South African Airways staff given another week to negotiate

South African Airways’ employees were given another week to negotiate on job losses, and if no solution is found to the stricken airline’s financial woes, they’ll be expected to sign a retrenchment agreement. The staff of 4,800 were originally given until Sunday to accept retrenchment packages or face the consquences of the airline being liquidated -- in which severance packages couldn’t be guaranteed. Talks were held Saturday between unions, the Department of Public Enterprises and the administrators, where it was decided that no application for liquidation would be made and the retrenchment process and severance offer to employees be suspended until May 1, according to a statement by the Department of Public Enterprises. The South African government placed South African Airways into a voluntary business-rescue process to try and save the cash-strapped carrier in December. Since then, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the airline’s troubles and the government has refused to fund it further.<br/>