescue had been the “only responsible decision”.

UASA expressed its opinion that Comair was ignoring the rights of its employees. The union stated that its members at the airline had not not been told of the business rescue plan, nor of how it would affect them.      

“UASA is ready to serve court papers to block Comair’s business rescue application as there was no proper consultation with us or other unions or the employees themselves,” affirmed the union. “Comair is therefore in breach of the Labour Relations Act. Comair also did not cancel its [Labour Relations Act] Section 189 [retrenchments] application at the CCMA [Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration] as it seemingly wants to run Section 189 notices and its business rescue plan concurrently.”

Before it announced its application for business rescue, the airline company had publicly stated its intention to retrench staff. It has been in the process of applying to the CCMA for Section 189 notices. But currently, because of the pandemic, the CCMA’s offices were closed. UASA suggested that Comair was attempting to get approval for its business rescue application by means of a “coronavirus ticket”.

“Unfortunately, some companies seem to take advantage of the coronavirus lockdown to justify employee retrenchments,” stated the union. “UASA is prepared to take Comair and other companies to court if this is indeed the case. Employees deserve to be treated fairly in these challenging times.”

UASA was originally founded in 1894 and was previously known as the United Association of South Africa. It represented nearly 73 000 workers across a range of sectors and was currently a member of the Federation of Trade Unions of South Africa.