Cape Town - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has condemned the failure by Denel Land Systems to pay the salaries of its workers
Reports emerged on Sunday that Denel Land Systems said that honouring its wage bill in the next few months would be difficult as its cash problems continued.
Earlier reports indicated that, on Friday, chief executive Makhathini sent a memorandum to staff, saying the employees would get a net payout of just 20% of their May salaries along with medical aid cover and the risk proportion of pension contributions.
“As the company’s liquidity status worsens (sic), the payment for the upcoming months will continue to be a challenge to honour,” Makhathini was quoted as saying.
The employees have not been paid their full salaries since May 2020. The state-owned companies owed the employees R500 million.
On Monday, the NUM said the situation of workers in the Denel Land systems was beyond crisis. Some workers resorted to committing suicide as a solution.
“We send our sincere condolences to the families of those workers,” NUM metal sector co-ordinator Mawonga Madolo said.
He said the union had been attempting to engage the company but had no success as management had failed to respond.
"The union has also been calling on the government to intervene by providing financial support in the interest of workers. The union has now reached a point that further action should be undertaken to fight against this ongoing violation of workers rights,” he said.
“The first action the union has done is to issue the demand letter to the employer, regarding the outstanding salaries, with an ultimatum to pay the salary within 14 days or face legal action.
“The second plan of action is working with Cosatu to organise the march to the National Treasurer office in an attempt to force the government to take responsibility on the matter as the sole shareholder.”
Madolo said the NUM would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the crisis in Denel Land Systems was resolved and all money due to workers were paid.
Political Bureau