Trade union Uasa has assured its members who are employed by the State-owned defence industrial group Denel of its support for them, as the tale of the financially-beleaguered company took another turn for the worse. Private-sector South African defence company Saab Grintek Defence (majority-owned by Sweden’s Saab group), has applied to the Pretoria high court to liquidate Denel, because of its nonpayment of debts.
“The liquidation bid from Saab Grintek Defence, although warranted in terms of current liquidity struggles suffered by Denel, could have been avoided had the State intervened in time as pleaded,” stated the union. “Uasa is aware of other creditors also demanding long outstanding payments from Denel. We remain committed to assist our members through this new development. Should the liquidation of Denel prove to be the result of Saab Grintek’s court application or any other creditor that might now be prompted to approach the high court, we will step in to assist our members with their claims against the [State-owned entity] by nominating our preferred liquidator for consideration to ensure a fair process.”
The union highlighted that Denel currently owed its employees R500-million in unpaid wages. Uasa, and the Fedusa trade union federation to which it is affiliated, has been pushing the Department of Public Enterprises’ “ministerial management” to talk with other branches of the government, including the National Treasury, to get Denel the financing it needed to pay its creditors and stay in business.