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Cape Town - The National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) condemns what it calls attempts by SAA Technical (SAAT) to intimidate and frustrate the union.
"Ever since Numsa decided to expose corruption at SAAT, and to fight for workers’ rights, the state-owned entity has embarked on a campaign to bash the union," Numsa said in a statement on Thursday.
It claims SAAT is attempting to unlawfully derecognise Numsa, despite the fact that it claims to represent at least 30% of the workforce in the ground staff bargaining unit.
"It is clear that SAAT views us a threat. We are a militant union which fights for workers’ rights. We do not operate like sweetheart unions which serve their own selfish interests at the expense of workers’," said Numsa.
"We cannot be bought or frightened into silence. As Numsa we view this as an attempt by SAAT to intimidate us and our members. We will use all the weapons in our arsenal to defend our organizational rights in the workplace."
In its view, the attempt to derecognise the union is a propaganda campaign.
READ: Engineering strike ‘inevitable’, says Numsa seeking 15% wage hike
The union called on its members to remain firm.
"We are demanding that those senior managers who have been implicated in misconduct through various forensic reports must be suspended and disciplined. We want an end to irregular tenders and we are fighting for a workplace which is free of corruption and which advances job creation," said Numsa.
The union has written to Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba requesting an urgent meeting on these and other issues.
"We will also approach the Presidency to demand their urgent intervention to stop the current shenanigans at SAA. If our demands are ignored, we will be left with no option but to embark on a legally protected strike," said Numsa.
"As Numsa we look forward to engaging with the new CEO when he begins his duties next month. We look forward to working with someone new and we hope he has a progressive attitude towards unions so that we can ensure a successful turnaround for the airline. We hope the new CEO shares our vision for good, clean governance and for improved working conditions."
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