South African govt presses unions for concessions to rebuild SAA

South Africa’s govt is pressing unions to avert a collapse of South African Airways and ensure that the business rescue strategy results in the emergence of a more competitive carrier. It has asked unions to submit proposals on restructuring the carrier and, in particular, details on the future of jobs. The unions have conceded that some jobs must be lost, says the department for public enterprises, if SAA is to become a stronger operation. With the future of the airline looking particularly bleak, the department held a April 21 meeting with unions and other govt representatives to outline the situation. The govt stressed that all parties needed to “commit to a creative solution” in order to “avoid a scenario where the business rescue is deemed to have failed”. <br/>